Narrative:

A medical emergency aircraft needed to return. The crew called boston TRACON on the outside line because they were unable to reach ZBW on 133.45 and FSS was very slow responding. The crew said that they had critical patient on board and needed to get going. A90 provided the boston center area D supervisor's desk phone number to the pilot. They tried the number twice and were unable to reach area D. A90 personnel called ZBW; obtained a clearance and then relayed it to the crew. A similar situation happened about a month ago. Recommendation; #1 if this was a priority mission (not just the crew returning to base) why did A90 not just call cape sector on the 51 line and get the clearance? Why was the pilot (who was now talking to a control facility) directed to hang up--and call someone else? #2 lockheed needs to do their job--this is far from an isolated issue. There should be a medevac number for them to call lockheed watch supervisor for these cases--sort of like a clearance delivery 911. #3 we are required to forward the calls to the watch desk. There is no controller in charge (controller in charge) in the area to accept these calls--give me a controller in charge on every shift and we can answer those calls. #4 having us use the buec is not acceptable-that is not a clearance delivery frequency. It is an emergency back up frequency for air traffic to use--it is not for covering lockheed's lack of proper staffing. Will we have frequency coverage on the ack buec for our routine operations? #5 realizing that this is a potentially life-threatening situation; I would suggest that the lifeguard operators have the FAA command center (a flight plan 911) who could direct the call to the appropriate facility--immediately. This would also allow the command center to glimpse record and track the problems that we are having with lockheed.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ZBW reporter described a confused attempt to obtain a clearance for a medical emergency operations aircraft; noting FSS was difficult to contact and other procedures utilized less than timely.

Narrative: A medical emergency aircraft needed to return. The crew called Boston TRACON on the outside line because they were unable to reach ZBW on 133.45 and FSS was very slow responding. The crew said that they had critical patient on board and needed to get going. A90 provided the Boston Center Area D Supervisor's desk phone number to the pilot. They tried the number twice and were unable to reach area D. A90 personnel called ZBW; obtained a clearance and then relayed it to the crew. A similar situation happened about a month ago. Recommendation; #1 if this was a priority mission (not just the crew returning to base) why did A90 not just call Cape sector on the 51 line and get the clearance? Why was the pilot (who was now talking to a control facility) directed to hang up--and call someone else? #2 Lockheed needs to do their job--this is FAR from an isolated issue. There should be a MEDEVAC number for them to call Lockheed Watch Supervisor for these cases--sort of like a clearance delivery 911. #3 We are required to forward the calls to the Watch Desk. There is no CIC (Controller in Charge) in the area to accept these calls--give me a CIC on every shift and we can answer those calls. #4 Having us use the BUEC is not acceptable-that is NOT a clearance delivery frequency. It is an emergency back up frequency for air traffic to use--it is not for covering Lockheed's lack of proper staffing. Will we have frequency coverage on the ACK BUEC for our routine operations? #5 Realizing that this is a potentially life-threatening situation; I would suggest that the Lifeguard operators have the FAA Command Center (a FLIGHT PLAN 911) who could direct the call to the appropriate facility--immediately. This would also allow the Command Center to glimpse record and track the problems that we are having with Lockheed.

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.