Narrative:

Second in command called geu ground control for a IFR clearance. Ground control advised no IFR clearances available; that we would need to depart VFR (runway 19); make a left downwind departure; maintain VFR at or below 3;000 ft; contact luke departure control; they are expecting you; (the only reason we accepted this departure); and will issue an IFR clearance. We departed and were handed-off to luke by geu tower. The second in command contacted luke on downwind and was given a squawk code; maintain VFR; and standby for IFR clearance. This is where the problems started! Luke never came back with an IFR clearance; or any instructions. Luke departure was busy; but refused to answer any calls by the second in command for higher altitude; IFR clearance; or any instructions. By this attitude they escalated this whole event into a serious problem in a hurry! We were on a heading of about 010 degrees heading north at 2;800 ft talking to 'no one'. Hills with rising terrain were ahead with scattered clouds. The second in command suggested a turn right of 30 degrees; which I did. The second in command was still trying to communicate with luke to no avail. It's like they dropped us off the planet! I'm was trying my best to stay VFR at 2;800-3;000 ft MSL altitude; and stay clear of scottsdale and sky harbor. At no time did we have any traffic alerts on the aircraft TCAS. Finally luke; (after several minutes); told us to go to a phx departure control frequency which we did. We became immediately aware that phx departure was not expecting us! The controller started arguing on the frequency with my second in command that we were not handed off to him. This controller did not help a bad situation from getting worse. He was obstinate and argumentative. This certainly did not help myself or my second in command to safely navigate out of a tough situation that was not started by us! He finally assigned us a new transponder code and began giving turns; altitudes; and eventually headings. He finally gave us a IFR clearance with our original transponder code back (he also had mellowed by then). We did all this under stress mostly because of this controllers attitude. After we were on our way; phx departure told us to contact deer valley tower for a possible pilot deviation; and gave us a phone number. At cruise altitude I asked the second in command to see if he could still talk to deer valley tower. He could and they asked us to call them when we got on the ground. I had the second in command call them when we got to our destination. The controller wanted me (pilot in command) to call the next day which I did. He said it was out of his hands. He had filed a report that morning to FSDO; and they would be contacting me. He said he had called both the geu tower and luke departure. Luke departure had told him that we had not contacted them until we had already flown by deer valley airport; which I told the deer valley controller was not true. We had done the instructions as told us by the geu ground and tower. I then called both geu tower and luke departure. They both pointed the finger at the other facility. The luke head controller was much more co-operative. He said he was checking the tapes and would get back to me. He said that geu should have never issued us a clearance like they did. They should have sent us off runway 1 which has a SID. He also asked me if geu issued a IFR clearance to us before the departure. I said no; he said that they (luke) had given one to geu. That was a very interesting comment! My suggestions: 1. This turned out okay; but could have been a serious problem if there would have been traffic conflicts. The luke controller didn't seem to care how serious this had gotten in a short period of time. He was more interested in getting rid of us; it seemed. 2. Geu tower should have never departed us and handed us off to luke if they knew luke was that busy. 3. Geu ground should never have issued a clearance to a jet aircraft like they did with-out some instruction if we lost or couldn't obtain and keep contact with luke departure control. 4. The first phx departure controller did not help the situation at all by his attitude. 5. If this procedure for IFR departures off of runway 19 at geu is a local agreement between geu and luke departure control; it needs to be changed! This fiasco could have turned into a serious accident in a hurry.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: IFR corporate jet departure from GEU was instructed to depart VFR and contact Luke for an IFR clearance; Luke transferred the aircraft to P50 resulting in more confusion; ultimately ending with an alleged airspace incursion.

Narrative: Second in Command called GEU Ground Control for a IFR clearance. Ground Control advised no IFR clearances available; that we would need to depart VFR (Runway 19); make a left downwind departure; maintain VFR at or below 3;000 FT; contact Luke Departure Control; they are expecting you; (the only reason we accepted this departure); and will issue an IFR clearance. We departed and were handed-off to Luke by GEU Tower. The Second in Command contacted Luke on downwind and was given a squawk code; maintain VFR; and standby for IFR clearance. This is where the problems started! Luke never came back with an IFR clearance; or any instructions. Luke Departure was busy; but refused to answer any calls by the Second in Command for higher altitude; IFR clearance; or any instructions. By this attitude they escalated this whole event into a serious problem in a hurry! We were on a heading of about 010 degrees heading north at 2;800 FT talking to 'no one'. Hills with rising terrain were ahead with scattered clouds. The Second in Command suggested a turn right of 30 degrees; which I did. The Second in Command was still trying to communicate with Luke to no avail. It's like they dropped us off the planet! I'm was trying my best to stay VFR at 2;800-3;000 FT MSL altitude; and stay clear of Scottsdale and Sky Harbor. At no time did we have any traffic alerts on the aircraft TCAS. Finally Luke; (after several minutes); told us to go to a PHX Departure Control frequency which we did. We became immediately aware that PHX Departure was not expecting us! The Controller started arguing on the frequency with my Second in Command that we were not handed off to him. This Controller did not help a bad situation from getting worse. He was obstinate and argumentative. This certainly did not help myself or my Second in Command to safely navigate out of a tough situation that was not started by us! He finally assigned us a new transponder code and began giving turns; altitudes; and eventually headings. He finally gave us a IFR clearance with our original transponder code back (he also had mellowed by then). We did all this under stress mostly because of this Controllers attitude. After we were on our way; PHX Departure told us to contact Deer Valley Tower for a possible Pilot Deviation; and gave us a phone number. At cruise altitude I asked the Second in Command to see if he could still talk to Deer Valley Tower. He could and they asked us to call them when we got on the ground. I had the Second in Command call them when we got to our destination. The Controller wanted me (pilot in command) to call the next day which I did. He said it was out of his hands. He had filed a report that morning to FSDO; and they would be contacting me. He said he had called both the GEU Tower and Luke Departure. Luke Departure had told him that we had not contacted them until we had already flown by Deer Valley Airport; which I told the Deer Valley Controller was not true. We had done the instructions as told us by the GEU Ground and Tower. I then called both GEU Tower and Luke Departure. They both pointed the finger at the other facility. The Luke head controller was much more co-operative. He said he was checking the tapes and would get back to me. He said that GEU should have never issued us a clearance like they did. They should have sent us off Runway 1 which has a SID. He also asked me if GEU issued a IFR clearance to us before the departure. I said no; he said that they (Luke) had given one to GEU. That was a very interesting comment! My suggestions: 1. This turned out okay; but could have been a serious problem if there would have been traffic conflicts. The Luke controller didn't seem to care how serious this had gotten in a short period of time. He was more interested in getting rid of us; it seemed. 2. GEU Tower should have never departed us and handed us off to Luke if they knew Luke was that busy. 3. GEU Ground should never have issued a clearance to a jet aircraft like they did with-out some instruction if we lost or couldn't obtain and keep contact with Luke Departure control. 4. The first PHX Departure Controller did not help the situation at all by his attitude. 5. If this procedure for IFR departures off of Runway 19 at GEU is a local agreement between GEU and Luke Departure control; it needs to be changed! This fiasco could have turned into a serious accident in a hurry.

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.