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Eri controller reports of DC9 flight crew notification of flare shot in vicinity of aircraft when overflying golf course.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 510709 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200105 |
| Day | Sat |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601 To 1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : eri.airport |
| State Reference | PA |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | tower : eri.tower tower : den.tower |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | DC-9 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Navigation In Use | ils localizer & glide slope : 6 |
| Flight Phase | descent : approach |
| Route In Use | approach : visual approach : instrument precision |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | government : faa |
| Function | other personnel other |
| Qualification | controller : radar |
| Experience | controller limited radar : 2 controller military : 4 controller non radar : 25 controller radar : 30 controller supervisory : 2 controller time certified in position1 : 13 |
| ASRS Report | 510709 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Qualification | pilot : atp |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | inflight encounter other non adherence : published procedure non adherence : far |
| Independent Detector | other other : 4 |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : insufficient time |
| Consequence | faa : reviewed incident with flight crew faa : investigated |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Company |
| Primary Problem | Company |
Narrative:
DC9 on visual approach to runway 6. Passenger (2) noticed flares exploding near right side of aircraft as they passed over a golf course on 3 mi final. They told captain, who told tower. Tower called a local country club to discover they had shot off 2 flares to signify the start of a shotgun start golf tournament. No notification was given to the tower of this planned activity. Neither the flight crew nor tower controller saw the flares explode. Tower controller advised he noticed a small area of smoke behind aircraft as it was on short final, could not determine distance or altitude. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: reporter had been made aware of the situation by other controllers and submitted an event report. Reporter advised that management effected coordination with event manager and obtained a change of practice -- to discontinue the flare gun use and return to a shotgun to announce the event start.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: ERI CTLR RPTS OF DC9 FLC NOTIFICATION OF FLARE SHOT IN VICINITY OF ACFT WHEN OVERFLYING GOLF COURSE.
Narrative: DC9 ON VISUAL APCH TO RWY 6. PAX (2) NOTICED FLARES EXPLODING NEAR R SIDE OF ACFT AS THEY PASSED OVER A GOLF COURSE ON 3 MI FINAL. THEY TOLD CAPT, WHO TOLD TWR. TWR CALLED A LCL COUNTRY CLUB TO DISCOVER THEY HAD SHOT OFF 2 FLARES TO SIGNIFY THE START OF A SHOTGUN START GOLF TOURNAMENT. NO NOTIFICATION WAS GIVEN TO THE TWR OF THIS PLANNED ACTIVITY. NEITHER THE FLC NOR TWR CTLR SAW THE FLARES EXPLODE. TWR CTLR ADVISED HE NOTICED A SMALL AREA OF SMOKE BEHIND ACFT AS IT WAS ON SHORT FINAL, COULD NOT DETERMINE DISTANCE OR ALT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR HAD BEEN MADE AWARE OF THE SIT BY OTHER CTLRS AND SUBMITTED AN EVENT RPT. RPTR ADVISED THAT MGMNT EFFECTED COORD WITH EVENT MGR AND OBTAINED A CHANGE OF PRACTICE -- TO DISCONTINUE THE FLARE GUN USE AND RETURN TO A SHOTGUN TO ANNOUNCE THE EVENT START.
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.