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ZDC controller working MD11 descending to FL310 head-on to a B727 climbing to FL350 expected the aircraft to be at assigned altitudes before separation was a problem.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 472651 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200005 |
| Day | Tue |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801 To 2400 |
| Place | |
| State Reference | NC |
| Altitude | msl bound lower : 33000 msl bound upper : 35000 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | artcc : zdc.artcc tower : agc.tower |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | B727 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | climbout : vacating altitude |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Controlling Facilities | artcc : zdc.artcc |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | DC-10 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | descent : vacating altitude |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | government : faa |
| Function | controller : radar |
| Qualification | controller : radar |
| Experience | controller military : 2 controller radar : 12 |
| ASRS Report | 472651 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Qualification | pilot : atp |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | conflict : airborne less severe non adherence : published procedure |
| Independent Detector | atc equipment : conflict alert other controllera |
| Miss Distance | horizontal : 27000 vertical : 1500 |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | ATC Human Performance |
| Primary Problem | ATC Human Performance |
| Air Traffic Incident | Operational Error |
Narrative:
MD11 descending from FL370 to FL330, head on B727 climbing from FL310 to FL350. B727 assigned heading and told me climb rate would be 1200-1500 FPM. MD11 descended 3000 FPM to FL330, was told to turn left, but did not state call sign during readback and did not turn. B727 actually climbed at less than 600 FPM when tracking was complete. Several other conflicts diverted my attention from incident until too late, but it still should have worked.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: ZDC CTLR WORKING MD11 DSNDING TO FL310 HEAD-ON TO A B727 CLBING TO FL350 EXPECTED THE ACFT TO BE AT ASSIGNED ALTS BEFORE SEPARATION WAS A PROB.
Narrative: MD11 DSNDING FROM FL370 TO FL330, HEAD ON B727 CLBING FROM FL310 TO FL350. B727 ASSIGNED HDG AND TOLD ME CLB RATE WOULD BE 1200-1500 FPM. MD11 DSNDED 3000 FPM TO FL330, WAS TOLD TO TURN L, BUT DID NOT STATE CALL SIGN DURING READBACK AND DID NOT TURN. B727 ACTUALLY CLBED AT LESS THAN 600 FPM WHEN TRACKING WAS COMPLETE. SEVERAL OTHER CONFLICTS DIVERTED MY ATTN FROM INCIDENT UNTIL TOO LATE, BUT IT STILL SHOULD HAVE WORKED.
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.