Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
ATC Issue All Types
General None Reported / Taken
Procedure; ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Human Factors
As I entered the stairwell from the break room (6th floor) I could hear a 77XX code alarm sounding in the TRACON (4th floor.) I entered the TRACON to find the Controller; the only person in the room; away from the scope and at the back of the room apparently trying to locate the source of the alarm. Note that this alarm is extremely loud; too loud. I knew where the switch was and how to silence it with a rubber band; so I told the Controller that the alarm indicated that something important was occurring at the RADAR scope and that I would silence the alarm. After silencing it; I went to the scope where I could see an aircraft east of the field with 'RF' in the ARTS data. The RADAR Controller had answered the ZAN shout line and was explaining that the aircraft was NORDO. The aircraft's route on the strip did not correlate with its position; so I asked if the aircraft had ever been on Departure frequency. The answer was no; so I prompted the RADAR to notify Local Control (LC) of the NORDO aircraft. LC was not aware of the situation and immediately issued a landing clearance and a light gun signal. Note that there is not a 77XX code alarm in the Tower cab. We need training on the vast shortcomings of the 77XX code alarm. There needs to be a way to acknowledge the emergency code alarm with out leaving the control position; ideally from the ARTS keyboard. A rubber band should not be necessary to silence the alarm. There is a very real possibility that the rubber band will be forgotten and the alarm will not be heard the next time it is needed. The alarm volume should be decreased to a reasonable level. A redundant alarm should be located in the cab; but should only activate for aircraft with in a given range of the airport; perhaps 10 NM.
FAI Controller voiced concern regarding the unfamiliarity of code alarm procedures by some of the Controller staff providing an example of same.