ZHU controller described a loss of separation event when distracted by delay sequencing vectors; not...

Attributes
ACN	934296
Time
Date	201102
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZHU.ARTCC
State Reference	TX
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Regional Jet CL65 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Person 1
Function	Enroute
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

I was working an enroute sector and told to get the ctas delays for aircraft inbound to iah. The delays were 7-10 minutes; unusual. I turned approximately 6 aircraft on vectors and my last in sequence aircraft delay time swung from +delays to -delays in excess 15 minutes. I got frustrated and lost situational awareness; a crj responded to a RA as I realized the situation. The crj said he was in a decent and I gave him a continued decent to a good altitude. Recommendation; I do not recall ever having enroute delays of 10 minutes in a non-sequencing sector. In hindsight I would have not used delay vectors but holding. Ctas was of no use as the times were not reliable at all.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ZHU Controller described a loss of separation event when distracted by delay sequencing vectors; noting CTAS information was not reliable during this instance.

Narrative: I was working an enroute sector and told to get the CTAS delays for aircraft inbound to IAH. The delays were 7-10 minutes; unusual. I turned approximately 6 aircraft on vectors and my last in sequence aircraft delay time swung from +delays to -delays in excess 15 minutes. I got frustrated and lost situational awareness; a CRJ responded to a RA as I realized the situation. The CRJ said he was in a decent and I gave him a continued decent to a good altitude. Recommendation; I do not recall ever having enroute delays of 10 minutes in a non-sequencing sector. In hindsight I would have not used delay vectors but holding. CTAS was of no use as the times were not reliable at all.

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.

ZHU controller described a loss of separation event when distracted by delay sequencing vectors; noting ctas information was not reliable during this instance.