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A climbing T38 experiences a loss of standard separation with another aircraft at FL240 when the military pilot misinterps the heading assignment given by ATC.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 418290 |
| Time | |
| Date | 199810 |
| Day | Tue |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201 To 1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | atc facility : cbm |
| State Reference | MS |
| Altitude | msl bound lower : 24000 msl bound upper : 24000 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | artcc : zme |
| Operator | other |
| Make Model Name | Talon |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | climbout : intermediate altitude |
| Route In Use | departure other enroute : on vectors |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | cruise other |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | government : faa |
| Function | controller : radar |
| Qualification | controller : radar |
| ASRS Report | 418290 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | government : military |
| Function | instruction : instructor oversight : pic |
| Qualification | pilot : military |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | aircraft equipment problem : less severe conflict : airborne less severe non adherence : clearance non adherence : required legal separation other anomaly other other spatial deviation |
| Independent Detector | atc equipment other atc equipment : unspecified other controllera |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : detected after the fact |
| Consequence | Other |
| Miss Distance | horizontal : 25200 vertical : 0 |
| Supplementary | |
| Primary Problem | Aircraft |
| Air Traffic Incident | Pilot Deviation Operational Error |
Narrative:
A T38 aircraft from columbus AFB departed southeast and began a climbing turn to FL230. I cleared the aircraft to FL270 and assigned a heading of 345 degrees to avoid overflt traffic at FL240. The aircraft turned instead to a heading of 245 degrees and came closer than minimum separation to the overflt aircraft. After listening to the ATC tapes several times we were able to determine that the T38 did read back 'heading 245 degrees.' however, with his use of UHF radios while wearing a mask, the transmission was not quite so clear when it was received on the sector. The FAA needs to re-evaluate the effectiveness of its UHF radios and their clarity. UHF radios are consistently hard to understand and have coverage problems, problems we rarely have with VHF.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A CLBING T38 EXPERIENCES A LOSS OF STANDARD SEPARATION WITH ANOTHER ACFT AT FL240 WHEN THE MIL PLT MISINTERPS THE HDG ASSIGNMENT GIVEN BY ATC.
Narrative: A T38 ACFT FROM COLUMBUS AFB DEPARTED SE AND BEGAN A CLBING TURN TO FL230. I CLRED THE ACFT TO FL270 AND ASSIGNED A HDG OF 345 DEGS TO AVOID OVERFLT TFC AT FL240. THE ACFT TURNED INSTEAD TO A HDG OF 245 DEGS AND CAME CLOSER THAN MINIMUM SEPARATION TO THE OVERFLT ACFT. AFTER LISTENING TO THE ATC TAPES SEVERAL TIMES WE WERE ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THE T38 DID READ BACK 'HDG 245 DEGS.' HOWEVER, WITH HIS USE OF UHF RADIOS WHILE WEARING A MASK, THE XMISSION WAS NOT QUITE SO CLR WHEN IT WAS RECEIVED ON THE SECTOR. THE FAA NEEDS TO RE-EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ITS UHF RADIOS AND THEIR CLARITY. UHF RADIOS ARE CONSISTENTLY HARD TO UNDERSTAND AND HAVE COVERAGE PROBS, PROBS WE RARELY HAVE WITH VHF.
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.