Regional Jet 200 ER/LR (CRJ200)
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Workload; Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown; Confusion
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance
Procedure; Human Factors
I was working several aircraft inbound to DTW. Time based metering was in effect. I had times in excess of five to ten minutes with aircraft slowed and vectored to try to reduce the times. Air Carrier X reported on my frequency at FL310 on a 280 heading at 250 KTS in APE Sector airspace 30 miles from my boundary. I was focused on traffic within my sector trying to meet meter times. Times were rescheduled which did not help. Later in the situation I got a hand off on Air Carrier Y with FL300 in the Data Block converging with Air Carrier X. Air Carrier Y was only descending to FL310. APE Sector asked if we had descended Air Carrier X because he was converging with Air Carrier Y; the radar associate asked if I had descended Air Carrier X; I cleared Air Carrier X to descend to FL280 with an expedite through FL300 and then noticed Air Carrier Y who was still talking to APE Sector was starting to descend so I stopped Air Carrier X before he started a descent. Neither aircraft was in my sector at the time.Recommendation: have ZID show the same meter times so that we don't have high times with only minutes to try to make them work. Have a consistent meter time to work towards instead of constantly vectoring and slowing to meet a time that changes. I should have returned Air Carrier X to the APE sector so that both aircraft were on their frequency instead of different people trying to determine what the other is doing.
Ravena Sector was being worked by a veteran controller and a veteran D-Side. The Detroit inbound push was challenging due to Time Based Metering (TBM). The Ravena Controller had complained about the high TBM times and I had talked to TMU who had called area 6 to have them slow up the inbound traffic. Ravena was busy with lots of vectoring in order to meet the TBM times. TMU had called and rescheduled DTW. Then we got the call that TBM wasn't working and we should just go to 15 miles in trail over the fix. I was watching the sector of the spare scope when I heard the D-Side tell the RADAR Controller to descend one of the aircraft. I saw the aircraft flashing and then I heard the controller stop the aircraft and tell the aircraft not to descend. I then got a call from the OMIC. I told him that I would ask some questions and get back to him. I wasn't sure at that point if we were talking to both aircraft and what exactly the coordination was. After talking to the two controllers and listening to the tape; we were able to sort out what had happened. I believe that Ravena Sector is not suited to TBM. We don't have enough airspace to vector these aircraft enough to lose 4 to 6 minutes off these times. It is just not tenable and no matter how much I have voiced my concern; it seems to not be valued input. I have seen TBM in place with 80 KTS winds from the west and it just doesn't work!
ZOB Controller described an unsafe condition situation when DTW arrivals were subjected to Time Based Metering (TBM) restrictions resulting in potential conflicts and increased workload volume and complexity.