37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
Attributes | |
ACN | 1453353 |
Time | |
Date | 201706 |
Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
Place | |
Locale Reference | SCT.TRACON |
State Reference | CA |
Environment | |
Flight Conditions | VMC |
Light | Daylight |
Aircraft 1 | |
Make Model Name | A320 |
Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
Flight Phase | Descent |
Route In Use | Vectors |
Flight Plan | IFR |
Aircraft 2 | |
Make Model Name | B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
Flight Phase | Descent |
Route In Use | Vectors |
Flight Plan | IFR |
Person 1 | |
Function | Approach |
Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 15 |
Events | |
Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
We were briefed that a new jump zone was being worked over the bng airport. We were told 13500 feet and below; up to 20 jumps per day; over one of the busiest VFR transition areas west of the rockies. All of our metroplex procedures; which includes several descend via routes; descend through this same area. The ont arrivals in particular descend through that area somewhere between 10000-12000 feet. There is an airway that goes through that area with IFR aircraft at 10000 to 12000 feet.in addition we have another IFR route to airports (sna; lgb) that goes right over the bng airport IFR at 12000 feet. [A jump aircraft] called up the springs sector for flight following at 12200 feet as it made it's climb and jump run. It just so happened that at the same time there was aircraft X descending on the new a RNAV STAR. It was coordinated with me that they were stopped at 14000 feet as to remain clear of the jump aircraft. I had another descend via aircraft on an RNAV STAR descending out of 14000 feet. They initially go to 13000 feet and then to 11000 feet and further down to 8000 feet. I immediately stopped this aircraft; aircraft Y; at 13000 feet; anticipating that I needed to get underneath them with aircraft X.by the time I talked to aircraft X I didn't feel I could safely get underneath aircraft Y so I vectored aircraft X on a heading of 230 and descended them to 6000 feet. As soon as they were passing through 12000 feet I turned aircraft X back to the RNAV arrival route. By the time I could safely descend aircraft Y they no longer felt they could make the descend via clearance so I had to vector them off the route so they could make their crossing restriction. I wasn't busy thankfully. This is a lot of work for an aircraft that has decided to set up a jump zone in an arrival corridor. There is no letter of agreement (LOA); no procedures in place; no pre-planning for us as a facility; and no help from the powers that be up above us. We weren't even briefed until the morning of.safety is a number one concern in the FAA and in this building and rightfully so. But allowing this operation to continue with no rules attached is not only completely unsafe; but it puts the controllers in harm's way as well as they will have to be moving aircraft all over the place to accommodate this person's operations. We can't even see the jump aircraft in that area because of poor radar coverage below 6000 feet. We already know that there are numerous aircraft every day that transition that pass low level because we see them pop up just west of psp airport and just east of riv airport. We can move aircraft to the best of our ability that we can see; but what about the aircraft we can't see and aren't talking to? We have no ability to advise the jumper when a low-level aircraft is transitioning the jump area and to give proper 'hold the jumps' calls. If this operation is allowed to continue; it is only a matter of time before a tragic event unfolds.this jump zone should not be allowed in this area. The flying public has the right to transition to and from the desert free from being in harms way. It is not fair to the poor people jumping out of planes having fun; not to know the actual danger they are in. It is not right to delay IFR passenger jets and to pose risks to them getting too close to the jump aircraft as it climbs and descends in its jump runs. If for some reason this jump zone was allowed to continue; guidelines; rules and procedures must be implemented in order to reduce risk.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: SCT Controller reported a Parachute jump zone has been established which is in conflict with RNAV Arrival routes and busy VFR transition traffic.
Narrative: We were briefed that a new jump zone was being worked over the BNG airport. We were told 13500 Feet and below; up to 20 jumps per day; over one of the busiest VFR transition areas west of the Rockies. All of our Metroplex procedures; which includes several descend via routes; descend through this same area. The ONT arrivals in particular descend through that area somewhere between 10000-12000 feet. There is an airway that goes through that area with IFR aircraft at 10000 to 12000 feet.In addition we have another IFR route to airports (SNA; LGB) that goes right over the BNG airport IFR at 12000 feet. [A jump aircraft] called up the Springs sector for flight following at 12200 feet as it made it's climb and jump run. It just so happened that at the same time there was Aircraft X descending on the new a RNAV STAR. It was coordinated with me that they were stopped at 14000 feet as to remain clear of the jump aircraft. I had another descend via aircraft on an RNAV STAR descending out of 14000 feet. They initially go to 13000 feet and then to 11000 feet and further down to 8000 feet. I immediately stopped this aircraft; Aircraft Y; at 13000 feet; anticipating that I needed to get underneath them with Aircraft X.By the time I talked to Aircraft X I didn't feel I could safely get underneath Aircraft Y so I vectored Aircraft X on a heading of 230 and descended them to 6000 feet. As soon as they were passing through 12000 feet I turned Aircraft X back to the RNAV Arrival route. By the time I could safely descend Aircraft Y they no longer felt they could make the descend via clearance so I had to vector them off the route so they could make their crossing restriction. I wasn't busy thankfully. This is a lot of work for an aircraft that has decided to set up a jump zone in an arrival corridor. There is no Letter of Agreement (LOA); no procedures in place; no pre-planning for us as a facility; and no help from the powers that be up above us. We weren't even briefed until the morning of.Safety is a number one concern in the FAA and in this building and rightfully so. But allowing this operation to continue with no rules attached is not only completely unsafe; but it puts the controllers in harm's way as well as they will have to be moving aircraft all over the place to accommodate this person's operations. We can't even see the jump aircraft in that area because of poor radar coverage below 6000 feet. We already know that there are numerous aircraft every day that transition that pass low level because we see them pop up just west of PSP airport and just east of RIV airport. We can move aircraft to the best of our ability that we can see; but what about the aircraft we can't see and aren't talking to? We have no ability to advise the jumper when a low-level aircraft is transitioning the jump area and to give proper 'hold the jumps' calls. If this operation is allowed to continue; it is only a matter of time before a tragic event unfolds.This jump zone should not be allowed in this area. The flying public has the right to transition to and from the desert free from being in harms way. It is not fair to the poor people jumping out of planes having fun; not to know the actual danger they are in. It is not right to delay IFR passenger jets and to pose risks to them getting too close to the jump aircraft as it climbs and descends in its jump runs. If for some reason this jump zone was allowed to continue; guidelines; rules and procedures must be implemented in order to reduce risk.
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.