B747-400
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Situational Awareness; Other / Unknown
ATC Issue All Types
General None Reported / Taken
Procedure; Human Factors; Weather
I was training someone in the Departure position with weather beginning to grow. A couple of pilots on departure requested to fly their assigned departure heading for a few more miles instead of being turned to the west towards their departure gates due to weather. We received PIREPS through some of the weather and nothing more than light chop with light to heavy rain was being reported. I told our Departure Handoff (Coordinator) to call the Tower and go to one heading only on west jet departures. As that was happening; a B747 heavy departed on a 235 heading and shortly after another aircraft departed on a 220 heading. After being RADAR identified; the B747 requested a weather deviation to a 225 heading to avoid weather. My Trainee told the B747 to stand by and I immediately keyed up and told the B747 unable the left deviation due to traffic on a 220 heading and I informed the B747 that he would create a wake turbulence issue with the other traffic and I also informed them of the last reports on that departure heading. The B747 then told me that if he didn't get a left deviation within five miles that he would declare an emergency and 'do what we have to do'. I told the B747 I couldn't approve the deviation and that he was going to have to 'do what you gotta do'. He squawked 7700. I didn't observe him actually turn left for awhile and I issued traffic to the other aircraft. After the B747 was done deviating I gave him a heading towards his departure gate and informed him if he had no other form of emergency to return to his assigned squawk. He did so. I informed my Supervisor of the situation as it was happening. Later that day; I was told that we what we had no loss of separation. I had been sitting behind the person I was training so I had no access to the keyboard at the scope so I was not able to quickly measure distances. Weeks later my Quality Assurance Department talked with the pilot of the B747 about the situation and the B747 claimed that the weather that day had potential to cause an aircraft accident and that I needed re-training as an air traffic controller. The B747 also expressed extreme unhappiness with [the airport] departure procedures. My Quality Assurance Department informed him that he was the first aircraft to respond in need of that direction of deviation and that we actually had already been in the process of going to one heading and actually stopping departures shortly there after. The pilot of the B747 didn't accept that response and said he was taking his complaint all the way to FAA headquarters. Looking back I think I could have stopped the B747's climb at five thousand and coordinated with the other sectors and maybe been able to approve his deviation before he declared and emergency but as I remember it happened pretty fast and there was a lot of off frequency explaining to everyone what the emergency was about and to stop departures. I feel bad about the situation but given the fact that we had already coordinated to go to one heading and also that no other aircraft had that much of an issue with that weather yet it was difficult to predict the events before they happened. All I can think of is that the next time any weather shows up that we'll have to go to one heading even sooner or shut off departures all together. I guess it's better to have an angry pilot on the ground than one potentially in an unsafe situation in the air.
TRACON Controller described a weather deviation event resulting in the flight crew declaring an emergency; the air carrier pilot expressing extreme dissatisfaction with the ATC handling on his departure.