Narrative:

At approximately XA05 I was assigned to open the fll arrival radar function at position 'north' in the miami TRACON. I set up my radar scope and contacted the 'right' position via rdvs to initiate a relief briefing. The 'F' controller briefed me and I accepted the position. During the briefing; there were numerous garbled and blocked xmissions. Shortly thereafter; I descended aircraft X from 8000 ft to 7000 ft. Almost immediately; another controller working mia arrival yelled to no one in particular 'watch out for the gulf flight' aircraft Y. I was not aware of any aircraft Y and had not been briefed that any were a factor; so I was initially unconcerned. Aircraft Y was not displayed on my scope nor was I aware that he was on my frequency. At that point; the conflict alert went off between aircraft X and aircraft Y. Aircraft Y then called me and I immediately issued traffic at 10 O'clock position; 1 1/2 mi; descending out of 7500 ft. Aircraft Y advised he had the traffic in sight and I instructed him to maintain visual separation and turn right heading 270 degrees. I repeated the transmission when aircraft Y did not respond and he acknowledged the second transmission. Aircraft Y was on an 'south' tag; which is the position symbol for mia arrival and prior to the conflict alert going off was only displayed as a limited data block on my scope. I descended aircraft Y to 6000 ft and eventually turned the aircraft to a 180 degree heading. All handling was normal after that. Neither aircraft Y nor aircraft X indicated that they had received TCAS alerts. Aircraft Y was handed off from palm beach approach at 7000 ft. Normally; a handoff from palm beach would automatically hand off to the 'right' position ('right' had been configured to 'north' on this occasion); but in this case it handed off to 'south;' which is the miami arrival position. This is an automation problem that has been reported to local management on numerous occasions. The 'south' controller thought he had accepted the handoff from 'right.' since aircraft Y handed off to 'south' there was no full data block displayed on my scope. We currently are operating on stars build 15. The tags under my control were white and the limited data blocks; including aircraft Y; were green. Obviously; whatever automation problem that caused aircraft Y to automatically hand off to the 'south' position needs to be corrected. As I stated before; this is an ongoing problem that has been repeatedly reported to local management and there doesn't seem to be any haste to fix it.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MIA CTLR HAS OPERROR BTWN BE1900 AND AN A320 WHEN HE IS UNAWARE THE A320 IS IN THE NEWLY DE-COMBINED SECTOR. CTLR CITES ONGOING AUTOMATION ISSUE AS CONTRIBUTORY.

Narrative: AT APPROX XA05 I WAS ASSIGNED TO OPEN THE FLL ARR RADAR FUNCTION AT POS 'N' IN THE MIAMI TRACON. I SET UP MY RADAR SCOPE AND CONTACTED THE 'R' POS VIA RDVS TO INITIATE A RELIEF BRIEFING. THE 'F' CTLR BRIEFED ME AND I ACCEPTED THE POS. DURING THE BRIEFING; THERE WERE NUMEROUS GARBLED AND BLOCKED XMISSIONS. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; I DSNDED ACFT X FROM 8000 FT TO 7000 FT. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY; ANOTHER CTLR WORKING MIA ARR YELLED TO NO ONE IN PARTICULAR 'WATCH OUT FOR THE GULF FLT' ACFT Y. I WAS NOT AWARE OF ANY ACFT Y AND HAD NOT BEEN BRIEFED THAT ANY WERE A FACTOR; SO I WAS INITIALLY UNCONCERNED. ACFT Y WAS NOT DISPLAYED ON MY SCOPE NOR WAS I AWARE THAT HE WAS ON MY FREQ. AT THAT POINT; THE CONFLICT ALERT WENT OFF BTWN ACFT X AND ACFT Y. ACFT Y THEN CALLED ME AND I IMMEDIATELY ISSUED TFC AT 10 O'CLOCK POS; 1 1/2 MI; DSNDING OUT OF 7500 FT. ACFT Y ADVISED HE HAD THE TFC IN SIGHT AND I INSTRUCTED HIM TO MAINTAIN VISUAL SEPARATION AND TURN R HDG 270 DEGS. I REPEATED THE XMISSION WHEN ACFT Y DID NOT RESPOND AND HE ACKNOWLEDGED THE SECOND XMISSION. ACFT Y WAS ON AN 'S' TAG; WHICH IS THE POS SYMBOL FOR MIA ARR AND PRIOR TO THE CONFLICT ALERT GOING OFF WAS ONLY DISPLAYED AS A LIMITED DATA BLOCK ON MY SCOPE. I DSNDED ACFT Y TO 6000 FT AND EVENTUALLY TURNED THE ACFT TO A 180 DEG HDG. ALL HANDLING WAS NORMAL AFTER THAT. NEITHER ACFT Y NOR ACFT X INDICATED THAT THEY HAD RECEIVED TCAS ALERTS. ACFT Y WAS HANDED OFF FROM PALM BEACH APCH AT 7000 FT. NORMALLY; A HDOF FROM PALM BEACH WOULD AUTOMATICALLY HAND OFF TO THE 'R' POS ('R' HAD BEEN CONFIGURED TO 'N' ON THIS OCCASION); BUT IN THIS CASE IT HANDED OFF TO 'S;' WHICH IS THE MIAMI ARR POS. THIS IS AN AUTOMATION PROB THAT HAS BEEN RPTED TO LCL MGMNT ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE 'S' CTLR THOUGHT HE HAD ACCEPTED THE HDOF FROM 'R.' SINCE ACFT Y HANDED OFF TO 'S' THERE WAS NO FULL DATA BLOCK DISPLAYED ON MY SCOPE. WE CURRENTLY ARE OPERATING ON STARS BUILD 15. THE TAGS UNDER MY CTL WERE WHITE AND THE LIMITED DATA BLOCKS; INCLUDING ACFT Y; WERE GREEN. OBVIOUSLY; WHATEVER AUTOMATION PROB THAT CAUSED ACFT Y TO AUTOMATICALLY HAND OFF TO THE 'S' POS NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED. AS I STATED BEFORE; THIS IS AN ONGOING PROB THAT HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY RPTED TO LCL MGMNT AND THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY HASTE TO FIX IT.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 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.