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ZSE controller had to vector an aircraft off course because the aircraft was experiencing downdrafts and descended below the minimum IFR altitude.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1399718 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201611 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZSE.ARTCC |
| State Reference | WA |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Enroute |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 1 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
Narrative:
Aircraft X departed and was climbing to 10;000 feet. I just got a briefing from the previous controller and was told that this aircraft was in a slow climb to 10;000 feet. The aircraft barely climbed above the 9;000 foot minimum IFR altitude (mia). The aircraft was thru about 9;600 feet when he said he was experiencing a down draft and couldn't hold altitude. We noticed him descending and issued a low altitude alert. He descended to 8;600 feet; which is below the mia. I turned him back to the east to the lower mia away from the higher 9;600 foot mia. Once he was able to hold altitude I asked his intentions and eventually vectored him north of a mountain which was the highest obstruction in the area. I don't doubt the aircraft was in a down draft but also suspected the aircraft was overloaded and/or inexperienced because had a hard time navigating.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: ZSE Controller had to vector an aircraft off course because the aircraft was experiencing downdrafts and descended below the Minimum IFR Altitude.
Narrative: Aircraft X departed and was climbing to 10;000 feet. I just got a briefing from the previous controller and was told that this aircraft was in a slow climb to 10;000 feet. The aircraft barely climbed above the 9;000 foot Minimum IFR Altitude (MIA). The aircraft was thru about 9;600 feet when he said he was experiencing a down draft and couldn't hold altitude. We noticed him descending and issued a low altitude alert. He descended to 8;600 feet; which is below the MIA. I turned him back to the east to the lower MIA away from the higher 9;600 foot MIA. Once he was able to hold altitude I asked his intentions and eventually vectored him north of a mountain which was the highest obstruction in the area. I don't doubt the aircraft was in a down draft but also suspected the aircraft was overloaded and/or inexperienced because had a hard time navigating.
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.