Narrative:

Aircraft X requested to hold in a non-standard pattern; I approved; which ended up either scraping or busting my MVA. Here's how it went down: aircraft X departed anc; filed to bgq at 5;000; returning to anc. I radar identified him; climbed him to 5;000; asked him his intentions at bgq; also within my airspace. He stated he wanted to hold on the bgq 335R; outbound; 5 mile legs. I issued him holding instructions to comply with his request; not considering that I had a 6;000 ft MVA about 5 miles northeast of that same area. I did realize he was close to my boundary with anchorage center (zan) and I got the point out at 5;000. The weather was IFR at anc but PIREPS indicated on top above 3;500 ft. I had another aircraft with a bunch of special requests. He wanted to do IFR personnel drops in the range by elmendorf AFB then a ske approach (station keeping equipment) to elmendorf with a missed approach to go rendezvous with aircraft X; whereupon they'd be marsa (military assumes responsibility for separation of aircraft) and go on their merry way! Well; as I was searching for the IFR clearance in the ocs for the aircraft off edf I did not realize that what I'd approved for aircraft X put him along an area north and east of big lake VOR where I had a 6;000 ft MVA! I glanced back from the ocs computer to my radar display to observe aircraft X either exiting or scraping my 6;000 ft MVA at 5;000 ft. I asked if he could maintain his own terrain/obstruction clearance at 5;000 ft or; barring that; I'd need to climb him to 6;000 for my MVA's. Aircraft X replied he would rather climb. I then re-issued the holding instructions at 6;000; and pointed him out again to anchorage center at 6;000. By this time; I figured I screwed up. Now that I had him holding at 6;000; the MVA's would no longer be a problem. Recommendation: so how did I get to this point? It's not difficult to describe. I can tell you that I train virtually every minute of the day I plug in because we are literally tripping over trainees. I've totally lost my proficiency. I would not make such a 'rookie' mistake if I was current. Oh; sure; our facility has mandated 'pro days'; proficiency days; those days have fallen either on my regular days off or if I'm working; there's virtually no traffic! I've become rusty. I hardly recognize my own stars preference settings! I'm not used to talking to planes any more! I'm not the type of person who can 'spool up' when I've not done the work for 3 months. This was totally non-standard stuff that required projection skills I'm losing because I don't get to talk to planes or work my own planes any more. How could I not realize that a pilot's request for holding in an area where I have a 6;000 ft MVA at 5;000 ft would not set off alarm bells? Because I'm not sharp any more. It is my fault that I did not recognize that holding to the right side of the BGQ335R would encroach upon my 6;000 ft MVA whereas holding on the left side of the BGQ335R would remain clear. It's that finite difference between success and failure. I don't have a recommendation. What more could I do? I did everything I could. I paid attention. I had both feet on the floor; I was facing my scope; I was wearing my headset; the TRACON was comfortable; the lights were dark like I prefer them; and I tried to give the pilots what they requested. I only screwed up in not recognizing that right turns holding northwest of big lake VOR would encroach upon the A11 6;000 ft MVA until it was too late. There was no risk of impact; since the pilot was barely on the 6;000 ft MVA line and more than 3 miles from the terrain that necessitated that MVA. I pulled up our map 5; which shows emergency obstruction vectoring map terrain features; but I did not recognize the difference approving right turns versus left turns would have meant! At the risk of sounding like a broken record; I am suffering as a cpc (certified professional controller) constantly training; and am inundated with trainees right off the street; out of cti (collegiate training initiative) school and I'm spending too much time training the basics versus separating aircraft! I want a break from training to get back to where I should be as a cpc but our facility doesn't care if we're proficient. All I can do is plug in scared and hope I can remember our convoluted new letter of agreement with the center; all those frequencies I'm not used to using and watch those MVA's! Training in my facility; coddling kids that don't know the blunt end from the pointy end of an airplane is killing us! We need the fam program back so these kids can see what it's like in the cockpit! It's infuriating! I've given up my proficiency to the point I do something as stupid as this because I quite simply don't see it coming on any more.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A11 Controller experienced a loss of MVA separation event when failing to note the requested non-standard holding turns would violate the MVA; the Reporter claiming the facility's maximum training efforts leave CPC devoid of proficiency.

