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ZAU controller described airspace incursion event when testing of the vtabs equipment resulted in failed radio and land line communications.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 872178 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201002 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZAU.ARTCC |
| State Reference | IL |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Medium Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Route In Use | Vectors |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Airspace Violation All Types |
Narrative:
ZAU was testing vtabs radio equipment which is always accomplished on sunday morning. My sector failed to make a successful transition to vtabs for I was unable to make any inputs meaning that I was unable to use landlines; frequency buttons; and unable to use split mode. As a result; air carrier X; a southbound departure off of mke violated C90 TRACON airspace because I was unable to talk to the aircraft and issue a climb clearance. There was also confusion on frequency for I was monitoring lone rock frequency 133.3 and unable to de-select it. The af technician which was called to assist me was not helpful at all and was disturbing my concentration and ability to make alternative action such as having another sector take over harley until we were able to suspend vtabs testing. Vtabs should never be tested during the daytime for there is never a smooth transition and should only be tested on the midnight shift when a potential problem with the system would have minimal impact on safety/operation. Recommendation; no testing of vtabs during daytime hours. Testing should only be accomplished on the midnight shift.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: ZAU Controller described airspace incursion event when testing of the VTABS equipment resulted in failed radio and land line communications.
Narrative: ZAU was testing VTABS radio equipment which is always accomplished on Sunday morning. My sector failed to make a successful transition to VTABS for I was unable to make any inputs meaning that I was unable to use landlines; frequency buttons; and unable to use split mode. As a result; Air Carrier X; a Southbound departure off of MKE violated C90 TRACON airspace because I was unable to talk to the aircraft and issue a climb clearance. There was also confusion on frequency for I was monitoring Lone Rock frequency 133.3 and unable to de-select it. The AF technician which was called to assist me was not helpful at all and was disturbing my concentration and ability to make alternative action such as having another sector take over Harley until we were able to suspend VTABS testing. VTABS should never be tested during the daytime for there is never a smooth transition and should only be tested on the midnight shift when a potential problem with the system would have minimal impact on safety/operation. Recommendation; no testing of VTABS during daytime hours. Testing should only be accomplished on the midnight shift.
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.