Miscellaneous -- asde operations unreliable due to many failures.

Attributes
ACN	329005
Time
Date	199602
Day	Sun
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : mci
State Reference	MO
Altitude	agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Person 1
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : local
Qualification	controller : radar
Experience	controller radar : 5
ASRS Report	329005
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	none taken : unable
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Navigational Facility
Air Traffic Incident	other
Situations
Navigational Aid	Unspecified

Narrative:

The asde equipment went out during departure rush. In my opinion it seems like the asde is out to maintenance more than normal. At our airport this equipment needs to be reliable due to the obstruction of a new tower and our need to hit departure slots. During this situation it was needed (asde). Also, during times in IFR WX with the tower obstruction the asde is unreliable and is really needed.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MISCELLANEOUS -- ASDE OPS UNRELIABLE DUE TO MANY FAILURES.

Narrative: THE ASDE EQUIP WENT OUT DURING DEP RUSH. IN MY OPINION IT SEEMS LIKE THE ASDE IS OUT TO MAINT MORE THAN NORMAL. AT OUR ARPT THIS EQUIP NEEDS TO BE RELIABLE DUE TO THE OBSTRUCTION OF A NEW TWR AND OUR NEED TO HIT DEP SLOTS. DURING THIS SIT IT WAS NEEDED (ASDE). ALSO, DURING TIMES IN IFR WX WITH THE TWR OBSTRUCTION THE ASDE IS UNRELIABLE AND IS REALLY NEEDED.

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.