Narrative: Aircraft X requested to hold in a non-standard pattern; I approved; which ended up either scraping or busting my MVA. Here's how it went down: Aircraft X departed ANC; filed to BGQ at 5;000; returning to ANC. I RADAR identified him; climbed him to 5;000; asked him his intentions at BGQ; also within my airspace. He stated he wanted to hold on the BGQ 335R; OUTBOUND; 5 mile legs. I issued him holding instructions to comply with his request; not considering that I had a 6;000 FT MVA about 5 miles northeast of that same area. I did realize he was close to my boundary with Anchorage Center (ZAN) and I got the point out at 5;000. The weather was IFR at ANC but PIREPS indicated On Top above 3;500 FT. I had another aircraft with a BUNCH of special requests. He wanted to do IFR personnel drops in the range by Elmendorf AFB then a SKE approach (Station Keeping Equipment) to Elmendorf with a missed approach to go rendezvous with Aircraft X; whereupon they'd be MARSA (Military Assumes Responsibility for Separation of Aircraft) and go on their merry way! Well; as I was searching for the IFR clearance in the OCS for the aircraft off EDF I did not realize that what I'd approved for Aircraft X put him along an area north and east of Big Lake VOR where I had a 6;000 FT MVA! I glanced back from the OCS computer to my RADAR display to observe Aircraft X either exiting or scraping my 6;000 FT MVA at 5;000 FT. I asked if he could maintain his own terrain/obstruction clearance at 5;000 FT or; barring that; I'd need to climb him to 6;000 for my MVA's. Aircraft X replied he would rather climb. I then re-issued the holding instructions at 6;000; and pointed him out again to Anchorage Center at 6;000. By this time; I figured I screwed up. Now that I had him holding at 6;000; the MVA's would no longer be a problem. Recommendation: So how did I get to this point? It's not difficult to describe. I can tell you that I train virtually every minute of the day I plug in because we are literally tripping over trainees. I've totally lost my proficiency. I would not make such a 'rookie' mistake if I was current. Oh; sure; our facility has mandated 'pro days'; proficiency days; those days have fallen either on my regular days off or if I'm working; there's virtually no traffic! I've become rusty. I hardly recognize my own STARS Preference Settings! I'm not used to talking to planes any more! I'm not the type of person who can 'spool up' when I've not done the work for 3 months. This was totally non-standard stuff that required projection skills I'm losing because I don't get to talk to planes or work my own planes any more. How could I not realize that a pilot's request for holding in an area where I have a 6;000 FT MVA at 5;000 FT would not set off alarm bells? Because I'm not sharp any more. It is my fault that I did not recognize that holding to the right side of the BGQ335R would encroach upon my 6;000 FT MVA whereas holding on the LEFT side of the BGQ335R would remain clear. It's that finite difference between success and failure. I don't have a recommendation. What more could I do? I did everything I could. I paid attention. I had both feet on the floor; I was facing my scope; I was wearing my headset; the TRACON was comfortable; the lights were dark like I prefer them; and I tried to give the pilots what they requested. I only screwed up in not recognizing that right turns holding northwest of Big Lake VOR would encroach upon the A11 6;000 FT MVA until it was too late. There was no risk of impact; since the Pilot was BARELY on the 6;000 FT MVA line and more than 3 miles from the terrain that necessitated that MVA. I pulled up our map 5; which shows Emergency Obstruction Vectoring Map terrain features; but I did not recognize the difference approving right turns versus left turns would have meant! At the risk of sounding like a broken record; I am suffering as a CPC (Certified Professional Controller) constantly training; and am inundated with trainees right off the street; out of CTI (Collegiate Training Initiative) school and I'm spending too much time training the basics versus separating aircraft! I want a break from training to get back to where I should be as a CPC but our facility doesn't care if we're proficient. All I can do is plug in scared and hope I can remember our convoluted new Letter of Agreement with the Center; all those frequencies I'm not used to using and watch those MVA's! Training in my facility; coddling kids that don't know the blunt end from the pointy end of an airplane is killing us! We need the FAM program back so these kids can see what it's like in the cockpit! It's infuriating! I've given up my proficiency to the point I do something as stupid as this because I quite simply don't see it coming on any more.

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.