Narrative:

Grumman tiger VFR at 5;000 feet came over from ZDC non-radar. I worked him for a while; but coordinated with ZID to take him because they had radar on him. At the time I went to switch the pilot he advised he was entering IFR and was going to request IFR clearance and reverse course. He had told me he was 40 miles southwest of bkw; which is already outside of my airspace. I switched him to ZID and coordinated with them his request. ZID advised he was 5 miles east of bkw so I requested them to put him back on me. It took some time for him to switch; and by the time he did reach me he was inside the 5;700 feet MVA. I asked if he could climb VFR to 5;700 feet for his IFR. He said he might. I then asked if he could maintain his own obstruction clearance; which he could; and I then issued IFR clearance via radar vectors to bkw and to fly present heading. I did not have him on radar at this time; but expected to get him soon. I didn't know how else to clear him non-radar. This is the scenario I recently reported about our MVA map: mountainous terrain near bkw; and no guidance as to how to handle non-radar below our MVA or below 2;000 feet AGL in mountainous terrain. I asked my supervisor and he even said he wasn't sure. From what he understood; the MVA gave non-radar required separation. At the same time a piper aztec went NORDO and began to fly into an MVA around an antennae. We need guidance about mountainous terrain here at crw. No one here knows how to handle a situation like that and still guarantee FAA required separation. I would like further instruction about non-radar and requirements for mountainous terrain.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CRW Controller described a confused non-RADAR procedural event when an aircraft experiencing IMC conditions requested service when he was below MVA requirements.

Narrative: Grumman Tiger VFR at 5;000 feet came over from ZDC non-RADAR. I worked him for a while; but coordinated with ZID to take him because they had RADAR on him. At the time I went to switch the pilot he advised he was entering IFR and was going to request IFR clearance and reverse course. He had told me he was 40 miles southwest of BKW; which is already outside of my airspace. I switched him to ZID and coordinated with them his request. ZID advised he was 5 miles east of BKW so I requested them to put him back on me. It took some time for him to switch; and by the time he did reach me he was inside the 5;700 feet MVA. I asked if he could climb VFR to 5;700 feet for his IFR. He said he might. I then asked if he could maintain his own obstruction clearance; which he could; and I then issued IFR clearance via RADAR vectors to BKW and to fly present heading. I did not have him on RADAR at this time; but expected to get him soon. I didn't know how else to clear him non-RADAR. This is the scenario I recently reported about our MVA map: mountainous terrain near BKW; and no guidance as to how to handle non-RADAR below our MVA or below 2;000 feet AGL in mountainous terrain. I asked my Supervisor and he even said he wasn't sure. From what he understood; the MVA gave non-RADAR required separation. At the same time a Piper Aztec went NORDO and began to fly into an MVA around an antennae. We need guidance about mountainous terrain here at CRW. No one here knows how to handle a situation like that and still guarantee FAA required separation. I would like further instruction about non-RADAR and requirements for mountainous terrain.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.