Commercial Fixed Wing
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Communication Breakdown; Confusion
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings
While working Oceanic Sector 3 I cleared Air Carrier Y for arrival KWA Island Airport. After arrival; I received arrival report from KWA Base Operations. Opened appropriate window; hit modify and entered arrival time. FPEA was opened for Air Carrier X. ATOPS automatically deleted Flight Plan for Air Carrier X. I was distracted by flashing orange conflict and other operations. I did not perceive disappearance of Air Carrier X Data Block. Approximately five minutes later saw Air Carrier Y Data Block still on scope. [I] re-entered arrival message using same process. This time Air Carrier Y disappeared from scope as expected. Air Carrier X was Data Linked aircraft. Normal expectation is that Air Carrier X would have to be logged off Data Link prior to ATOP allowing controller to delete flight plan information. Recommend that arrival airport should be a necessary entry into FPEA window to report arrival for aircraft. System should do a logic check on arrival airport. Data Link aircraft should not be deleted out of ATOP until logged off Data Link.
ZOA Controller described an apparent false conflict alarm when an Airline Data Block failed to drop off the operational display after the aircraft had landed; the reporter listing Data Link/ATOP anomalies as causal factors.