Narrative:

Aircraft X; A320; departing runway xxl; very light rain; asde-X in normal operations mode. As aircraft X approached V1; a safety logic alert was generated indicating that the runway was occupied. Asde-X showed an uncorrelated primary target on the west side of runway xxl at intersection wc as aircraft X was approaching intersection wb accelerating towards the target...both aircraft X and the uncorrelated primary target at wc were encircled in red indicating the approaching conflict and an aural runway occupied warning was generated. Initial visual scans could find no vehicle or other obstruction corresponding to the target at wc. Local control canceled the take off clearance of aircraft X and advised of indicated traffic and aircraft X aborted using what appeared to be max brakes to stop. Crash fire rescue equipment (crash fire rescue) response was required due to extreme brake temps and aircraft required tow back to gate. Brake temps were reported by pilot 5 minutes after stopping as exceeding 700 degrees and pilot indicated the wheel pressure plugs would have blown at 900. For approximately 10 minutes after the initial alert; asde-X continued to paint multiple false primary targets on the west airport runways/taxiways with the worst conditions being on/near the departure end of runway xxr. At one time 4 simultaneous false primaries were displayed; on the runway and connecting taxiways; at the departure end of runway xxr. Asde-X was placed in both rain mode then limited mode with no effect on mitigating the false targets. Airport operations personnel checked both runways (xxl and xxr) and found nothing that would/should generate primary targets on either runway. A subsequent channel change seemed to resolve the display of false primaries...but someone needs to ensure a thorough investigation gets done to account for what happened and what can be done to ensure it doesn't happen again. This is not the first incidence of false targets being generated by asde-X; on the airport runways/taxiways but certainly the most serious. Locally; hundreds of asde-X trouble reports have filed by controllers documenting false targets on the airport's taxiways/runways since the system was installed/certified. An in-depth analysis of the system factors that caused this false alert needs to take place. After hundreds of trouble reports by controllers pertaining to false targets; most controllers have quit filling them out out of frustration that nothing ever comes of them. The reduced incidence of reports over the past months is more an indication of controller frustration with lack of action than an indication that incidence of false targets have diminished. Early belief by facility staff personnel was that the false targets were being generated by the differing heights of the 2 asde antennas. Additionally; concern was also expressed over the choice to use existing legacy asde antennas rather than replacement with more compatible asde antennas. We were told that both of these issues can and have been the cause of false targets at other airports. We were told that addressing the problem via adjusting the 2 antenna's heights to comparable levels or replacement with antennas was cost prohibitive. Regardless of the cause; the problem still exists and resulted in potential damage to an aircraft this evening and the inability to use another needed arrival/departure runway due to continued false targets.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Tower Controller described a high speed ATC issued abort because of an ASDE-X false alert; noting multiple false alert reports have been filed with no action on the part of management.

Narrative: Aircraft X; A320; departing Runway XXL; very light rain; ASDE-X in normal operations mode. As Aircraft X approached V1; a safety logic alert was generated indicating that the runway was occupied. ASDE-X showed an uncorrelated primary target on the West side of Runway XXL at intersection WC as Aircraft X was approaching intersection WB accelerating towards the target...both Aircraft X and the uncorrelated primary target at WC were encircled in red indicating the approaching conflict and an aural runway occupied warning was generated. Initial visual scans could find no vehicle or other obstruction corresponding to the target at WC. Local Control canceled the take off clearance of Aircraft X and advised of indicated traffic and Aircraft X aborted using what appeared to be max brakes to stop. CFR (crash fire rescue) response was required due to extreme brake temps and aircraft required tow back to gate. Brake temps were reported by pilot 5 minutes after stopping as exceeding 700 degrees and pilot indicated the wheel pressure plugs would have blown at 900. For approximately 10 minutes after the initial alert; ASDE-X continued to paint multiple false primary targets on the West airport runways/taxiways with the worst conditions being on/near the departure end of Runway XXR. At one time 4 simultaneous false primaries were displayed; on the runway and connecting taxiways; at the departure end of Runway XXR. ASDE-X was placed in both rain mode then limited mode with no effect on mitigating the false targets. Airport operations personnel checked both Runways (XXL and XXR) and found nothing that would/should generate primary targets on either runway. A subsequent channel change seemed to resolve the display of false primaries...but someone needs to ensure a thorough investigation gets done to account for what happened and what can be done to ensure it doesn't happen again. This is not the first incidence of false targets being generated by ASDE-X; on the airport runways/taxiways but certainly the most serious. Locally; hundreds of ASDE-X trouble reports have filed by controllers documenting false targets on the airport's taxiways/runways since the system was installed/certified. An in-depth analysis of the system factors that caused this false alert needs to take place. After hundreds of trouble reports by controllers pertaining to false targets; most controllers have quit filling them out out of frustration that nothing ever comes of them. The reduced incidence of reports over the past months is more an indication of controller frustration with lack of action than an indication that incidence of false targets have diminished. Early belief by facility staff personnel was that the false targets were being generated by the differing heights of the 2 ASDE antennas. Additionally; concern was also expressed over the choice to use existing legacy ASDE antennas rather than replacement with more compatible ASDE antennas. We were told that both of these issues can and have been the cause of false targets at other airports. We were told that addressing the problem via adjusting the 2 antenna's heights to comparable levels or replacement with antennas was cost prohibitive. Regardless of the cause; the problem still exists and resulted in potential damage to an aircraft this evening and the inability to use another needed arrival/departure runway due to continued false targets.

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.