Commercial Fixed Wing
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 6.5
Confusion; Situational Awareness; Workload
ATC Issue All Types; Conflict Airborne Conflict
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Air Traffic Control Separated Traffic
Company Policy; Human Factors; Staffing; Environment - Non Weather Related
I was working the D Side (Radar Assist) on when the Radar Controller having just had a loss while vectoring seemed to lose the flick. The controller in the few minutes after the event made several comments about not knowing how to proceed with positive control of the airspace and was visibly shaken by the event. I then told the Radar Controller a plan to regain positive control of the sector; but the controller took no action. I then; feeling it was the only way to recover the sector in a timely enough manner to avoid another event; took control of the sector. I moved from the D side to the Radar side and had that controller work my D side. Since on this night like most nights we were short staffed I felt that it would be safer and faster to do this rather than page someone back from outside the control room; who would need to monitor for precious moments to get the flick themselves before having to go through a briefing with a rapidly deteriorating traffic situation.Many things broke down throughout my session. I watched 2 Radar Controllers struggle through a rapidly changing and many times overly complex and deteriorating traffic situation; with what seemed like very little help from surrounding sectors; centers; and traffic management. There seemed; at least from the trenches of the sector like there was little or no attempt by anyone along the chain of events to be proactive to prevent an unsafe situation.
Center Radar Assist Controller reported assuming the Radar Controller position when the Radar Controller lost situational awareness.