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Hef controller reported a VFR aircraft lost sight of the airfield and descended unnoticed to 400 feet.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1550143 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201806 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | HEF.Tower |
| State Reference | VA |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Small Aircraft Low Wing 1 Eng Fixed Gear |
| Flight Phase | Final Approach |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Local |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 4 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT |
Narrative:
Aircraft in right closed traffic runway 34R widened out eastward on the downwind and extended downwind. Pilot called approximately 3 1/2 miles southeast of the field and said he lost sight of the airport and asked for vectors. I gave him turns toward the airport. He got the airport in sight and landed. I did not see that at one point he was at 400 feet. I had worked over 2 hours 2 times this shift. Supervisor was the only other cpc on duty. Supervisor did not provide me with adequate breaks. Would recommend that when supervisors are used for staffing that they stay within a normal rotation to prevent controller fatigue.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: HEF Controller reported a VFR aircraft lost sight of the airfield and descended unnoticed to 400 feet.
Narrative: Aircraft in right closed traffic Runway 34R widened out eastward on the downwind and extended downwind. Pilot called approximately 3 1/2 miles southeast of the field and said he lost sight of the airport and asked for vectors. I gave him turns toward the airport. He got the airport in sight and landed. I did not see that at one point he was at 400 feet. I had worked over 2 hours 2 times this shift. Supervisor was the only other CPC on duty. Supervisor did not provide me with adequate breaks. Would recommend that when supervisors are used for staffing that they stay within a normal rotation to prevent controller fatigue.
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.