Pct controller described a loss of separation event after noting a developing conflict and attemptin...

Narrative:

I switched a hawker to ZDC at 150. I had a slow king air departure climbing to 140 on a vector. I was distracted trying to pre-plan for a flight check aircraft that would be departing soon for adw and trying to find the right instrument approach for him. I glanced at my traffic and it appeared the hawker on his route would pass behind the king air. I climbed the king air and did not notice his airspeed was so slow it would conflict with the hawker. When I noticed the conflict I stopped the king air at 140 and called the traffic. I applied visual separation but it may have been too late. I realize I allowed myself to be distracted and should have concentrated on the traffic situation at hand. Recommendation; prior to the 9/11 security flight restricted zone; the SOP allowed props on his route to be capped at 120 and the jets climbing to 170. Due to the flight restricted zone altitude (up to not including FL180) we have to climb the slow props to the same altitude as the jets (170). This is a built in confliction and requires coordinating a 'stack' most times. Until the flight restricted zone changes; I recommend that no props be routed over jet routes out the 'charlie gate' but instead require them to be routed over mrb or pxt.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PCT Controller described a loss of separation event after noting a developing conflict and attempting to climb traffic to resolve the situation; visual separation was applied but not in time.

Narrative: I switched a Hawker to ZDC at 150. I had a slow King Air departure climbing to 140 on a vector. I was distracted trying to pre-plan for a Flight Check aircraft that would be departing soon for ADW and trying to find the right instrument approach for him. I glanced at my traffic and it appeared the Hawker on his route would pass behind the King Air. I climbed the King Air and did not notice his airspeed was so slow it would conflict with the Hawker. When I noticed the conflict I stopped the King Air at 140 and called the traffic. I applied Visual Separation but it may have been too late. I realize I allowed myself to be distracted and should have concentrated on the traffic situation at hand. Recommendation; Prior to the 9/11 security Flight Restricted Zone; the SOP allowed props on his route to be capped at 120 and the jets climbing to 170. Due to the Flight Restricted Zone altitude (up to not including FL180) we have to climb the slow props to the same altitude as the jets (170). This is a built in confliction and requires coordinating a 'stack' most times. Until the Flight Restricted Zone changes; I recommend that no props be routed over jet routes out the 'Charlie Gate' but instead require them to be routed over MRB or PXT.

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	979335
Time
Date	201111
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	PCT.TRACON
State Reference	VA
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	BAe 125 Series 800
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	King Air C90 E90
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	Vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Approach Departure
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Pct controller described a loss of separation event after noting a developing conflict and attempting to climb traffic to resolve the situation; visual separation was applied but not in time.