Narrative:

I was working local with a few F16's and a C172 in the tower's traffic pattern. The east arrival radar position contacted me on the inter phone and saying 'break for control' indicating he had lost all communications capability with all of his aircraft and that aircraft X was eastbound at 3;700 and needed to be turned immediately. The mountains east of the airport run north/south with a couple low breaks where a river and highway pass. The mountains are typically in the mid to high 3;700 MSL range with a couple peaks above 4;000. While working the F16's I had seen aircraft X on the d-brite and was wondering what kind of interval the radar trainee was going to leave me with the F16's. The aircraft X was 'in and out' of clouds at 5;000 as I saw him with binoculars 10+/- south (eastbound) several minutes or so before the event. I determined I had room to fit the fighters in ahead of aircraft X expecting he was to turn a long final with vectors and 'step downs' crossing lower mvas. The ceiling appeared to slope downward toward the mountains and there were spotty snow showers. There was a small snow shower east of the field with a lower ragged ceiling. The aircraft X visual approach would likely have commenced 7 miles based out on my anticipated scenario had approach been able to finish. When I received the call that I needed to attempt contact on 121.1 and turn the aircraft X flight it felt like an eternity finding and selecting the frequency. I located the aircraft on the d-brite map. An easterly heading was adequate in that he would have passed between the higher peaks in his climb. Apparently; he had heard the radar controllers transmissions to turn northbound. I wasn't sure of his proximity or relationship to the MVA's (I had another map on the d-brite and had not switched it. I was panic stricken and wanted only two things in the moment. Climb and miss the hills. I issued a low altitude alert and climbed the aircraft. I assumed responsibility for the approach control airspace under emergency conditions and provided vectors; spacing and sequence to several aircraft. Nobody came to help. No page was made to alert other facility personnel. The TRACON controller in charge had 6 months of radar experience and was a new controller in charge while the veteran provided training to a developmental. The ground controller with me was helpful; but he continued to taxi out departures; not completely grasping my terror and the potential severity of the situation. Panic is an understatement. Recommendation; depict the terrain on a published RNAV visual approach procedure. Give pilots complete situational awareness.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: BTV Local Controller described an event when the TRACON Controller lost radio contact with an arrival heading toward higher terrain; reporter utilized Approach frequency and issued instructions to climb.

Narrative: I was working Local with a few F16's and a C172 in the Tower's traffic pattern. The East Arrival RADAR position contacted me on the inter phone and saying 'Break for Control' indicating he had lost all communications capability with all of his aircraft and that Aircraft X was eastbound at 3;700 and needed to be turned immediately. The mountains east of the AIRPORT run north/south with a couple low breaks where a river and highway pass. The mountains are typically in the mid to high 3;700 MSL range with a couple peaks above 4;000. While working the F16's I had seen Aircraft X on the D-Brite and was wondering what kind of interval the RADAR trainee was going to leave me with the F16's. The Aircraft X was 'in and out' of clouds at 5;000 as I saw him with binoculars 10+/- south (eastbound) several minutes or so before the event. I determined I had room to fit the fighters in ahead of Aircraft X expecting he was to turn a long final with vectors and 'step downs' crossing lower MVAs. The ceiling appeared to slope downward toward the mountains and there were spotty snow showers. There was a small snow shower east of the field with a lower ragged ceiling. The Aircraft X visual approach would likely have commenced 7 miles based out on my anticipated scenario had approach been able to finish. When I received the call that I needed to attempt contact on 121.1 and turn the Aircraft X flight it felt like an eternity finding and selecting the frequency. I located the aircraft on the D-Brite map. An easterly heading was adequate in that he would have passed between the higher peaks in his climb. Apparently; he had heard the RADAR Controllers transmissions to turn northbound. I wasn't sure of his proximity or relationship to the MVA's (I had another map on the D-Brite and had not switched it. I was panic stricken and wanted only two things in the moment. Climb and miss the hills. I issued a low altitude alert and climbed the aircraft. I assumed responsibility for the Approach Control airspace under emergency conditions and provided vectors; spacing and sequence to several aircraft. Nobody came to help. No page was made to alert other facility personnel. The TRACON CIC had 6 months of RADAR experience and was a new CIC while the veteran provided training to a developmental. The Ground Controller with me was helpful; but he continued to taxi out departures; not completely grasping my terror and the potential severity of the situation. Panic is an understatement. Recommendation; depict the terrain on a published RNAV visual approach procedure. Give pilots complete situational awareness.

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.