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Attributes | |
ACN | 1704202 |
Time | |
Date | 201911 |
Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
Place | |
Locale Reference | ZMA.ARTCC |
State Reference | FL |
Aircraft 1 | |
Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
Flight Phase | Descent |
Route In Use | Direct |
Flight Plan | IFR |
Aircraft 2 | |
Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
Flight Phase | Climb |
Route In Use | Vectors |
Flight Plan | IFR |
Person 1 | |
Function | Enroute |
Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 1.0 |
Events | |
Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types |
Narrative:
Aircraft X was on course from bahma to rajay descending from 21;000 feet to 17;000 feet. Aircraft Y was on a 135 heading climbing to 21;000 feet. On those specific tracks; aircraft X would pass off of aircraft Y left side by about 6 miles. Aircraft X target; however; started jumping within a few miles of where he actually was. This is a radar issue that has been going on in that spot for at least a couple of weeks and tech operations has been aware of the issue. Aircraft X target first jumped slightly to the right and his vector line went due east; and then the next hit the target was back on track. It then jumped slightly to the left and showed a due south heading; and then jumped back on track again. At this point I decided to turn aircraft Y to the right; just to ensure there wouldn't be an issue; but as aircraft Y was turning; aircraft X target jumped again; and this time it showed within 5 miles of aircraft Y target. I believe at this point their altitudes were both passing 19;000 feet; aircraft X still descending and aircraft Y still climbing. There was never actually an issue of separation since it was a radar anomaly; but the scope did show the targets about 4 miles apart when the target jumped. After another sweep aircraft X target was back on track and well outside of aircraft Y 5-mile ring. I'm not sure what could have been done differently since the target jumps and radar anomalies are a known issue and cannot be predicted. There was no way to know where aircraft X target was going to jump; but the actual aircraft was always on course and never lost separation with aircraft Y.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: ZMA Center Controller reported an aircraft's radar target on their scope jumping and giving erroneous heading indications led to a erroneous indication of a separation error with opposite direction traffic.
Narrative: Aircraft X was on course from BAHMA to RAJAY descending from 21;000 feet to 17;000 feet. Aircraft Y was on a 135 heading climbing to 21;000 feet. On those specific tracks; Aircraft X would pass off of Aircraft Y left side by about 6 miles. Aircraft X target; however; started jumping within a few miles of where he actually was. This is a radar issue that has been going on in that spot for at least a couple of weeks and Tech Operations has been aware of the issue. Aircraft X target first jumped slightly to the right and his vector line went due east; and then the next hit the target was back on track. It then jumped slightly to the left and showed a due south heading; and then jumped back on track again. At this point I decided to turn Aircraft Y to the right; just to ensure there wouldn't be an issue; but as Aircraft Y was turning; Aircraft X target jumped again; and this time it showed within 5 miles of Aircraft Y target. I believe at this point their altitudes were both passing 19;000 feet; Aircraft X still descending and Aircraft Y still climbing. There was never actually an issue of separation since it was a radar anomaly; but the scope did show the targets about 4 miles apart when the target jumped. After another sweep Aircraft X target was back on track and well outside of Aircraft Y 5-mile ring. I'm not sure what could have been done differently since the target jumps and radar anomalies are a known issue and cannot be predicted. There was no way to know where Aircraft X target was going to jump; but the actual aircraft was always on course and never lost separation with Aircraft Y.
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.