Hef controller described conflict event when traffic was issued at the wrong clock position and a co...

Narrative:

A cessna was on sfra (special flight rules area) frequency at pct on a surveillance mission. He strayed into class delta from the north without communication with the tower heading in a wide turn. I issued the altimeter and traffic including the altitude of the other aircraft but may have said 'ahead and to the right' when the traffic was more correctly ahead and to the left. After making another transmission while working the position; I went back to call traffic again saying; 'traffic; cessna; straight ahead 1/2 mile at 800 feet.' moments later aircraft saw the traffic but saw him passing below and said; 'that was close.' this should have been a traffic alert call. The pilot declined to file any paperwork on the incident. This was a busy session on position but either the tower; myself; or the controller working the sfra west position should have provided better service to the surveillance aircraft taking in the complexity of his mission while he was actively trying to coordinate the sfra; and the tower and fly his plane while operating. I think the current policy in the 7110.65 that the sfra controller doesn't have any airspace and doesn't have to call traffic is potentially dangerous.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: HEF controller described conflict event when traffic was issued at the wrong clock position and a conflict occurred between a surveillance operations aircraft and medical operations aircraft.

Narrative: A Cessna was on SFRA (Special Flight Rules Area) frequency at PCT on a surveillance mission. He strayed into Class Delta from the north without communication with the Tower heading in a wide turn. I issued the altimeter and traffic including the altitude of the other aircraft but may have said 'ahead and to the right' when the traffic was more correctly ahead and to the left. After making another transmission while working the position; I went back to call traffic again saying; 'traffic; Cessna; straight ahead 1/2 mile at 800 feet.' Moments later aircraft saw the traffic but saw him passing below and said; 'that was close.' This should have been a traffic alert call. The pilot declined to file any paperwork on the incident. This was a busy session on position but either the Tower; myself; or the Controller working the SFRA West position should have provided better service to the surveillance aircraft taking in the complexity of his mission while he was actively trying to coordinate the SFRA; and the Tower and fly his plane while operating. I think the current policy in the 7110.65 that the SFRA Controller doesn't have any airspace and doesn't have to call traffic is potentially dangerous.

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.

Attributes
ACN	883633
Time
Date	201004
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	HEF.Airport
State Reference	VA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Dusk
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Helicopter
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	SVFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft High Wing 1 Eng Fixed Gear
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	SVFR
Person 1
Function	Local
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Experience	Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (mon) 8
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Airspace Violation All Types Conflict NMAC
Miss Distance	Vertical 200

Hef controller described conflict event when traffic was issued at the wrong clock position and a conflict occurred between a surveillance operations aircraft and medical operations aircraft.