Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 2
Distraction; Confusion; Human-Machine Interface; Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Airspace Violation All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Company Policy; Human Factors; Procedure; ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Airspace Structure
I was working combined sectors during a slow period. Not much was happening; when [another] Sector Controller asked me if I knew anything about the Mode C intruder; labeled Aircraft X. I didn't; and noticed that it was at 35;000 ft. heading northwest bound. There was no flight plan information on this aircraft; so I called the [adjacent Center Sector] and asked them about it. They were unsure of what had happened; and since entering remove strip messages of the wrong aircraft has been common recently; I assumed that is what had happened.There is a good possibility that I saw the target and the data block; but did not register that the flight plan had been removed. This is a common corner of the Sector to 'flash through' aircraft that just clip the corner. If there would have been traffic at 35;000 ft. I'm rather certain I would have seen this target. We also have frequent 'bad radar hits' in the sector where this event took place. It's common to see Mode C Intruders in the flight levels for a few hits before they disappear.I'm only a novice computer programmer; but it seems extremely simple to include in the code of the next ERAM (En Route Automation Modernization) update an 'IF statement' that does not allow a target to be removed if the MODE C or Assigned Altitude is above 18;000 ft. Humans make mistakes. This appears to be a systemic issue that could easily be solved with a few lines of code.
Center Controller reported that an aircraft that did not display a radar data block flew through a corner of the airspace without coordination.