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A seattle TRACON controller reported their airspace is unsafe due to the amount of unidentified VFR traffic allowed to fly in the same airspace as IFR aircraft conducting instrument approaches to several different airports in their airspace.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1651263 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201906 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | S46.TRACON |
| State Reference | WA |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Medium Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Route In Use | Vectors |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Light Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| 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) 10 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
All the aircraft mentioned above were vectored to remain clear of VFR traffic conflicts into bfi and pae. The situation at hand should put IFR aircraft in close proximity to VFR aircraft not in communication with ATC. This situation is becoming more routine at S46 and controllers are being put into situations that are unsafe. We are having to make the decision to push jet traffic lower than normal and vector them around traffic that is not in communication with us. The airspace between pae and bfi is extremely complex and limited. The airspace between pae and bfi needs to become controlled airspace or the bravo at least needs to be lowered. With the addition of pae commercial service it has brought new conflicts that have been proven to be unsafe. S46 needs help with class bravo redesign and it needs to happen fast. The supervisors also need to be paying attention more. A handoff or the position should have been split. This has been a problem also with the addition of the pae commercial service; the supervisors are not splitting the pae and bfi sectors or at least providing a handoff for assistance.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Seattle TRACON Controller reported their airspace is unsafe due to the amount of unidentified VFR traffic allowed to fly in the same airspace as IFR aircraft conducting instrument approaches to several different airports in their airspace.
Narrative: All the aircraft mentioned above were vectored to remain clear of VFR traffic conflicts into BFI and PAE. The situation at hand should put IFR aircraft in close proximity to VFR aircraft not in communication with ATC. This situation is becoming more routine at S46 and controllers are being put into situations that are unsafe. We are having to make the decision to push jet traffic lower than normal and vector them around traffic that is not in communication with us. The airspace between PAE and BFI is extremely complex and limited. The airspace between PAE and BFI needs to become controlled airspace or the Bravo at least needs to be lowered. With the addition of PAE commercial service it has brought new conflicts that have been proven to be unsafe. S46 needs help with Class Bravo redesign and it needs to happen fast. The supervisors also need to be paying attention more. A handoff or the position should have been split. This has been a problem also with the addition of the PAE commercial service; the supervisors are not splitting the PAE and BFI sectors or at least providing a handoff for assistance.
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.