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Eugene air traffic control tower operator reported tower lighting panel out of service; hindering IFR operations.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1501457 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201712 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | EUG.Tower |
| State Reference | OR |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Small Aircraft Low Wing 2 Eng Retractable Gear |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 135 |
| Flight Phase | Final Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Approach |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
Aircraft X was being vectored for the ILS. Tower lighting panel for airport lights was out of service due to a power outage the day before. The airport management decided; in their infinite wisdom; to just have ATC call their representative to have them change the airport lighting when needed. The night airport management person on duty was not properly trained in how to use the lighting panel; and with the visibility dropping rapidly; the runway lights needed to be on step 5. Airport management was unable to turn the lights up to step 5 with the visibility dropping to less than 1/4SM. Their electrician called the tower; and was extremely unhelpful and obstructive. Luckily the medevac was able to land safely.airport management and their electrician are not reliable when it comes to having control of airport lighting. They are not properly trained; and when weather moves in like this; they cannot be relied upon to make the changes to the airport lighting in a timely manner. This cannot go on [further] while we wait for a new lighting panel to be acquired and installed. It extremely unsafe.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Eugene air traffic control Tower operator reported Tower lighting panel out of service; hindering IFR operations.
Narrative: Aircraft X was being vectored for the ILS. Tower lighting panel for airport lights was out of service due to a power outage the day before. The airport management decided; in their infinite wisdom; to just have ATC call their representative to have them change the airport lighting when needed. The night airport management person on duty was not properly trained in how to use the lighting panel; and with the visibility dropping rapidly; the runway lights needed to be on step 5. Airport management was unable to turn the lights up to step 5 with the visibility dropping to less than 1/4SM. Their electrician called the tower; and was extremely unhelpful and obstructive. Luckily the medevac was able to land safely.Airport management and their electrician are NOT reliable when it comes to having control of airport lighting. They are not properly trained; and when weather moves in like this; they cannot be relied upon to make the changes to the airport lighting in a timely manner. This cannot go on [further] while we wait for a new lighting panel to be acquired and installed. It extremely unsafe.
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.