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ZHU controller voiced concern regarding commercial chart instructions for aircraft; still under merida control; to contact ZMA ten minutes from the boundary; the reporter noting this practice is a safety issue.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 951901 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201106 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZHU.ARTCC |
| State Reference | TX |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A320 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Enroute |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
An A320 checked on ZMA miami controller's frequency without a hand off; the miami controller called the d-side thinking we had an operational deviation; the d-side told me to flash miami the hand off. I advised the d-side that I had not shipped the A320 nor had I even radar identified the aircraft yet. The A320 advised that the commercial charts instruct them to contact miami 10 minutes prior to entering their airspace. We have aircraft checking on our frequency that merida is working and tying up our frequencies when we should not be working them; they are out of communication range and we do not have updated control information on them coordinated by merida. We cannot control these aircraft because they are not in our airspace; we are blocked from communicating to the aircraft we are working and attempting to separate in a non-radar environment; and the frequency coverage is extremely weak because the aircraft are out of frequency range. Controllers are being interrupted from the aircraft they are working and searching for aircraft they are not working; their radios congested.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: ZHU Controller voiced concern regarding Commercial Chart instructions for aircraft; still under Merida Control; to contact ZMA ten minutes from the boundary; the reporter noting this practice is a safety issue.
Narrative: An A320 checked on ZMA Miami Controller's frequency without a hand off; the Miami Controller called the D-Side thinking we had an Operational Deviation; the D-Side told me to flash Miami the hand off. I advised the D-Side that I had not shipped the A320 nor had I even RADAR identified the aircraft yet. The A320 advised that the Commercial Charts instruct them to contact Miami 10 minutes prior to entering their airspace. We have aircraft checking on our frequency that Merida is working and tying up our frequencies when we should not be working them; they are out of communication range and we do not have updated control information on them coordinated by Merida. We cannot control these aircraft because they are not in our airspace; we are blocked from communicating to the aircraft we are working and attempting to separate in a NON-RADAR environment; and the frequency coverage is extremely weak because the aircraft are out of frequency range. Controllers are being interrupted from the aircraft they are working and searching for aircraft they are not working; their radios congested.
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.