ZSE controller describes S46 being ATC zero. ZSE controllers release aircraft off of sea and find ou...

Narrative:

During the mid-shift; seattle approach had been declared ATC zero for about an hour due to what turned out to be both controllers on duty being locked out of the control room. During this time; seattle center assumed seattle approach's airspace. During this period; seattle tower called on a landline for a release for aircraft X aircraft because the dial lines were not working apparently. I or my d-side issued a release to 9000 for the aircraft on the bangr departure. I just learned that seattle tower actually owns a 10 mile radius up to 5000 MSL around the airport so we did not need to issue the release and I talked to and radar identified the aircraft in their airspace without the proper coordination.I would recommend additional training to seattle center and tower on seattle approach contingency procedures and fixing the dial lines (103) between seattle center and seattle tower.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ZSE Controller describes S46 being ATC Zero. ZSE controllers release aircraft off of SEA and find out later that they did not need to release the aircraft because SEA Tower is responsible for 10 miles around SEA.

Narrative: During the mid-shift; Seattle Approach had been declared ATC Zero for about an hour due to what turned out to be both controllers on duty being locked out of the control room. During this time; Seattle Center assumed Seattle Approach's airspace. During this period; Seattle Tower called on a landline for a release for Aircraft X aircraft because the dial lines were not working apparently. I or my D-Side issued a release to 9000 for the aircraft on the BANGR departure. I just learned that Seattle Tower actually owns a 10 mile radius up to 5000 MSL around the airport so we did not need to issue the release and I talked to and radar identified the aircraft in their airspace without the proper coordination.I would recommend additional training to Seattle Center and Tower on Seattle Approach contingency procedures and fixing the dial lines (103) between Seattle Center and Seattle Tower.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.

Attributes
ACN	1236489
Time
Date	201501
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZSE.ARTCC
State Reference	WA
Environment
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Widebody Low Wing 4 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	SID BANGR
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Departure Approach
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Experience	Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 3.5
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Airspace Violation All Types Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

ZSE controller describes S46 being ATC zero. ZSE controllers release aircraft off of sea and find out later that they did not need to release the aircraft because sea tower is responsible for 10 miles around sea.