Narrative:

All of our departures were restricted to 3;000 ft by norcal approach (nct) for an aircraft taking pictures in the vicinity of sfo. I launched a B737 on a PORTE3 departure off runway 01L. At that same time; radar coordinator (rc) was accepting 3 VFR automated hand offs from norcal all from the north flying south along the bay shore freeway. The first was a C182 followed by a C172 followed by a BE36. The BE36 was clearly overtaking the C172; both were at 2;000 ft and approximately 2 miles apart when I took action to separate them. The B737 was now just off the departure end of the runway as my priority shifted to the VFR aircraft. I gave the BE36 traffic and told him to maintain visual separation with the C172. The BE36 pilot said he would do that and that he would pass the C172 on the left side to which I relayed to the pilot of the C172. This situation being resolved; I went to go and switch the B737 to departure control. The B737 was now approximately 3 to 4 miles upwind. The rc controller put up a hand to stop me from sending the B737 to departure control and said that norcal wanted the B737 on a heading of 210 degrees; I looked in that direction and saw a VFR target at 3;100 ft and questioned the heading. Nct then said to put the B737 on a heading of 010 degrees which I relayed to the pilot and I gave the B737 traffic on the VFR target at 10 o'clock and about 2 miles 3;100 ft. The B737 appeared to then be in a left turn on the departure procedure toward the VFR target. I turned him again to 010 degrees with no real response from the pilot. The B737 was now westbound towards the VFR target and I then gave an urgent (traffic alert) call and again pointed out the traffic to which the B737 said 'traffic in sight; descending' he was then switched to departure control. Recommendation; this incident happened during one of our busiest times of the day. I feel that VFR transition traffic should be restricted during this time. Sometimes it is; and sometimes it isn't; depending on the supervisor in charge. I had to give so much attention to the transitioning VFR aircraft that it delayed my shipping of the B737 to departure control in a timelier manor. Secondly; it's still a mystery as to why the VFR piper aztec was at 3;100 when it should have been at 3;500 ft or higher. In my mind; any departures that were restricted to 3;000 ft were procedurally separated from the VFR picture taking aircraft in question. Therefore there was no urgency in my sending the B737 to departure before resolving the VFR transition situation.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: SFO Controller described an event when 3 VFR transition aircraft; a VFR photo mission aircraft and an Air Carrier departure presented a potential conflict.

Narrative: All of our departures were restricted to 3;000 FT by NORCAL Approach (NCT) for an aircraft taking pictures in the vicinity of SFO. I launched a B737 on a PORTE3 departure off Runway 01L. At that same time; RADAR Coordinator (RC) was accepting 3 VFR automated hand offs from NORCAL all from the north flying south along the Bay Shore freeway. The first was a C182 followed by a C172 followed by a BE36. The BE36 was clearly overtaking the C172; both were at 2;000 FT and approximately 2 miles apart when I took action to separate them. The B737 was now just off the departure end of the runway as my priority shifted to the VFR aircraft. I gave the BE36 traffic and told him to maintain visual separation with the C172. The BE36 pilot said he would do that and that he would pass the C172 on the left side to which I relayed to the pilot of the C172. This situation being resolved; I went to go and switch the B737 to Departure Control. The B737 was now approximately 3 to 4 miles upwind. The RC Controller put up a hand to stop me from sending the B737 to Departure Control and said that NORCAL wanted the B737 on a heading of 210 degrees; I looked in that direction and saw a VFR target at 3;100 FT and questioned the heading. NCT then said to put the B737 on a heading of 010 Degrees which I relayed to the pilot and I gave the B737 traffic on the VFR target at 10 o'clock and about 2 miles 3;100 FT. The B737 appeared to then be in a left turn on the departure procedure toward the VFR target. I turned him again to 010 degrees with no real response from the pilot. The B737 was now westbound towards the VFR target and I then gave an urgent (Traffic Alert) call and again pointed out the traffic to which the B737 said 'Traffic in sight; descending' he was then switched to Departure Control. Recommendation; this incident happened during one of our busiest times of the day. I feel that VFR transition traffic should be restricted during this time. Sometimes it is; and sometimes it isn't; depending on the Supervisor in Charge. I had to give so much attention to the transitioning VFR aircraft that it delayed my shipping of the B737 to Departure Control in a timelier manor. Secondly; it's still a mystery as to why the VFR Piper Aztec was at 3;100 when it should have been at 3;500 FT or higher. In my mind; any departures that were restricted to 3;000 FT were procedurally separated from the VFR picture taking aircraft in question. Therefore there was no urgency in my sending the B737 to Departure before resolving the VFR transition situation.

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.