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|
Attributes | |
ACN | 1548108 |
Time | |
Date | 201806 |
Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
Place | |
Locale Reference | SFO.Tower |
State Reference | CA |
Aircraft 1 | |
Make Model Name | B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
Flight Phase | Taxi |
Flight Plan | IFR |
Person 1 | |
Function | Flight Data / Clearance Delivery |
Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
Events | |
Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
The configuration was 28/28 right turns. What this means is the trukn SID was being utilized for departures off of runways 28. In the past; [a company] removed the ability for [widebody transport] series aircraft from flying the trukn right turn off of runways 28. I never knew why the restriction; just that they could not fly it by company regulation(s). So; when I returned and was asked to work clearance delivery; I had this in mind and issued the clearances to the [widebody transport] series aircraft accordingly. Then [a company aircraft] called and asked about not being able to fly the trukn due to a new company regulation effective june 1st. I inquired as I had not heard of this one yet. The supervisor overheard my conversation and told me to have the pilot contact them on 128.65 to explain something. I thought to myself; this is interesting. Then I heard the supervisor tell the pilot that the company information was wrong; and that they themselves had checked with the flight department and it was in fact okay for them to fly the trukn SID off of runways 28. Well; I was not believing what I was hearing…an ATC supervisor telling a pilot to disregard company regulations; hmmm.this was not something I could back up. So; when the next pilot called me; I do not recall the call sign; but they were number 6 or 7 in the lineup and asked if they should have the sntna SID since I was giving it to others. I said it was just for aircraft that could not fly the trukn. They said that they wanted the trukn SID because they thought something was (my words) amiss with what was going on. I gave them the sntna SID and marked the strip for local assist to advise nct they would now be straight out. Well; the supervisor said they did not need it. I said the pilot requested it; so I gave it to them as I would any flight that said they wanted a different SID for the runways in use. There were a couple of other flights that called where they inquired about the same [issue]. I asked one of them where their information was published. They said the sfo 10-7 C page 4. I said thank you.fast forward a bit and I was working local assist when ground passed a strip that was a 757. I pulled out my scrap of paper that I wrote down the sfo 10-7 information and told ground to tell the pilot that we were informed of this information and where it was located for the pilot to confirm company regulations before departing. As I did this; the supervisor had just returned from their break and got in my face asking where I got this information. I said I asked a pilot where it was published and provided the same to the pilots who were not aware of the recent change so they could protect their ticket flying. When I told them the sfo 10-7 C page 4 as given to me by a pilot; they asked ground to have the pilot call them on 128.65 and said to the pilot to disregard the company regulation and that they had cleared it up with the company that it did not apply. After concluding that conversation; the pilot came back to the local control frequency and asked for a heading and altitude straight out. The controller asked if they could accept the sntna SID; and with pilot concurrence issued the sntna.the supervisor then came to me and said 'do not initiate any conversation about this again; with anyone!' I complied and was relieved for the day shortly thereafter. I really did not like the way this played out. We; ATC; should not be in any way shape or form telling pilots to break company regulations; period!
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: SFO Controller reported a company restriction to using the TRUKN2 SID that the Controller was not made aware of. Controller reported Supervisor instructed company aircraft to disregard company policy; and reprimanded Controller while on control position for complying with pilot request.
Narrative: The configuration was 28/28 right turns. What this means is the TRUKN SID was being utilized for departures off of Runways 28. In the past; [a company] removed the ability for [widebody transport] series aircraft from flying the TRUKN right turn off of Runways 28. I never knew why the restriction; just that they could not fly it by company regulation(s). So; when I returned and was asked to work Clearance Delivery; I had this in mind and issued the clearances to the [widebody transport] series aircraft accordingly. Then [a company aircraft] called and asked about not being able to fly the TRUKN due to a new company regulation effective June 1st. I inquired as I had not heard of this one yet. The Supervisor overheard my conversation and told me to have the pilot contact them on 128.65 to explain something. I thought to myself; this is interesting. Then I heard the Supervisor tell the pilot that the company information was wrong; and that they themselves had checked with the flight department and it was in fact okay for them to fly the TRUKN SID off of Runways 28. Well; I was not believing what I was hearing…an ATC supervisor telling a pilot to disregard company regulations; hmmm.This was not something I could back up. So; when the next pilot called me; I do not recall the call sign; but they were number 6 or 7 in the lineup and asked if they should have the SNTNA SID since I was giving it to others. I said it was just for aircraft that could not fly the TRUKN. They said that they wanted the TRUKN SID because they thought something was (my words) amiss with what was going on. I gave them the SNTNA SID and marked the strip for Local Assist to advise NCT they would now be straight out. Well; the Supervisor said they did not need it. I said the pilot requested it; so I gave it to them as I would any flight that said they wanted a different SID for the runways in use. There were a couple of other flights that called where they inquired about the same [issue]. I asked one of them where their information was published. They said the SFO 10-7 C page 4. I said thank you.Fast forward a bit and I was working Local Assist when Ground passed a strip that was a 757. I pulled out my scrap of paper that I wrote down the SFO 10-7 information and told Ground to tell the pilot that we were informed of this information and where it was located for the pilot to confirm company regulations before departing. As I did this; the Supervisor had just returned from their break and got in my face asking where I got this information. I said I asked a pilot where it was published and provided the same to the pilots who were not aware of the recent change so they could protect their ticket flying. When I told them the SFO 10-7 C page 4 as given to me by a pilot; they asked Ground to have the pilot call them on 128.65 and said to the pilot to disregard the company regulation and that they had cleared it up with the company that it did not apply. After concluding that conversation; the pilot came back to the Local Control frequency and asked for a heading and altitude straight out. The controller asked if they could accept the SNTNA SID; and with pilot concurrence issued the SNTNA.The Supervisor then came to me and said 'Do not initiate ANY conversation about this again; with anyone!' I complied and was relieved for the day shortly thereafter. I really did not like the way this played out. We; ATC; should not be in any way shape or form telling pilots to break company regulations; PERIOD!
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.