ZDC controller reported of an airspace deviation where no one knew who was talking to an aircraft in...

Narrative:

Aircraft X 'autopopped' on my radar display as it crossed a sector boundary climbing to FL300; according to the data block. I called the sector (pinion; sector 4) that had track control of the aircraft and asked if I missed their phone call. They didn't know what I meant and I further explained that aircraft X was in my airspace climbing; I wasn't talking to the aircraft and that no point-out was accomplished. The controller at sector 4 said they were not talking to this aircraft. They broadcast in the blind to aircraft X and the aircraft was on their frequency. I then said that aircraft X was point out approved and assumed that sector 60; montebello; was responsible for this misstep. I spoke to the sector 60 controller who told me they didn't know who I was talking about. They found the aircraft and said 'point out approved' too. There is a mysterious controller somewhere in the NAS that climbed this aircraft to FL300 and failed to accomplish a proper point out with my sector. Safety was never compromised nor did I have any traffic for this aircraft. It did however; distract me from my duties for a period of time that was longer than I care to admit.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ZDC Controller reported of an airspace deviation where no one knew who was talking to an aircraft in his airspace. The target autopopped on the radar scope and the Controller called the Controller who the aircraft was tagged to. The aircraft was not properly handed off.

Narrative: Aircraft X 'autopopped' on my radar display as it crossed a sector boundary climbing to FL300; according to the data block. I called the sector (Pinion; Sector 4) that had track control of the aircraft and asked if I missed their phone call. They didn't know what I meant and I further explained that Aircraft X was in my airspace climbing; I wasn't talking to the aircraft and that no point-out was accomplished. The controller at sector 4 said they were not talking to this aircraft. They broadcast in the blind to Aircraft X and the aircraft was on their frequency. I then said that Aircraft X was point out approved and assumed that sector 60; Montebello; was responsible for this misstep. I spoke to the sector 60 controller who told me they didn't know who I was talking about. They found the aircraft and said 'point out approved' too. There is a mysterious controller somewhere in the NAS that climbed this aircraft to FL300 and failed to accomplish a proper point out with my sector. Safety was never compromised nor did I have any traffic for this aircraft. It did however; distract me from my duties for a period of time that was longer than I care to admit.

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	1369498
Time
Date	201607
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZDC.ARTCC
State Reference	VA
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Large Transport Low Wing 3 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Enroute
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Experience	Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 14
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Airspace Violation All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

ZDC controller reported of an airspace deviation where no one knew who was talking to an aircraft in his airspace. The target autopopped on the radar scope and the controller called the controller who the aircraft was tagged to. The aircraft was not properly handed off.