Narrative:

While working approach to el paso international, I lost all communication frequencys. I was sequencing 2 aircraft to final, one from the east and the other from the west. Aircraft were approximately 10 mi apart without each other in sight when all communication was lost. Approximately 2 mins later, the tower lost all communication frequencys. Departures were stopped and arrs held in center's airspace. The backup radios are unreliable and in a position not easily accessible to the approach controller. The pilots involved visually acquired each other and sequenced themselves. There was no loss of separation thanks to the pilots. They contacted the tower and were cleared to land. We have icss, the most modern system the FAA has. The technicians said the failure was caused by the failure of a single circuit board. This obviously is a poor design. In addition, this was not classified a major outage because the telephone lines were working. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: all communication was lost in both the TRACON and the tower for about 5 mins. Technicians found a bad circuit board in the icss equipment. Reporter states that this is an isolated incident. Generally, the equipment works good without any communication interruptions. No less than standard separation was reported. The real problem appears to be the backup transceivers. Reporter said that they only have 2 in the control room and they are located away from position of operations. In addition he stated that they are good up to approximately 20 mi. No ucr filed. Telephone company lines were not impacted.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: APCH CTLR LOST ALL COM CAPABILITY FOR APPROX 5 MINS.

Narrative: WHILE WORKING APCH TO EL PASO INTL, I LOST ALL COM FREQS. I WAS SEQUENCING 2 ACFT TO FINAL, ONE FROM THE E AND THE OTHER FROM THE W. ACFT WERE APPROX 10 MI APART WITHOUT EACH OTHER IN SIGHT WHEN ALL COM WAS LOST. APPROX 2 MINS LATER, THE TWR LOST ALL COM FREQS. DEPS WERE STOPPED AND ARRS HELD IN CTR'S AIRSPACE. THE BACKUP RADIOS ARE UNRELIABLE AND IN A POS NOT EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO THE APCH CTLR. THE PLTS INVOLVED VISUALLY ACQUIRED EACH OTHER AND SEQUENCED THEMSELVES. THERE WAS NO LOSS OF SEPARATION THANKS TO THE PLTS. THEY CONTACTED THE TWR AND WERE CLRED TO LAND. WE HAVE ICSS, THE MOST MODERN SYS THE FAA HAS. THE TECHNICIANS SAID THE FAILURE WAS CAUSED BY THE FAILURE OF A SINGLE CIRCUIT BOARD. THIS OBVIOUSLY IS A POOR DESIGN. IN ADDITION, THIS WAS NOT CLASSIFIED A MAJOR OUTAGE BECAUSE THE TELEPHONE LINES WERE WORKING. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: ALL COM WAS LOST IN BOTH THE TRACON AND THE TWR FOR ABOUT 5 MINS. TECHNICIANS FOUND A BAD CIRCUIT BOARD IN THE ICSS EQUIP. RPTR STATES THAT THIS IS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. GENERALLY, THE EQUIP WORKS GOOD WITHOUT ANY COM INTERRUPTIONS. NO LTSS WAS RPTED. THE REAL PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE THE BACKUP TRANSCEIVERS. RPTR SAID THAT THEY ONLY HAVE 2 IN THE CTL ROOM AND THEY ARE LOCATED AWAY FROM POS OF OPS. IN ADDITION HE STATED THAT THEY ARE GOOD UP TO APPROX 20 MI. NO UCR FILED. TELCO LINES WERE NOT IMPACTED.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.