Narrative:

While I was working controller in charge position; local control (local control) lost situational awareness. A cessna 152 was on a left crosswind turn from runway xxl in left closed traffic. A cessna 182 was upwind after a touch and go from runway xxr in right closed traffic. Local control; loosing situational awareness; instructed the cessna 152 to make a right turn for right traffic to runway xxr. This flight path placed the cessna 152 directly above the cessna 182 about 1/2 mile east of the airport. The pilot of the 182; with a slight voice of concern; keyed up and said something to the effect of; 'we just had an aircraft cross directly above us.' from my observation on radar; and looking out the window; the aircraft passed by 200 feet vertical. I recall the 152 at traffic pattern altitude 1;100 feet and would estimate the 182 at 900 feet as the radar tag had not yet acquired. After this situation; local control turned to me saying they had lost track of traffic. Based on memory; I immediately began to pseudo control the traffic instructing local control how to re-organize. After returning control of the traffic; local control again developed several other conflicts requiring prompts to issue traffic calls and resolution instructions. I have no personal animosities toward this controller; however this individual struggled on local control position throughout training; is easily distracted by surroundings; and has raised concerned amongst other cics/cpcs. While not to this extreme; after witnessing this and several other similar events; I feel the safety of our users is at risk. It is in my opinion some form of intervention is necessary to address safety and performance issues. This controller is at the 6 month threshold preparing for controller in charge OJT.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Tower CIC described a pattern conflict when the Local Controller lost situational awareness and assigned a conflicting pattern instruction; the reporter questioned the Local Controller's overall performance.

Narrative: While I was working CIC position; Local Control (LC) lost situational awareness. A Cessna 152 was on a left crosswind turn from Runway XXL in left closed traffic. A Cessna 182 was upwind after a touch and go from Runway XXR in right closed traffic. LC; loosing situational awareness; instructed the Cessna 152 to make a right turn for right traffic to Runway XXR. This flight path placed the Cessna 152 directly above the Cessna 182 about 1/2 mile east of the airport. The pilot of the 182; with a slight voice of concern; keyed up and said something to the effect of; 'We just had an aircraft cross directly above us.' From my observation on RADAR; and looking out the window; the aircraft passed by 200 feet vertical. I recall the 152 at traffic pattern altitude 1;100 feet and would estimate the 182 at 900 feet as the RADAR tag had not yet acquired. After this situation; LC turned to me saying they had lost track of traffic. Based on memory; I immediately began to pseudo control the traffic instructing LC how to re-organize. After returning control of the traffic; LC again developed several other conflicts requiring prompts to issue traffic calls and resolution instructions. I have no personal animosities toward this Controller; however this individual struggled on LC position throughout training; is easily distracted by surroundings; and has raised concerned amongst other CICs/CPCs. While not to this extreme; after witnessing this and several other similar events; I feel the safety of our users is at risk. It is in my opinion some form of intervention is necessary to address safety and performance issues. This Controller is at the 6 month threshold preparing for CIC OJT.

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.