<< >> NASA ASRS Report 784476, May 2008

C90 controller described conflict event when ord and mke departure aircraft were temporarily routed toward each other because of confused procedures.

Attributes
ACN	784476
Time
Date	200805
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : c90.tracon
State Reference	IL
Environment
Light	Daylight
Person 1
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : departure controller : radar controller : approach
Experience	controller military : 3 controller radar : 23 controller time certified in position1 : 10
ASRS Report	784476
Events
Anomaly	conflict : airborne less severe non adherence other other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Supplementary
Problem Areas	ATC Human Performance FAA
Primary Problem	FAA
Air Traffic Incident	Inter Facility Coordination Failure Intra Facility Coordination Failure

Narrative:

At approximately XA30 the ord runway confign changed from plan C to plan D and as a result; arrs would arrive from the west box and departures would depart from the east box. The ord arrival controller instructed mke to start rerouting arrs down the west box. The ord departure controller (working west and north departures combined) did not yet have the last north departure on frequency. What this means is that the departure controller had yet to initiate the call to ZAU about ord north departures being rerouted through the east box. The result was that an mke departure and ord departure were head-on to each other. The solution is that when a confign change requires a change to the departure/arrival box; the north departures should be stopped. The call to mke and ZAU should be made by 1 individual; as opposed to the two that are required to do this today. This should cut down on confusion and the potential for operrors or worse.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C90 CTLR DESCRIBED CONFLICT EVENT WHEN ORD AND MKE DEP ACFT WERE TEMPORARILY ROUTED TOWARD EACH OTHER BECAUSE OF CONFUSED PROCS.

Narrative: AT APPROX XA30 THE ORD RWY CONFIGN CHANGED FROM PLAN C TO PLAN D AND AS A RESULT; ARRS WOULD ARRIVE FROM THE W BOX AND DEPS WOULD DEPART FROM THE E BOX. THE ORD ARR CTLR INSTRUCTED MKE TO START REROUTING ARRS DOWN THE W BOX. THE ORD DEP CTLR (WORKING W AND N DEPS COMBINED) DID NOT YET HAVE THE LAST N DEP ON FREQ. WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT THE DEP CTLR HAD YET TO INITIATE THE CALL TO ZAU ABOUT ORD N DEPS BEING REROUTED THROUGH THE E BOX. THE RESULT WAS THAT AN MKE DEP AND ORD DEP WERE HEAD-ON TO EACH OTHER. THE SOLUTION IS THAT WHEN A CONFIGN CHANGE REQUIRES A CHANGE TO THE DEP/ARR BOX; THE N DEPS SHOULD BE STOPPED. THE CALL TO MKE AND ZAU SHOULD BE MADE BY 1 INDIVIDUAL; AS OPPOSED TO THE TWO THAT ARE REQUIRED TO DO THIS TODAY. THIS SHOULD CUT DOWN ON CONFUSION AND THE POTENTIAL FOR OPERRORS OR WORSE.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 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.