Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Fatigue; Distraction; Confusion; Situational Awareness
Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Human Factors
The B737 was en route westbound through my sector at FL380. His route took him near ZZZ1; over ZZZ2; and then westbound. The second aircraft was a Citation; descending from cruise to FL350 to meet a LOA requirement. His route of flight took him through the corner of my sector; near ZZZ1. He would only be in my sector for about two minutes. The confliction point between the two was about five miles inside my sector boundary. I do not have any recollection of accepting the Citation; but I don't think my D-Side did either. If he did accept it; he would have told me. However we got the hand off; the aircraft was issued a descent to FL350 by Sector XX prior to the hand off. My D-Side called Sector XX and asked them to get the Citation below the B737; to which they replied they had just shipped him to us. The Citation then checked on frequency at the same time as my D-Side was telling me this information. For some reason; instead of reality; I decided mentally that we were flashing the Citation through to Sector YY; and that Sector XX was separating the two aircraft. The phrase 'I told Sector XX to get that Citation under our B737' is what stuck in my head. Even though the Citation checked on; he didn't check on in my mind. The two aircraft began flashing; but it didn't alarm me; because I wasn't talking to the Citation and the gateway area is separating those two; or so I decided to believe. They were flashing for a solid minute; and I wasn't the slightest bit interested or concerned. I was aware of the situation on some level; as I thought; 'Man; I hope they don't try and blame us when they have a deal over here because it's technically inside my airspace.' I chose not to say this to my D-Side because it seemed rude and disrespectful of the Sector XX Controller. The Citation was descending at the perfect rate to hit the B737. As he descended through FL390; my D-Side leaned forward and stated; 'Hey that's not going to work.' At this point; I sort of came to and saw the situation accurately; noticing I had automatically slant one'd both aircraft; meaning they were both on frequency. I stated; 'Am I talking to him?' I knew the answer; though. I immediately cranked both aircraft; issuing 50 right and expedited descent to the Citation and 40 right and expedited climb to FL390 to the B737. Both pilots really helped me out. I would guess I began the corrective actions about 3 hits before the bubble; with the one minute vectors close to touching. The targets jumped around due to the big turns and I was getting great climb and descent rates from my pilots. Although we were flashing all the way through the event and my D-Side said he estimates 3.5 miles minimum separation; another Controller told me the 'snitch' was not activated. On the drive home from work; I noticed that I had no recollection of pulling out of the front gates; checking for traffic; and pulling out. About 10 minutes later; I realized I had made a wrong turn driving home and was pulling into a neighboring subdivision. At this point; I started trying to think of anything that could be causing this general lack of awareness and why I hadn't been able to recognize it earlier. I think this might apply to stress and fatigue; as well. I have been sleeping 5-6 hours a night for a long time because of a family illness. If you'd have asked me before this shift; I would have said I was fine and ready to work. Looking back; however; I wasn't ready to work. Just because I felt okay and exhibit that I'm okay; that doesn't mean I was. It is just like hypoxia; if you think; 'I wonder if I'm hypoxic'; then you need oxygen. I realize that I'm influenced by rampant sick leave abuse that surrounds me and I hate taking sick leave. My natural inclination concerning any stress or fatigue load is to 'suck it up.' To do otherwise makes me feel weak. I want to earn my paycheck and do not view myself as 'entitled' to it. It's not something that 'I deserve.' So; how do you take a guy like me andcause me to call in sick on a day like this? I have decided to make sleep more of a priority; to make sure I get eight hours. My attitudes may result in better productivity at other jobs. But; I now recognize that this job just doesn't allow you to cut corners on rest. I can't figure out is how to instruct someone to recognize this situation and convince them they should call off work and fix their lifestyle. I felt fine; I wouldn't have considered calling off. I don't know how to recognize this in the future. So; I'm just going to do my best to lead a lifestyle that keeps my mind more awake and alert. During my event I never felt stressed. There were large gaps in time where I was making no transmissions. I did not feel the slightest bit overwhelmed or busy. This may have been a contributing factor. I was very relaxed mentally; which may have allowed me to go into a sort of 'highway hypnosis' type of thing.
Enroute Controller described a conflict event listing multiple human factors that may have contributed to the apparent lapse in vigilance.