Center controller described event when VFR aircraft; below MSA; declared emergency with engine probl...

Narrative:

I received a transmission from an aircraft. Once the I determined the position of the aircraft; they advised me they wanted an IFR clearance to ZZZ and that they were having mechanical problems. I asked the pilot his altitude; they then replied they were at 150. I told the pilot that they were in an area where the MSA was 160. I asked the pilot if they could maintain their own terrain separation to 160. The pilot responded that they were unable to climb; and that they were declaring an emergency. I asked the pilot if they were in good contact with the ground; and they replied that they were. I asked the pilot if they could accept the non-radar routing above the terrain that they were approaching. I spoke with my supervisor and explained the situation to him; that he was an emergency aircraft and needed an IFR clearance back to his base due to visible engine leak on the number one engine. I cleared the aircraft to his destination. I gave the pilot many advisories of the current terrain and the peaks that were in the area. The aircraft was well above the terrain; however below the MSA. I would recommend that we should follow up on this with some refresher training involving aircraft in emergency situations.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Center Controller described event when VFR aircraft; below MSA; declared emergency with engine problems and requested IFR handling; reporter issued non-RADAR IFR routing to requested airport.

Narrative: I received a transmission from an aircraft. Once the I determined the position of the aircraft; they advised me they wanted an IFR clearance to ZZZ and that they were having mechanical problems. I asked the pilot his altitude; they then replied they were at 150. I told the pilot that they were in an area where the MSA was 160. I asked the pilot if they could maintain their own terrain separation to 160. The pilot responded that they were unable to climb; and that they were declaring an emergency. I asked the pilot if they were in good contact with the ground; and they replied that they were. I asked the pilot if they could accept the non-radar routing above the terrain that they were approaching. I spoke with my supervisor and explained the situation to him; that he was an emergency aircraft and needed an IFR clearance back to his base due to visible engine leak on the number one engine. I cleared the aircraft to his destination. I gave the pilot many advisories of the current terrain and the peaks that were in the area. The aircraft was well above the terrain; however below the MSA. I would recommend that we should follow up on this with some refresher training involving aircraft in emergency situations.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	859335
Time
Date	200911
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Medium Large Transport
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Engine
Person 1
Function	Enroute
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Center controller described event when VFR aircraft; below MSA; declared emergency with engine problems and requested IFR handling; reporter issued non-radar IFR routing to requested airport.