Narrative:

I was the ojti (on-the-job training instructor) in a training session on local control (local control). The supervisor had just released control of our ASR 8 radar to tech ops to perform repairs. This meant we were going to lose our single sensor abilities but stay in fusion mode. We were given less than 15 minutes notice of the outage and it was unclear what procedures we were supposed to be following. We were then told to follow 'cenrap' (center radar presentation) procedures which no longer existed since we were now operating under stars/fusion. The cenrap procedures button on the ids (information display system) had been removed; so our quick reference was gone. Subsequently; everyone was trying to guess/remember what the cenrap procedures entailed. Part of this was passing inbounds to the tower. Radar forgot to pass an inbound (aircraft X) and he subsequently dropped off radar and radar forgot about him. He dropped off early enough that we never saw him on final on our radar depiction. When radar discovered the missing aircraft; they called us on local control asking if we knew where he was; we replied negative and started searching visually for him. Meanwhile; aircraft Y was in the pattern and had turned base in direct conflict with aircraft X. Aircraft X and aircraft Y saw each other and initiated action to avoid each other. Aircraft X made a right turn and initiated a go around while aircraft Y made a left turn to a crosswind.everyone needs to be fully aware what procedures are being implemented during a major equipment outage. All controllers should have been advised to refresh themselves on our ASR 8 outage procedures in the SOP via pre-duty cedar message or via face to face supervisor briefing. Using deprecated terms like 'cenrap' to describe what we should be doing is a disservice since those procedures are no longer in effect; are no longer taught; and cause uncertainty; ambiguity; and speculation about what we're supposed to be doing. Even with our last minute notice; being told to follow the ASR 8 outage procedures per the SOP would have been much better than to say we're following cenrap procedures; so at least we know where to look up what we should be doing.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air Traffic Controllers reported a radar outage without adequate warning that resulted in airborne conflict between two aircraft.

Narrative: I was the OJTI (On-the-Job Training Instructor) in a training session on LC (Local Control). The Supervisor had just released control of our ASR 8 radar to tech ops to perform repairs. This meant we were going to lose our single sensor abilities but stay in Fusion mode. We were given less than 15 minutes notice of the outage and it was unclear what procedures we were supposed to be following. We were then told to follow 'CENRAP' (Center Radar Presentation) procedures which no longer existed since we were now operating under STARS/Fusion. The CENRAP procedures button on the IDS (Information Display System) had been removed; so our quick reference was gone. Subsequently; everyone was trying to guess/remember what the CENRAP procedures entailed. Part of this was passing inbounds to the Tower. Radar forgot to pass an inbound (Aircraft X) and he subsequently dropped off radar and Radar forgot about him. He dropped off early enough that we never saw him on final on our radar depiction. When Radar discovered the missing aircraft; they called us on LC asking if we knew where he was; we replied negative and started searching visually for him. Meanwhile; Aircraft Y was in the pattern and had turned base in direct conflict with Aircraft X. Aircraft X and Aircraft Y saw each other and initiated action to avoid each other. Aircraft X made a right turn and initiated a go around while Aircraft Y made a left turn to a crosswind.Everyone needs to be fully aware what procedures are being implemented during a major equipment outage. All controllers should have been advised to refresh themselves on our ASR 8 outage procedures in the SOP via pre-duty CEDAR message or via face to face Supervisor briefing. Using deprecated terms like 'CENRAP' to describe what we should be doing is a disservice since those procedures are no longer in effect; are no longer taught; and cause uncertainty; ambiguity; and speculation about what we're supposed to be doing. Even with our last minute notice; being told to follow the ASR 8 outage procedures per the SOP would have been much better than to say we're following CENRAP procedures; so at least we know where to look up what we should be doing.

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.