Air Traffic Control Developmental
Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 0
Time Pressure; Workload; Communication Breakdown
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Inflight Event / Encounter VFR In IMC; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification
Procedure; Weather
I plugged in on ANTELOPE handoff while Aircraft X was being assisted in finding VFR weather. Heavy smoke and clouds was the predominant weather today and the pilot was above 14;000 and advised they were not IFR equipped or capable. I worked with adjacent facilities to find suitable weather conditions and got PIREPs from aircraft ZLA 17 was working. We determined DAG was their best chance to descend visually. The radar controller I worked with definitely seemed very stressed and at times the situations on sector seemed to go beyond their capability. Visibility and ceilings were poor throughout the airspace; yet visual approaches continued to be advertised. At one point an IFR aircraft who hadn't reported the airport insight was cleared for a visual approach and the pilot responded with 'uhh; we're in IMC'. That radar controller was eventually relieved and everything went smoother after that point. The aircraft was switched to ZLA 17 and safely landed.  I think it's hard to prevent a situation like that from our side since a pilot called up in an emergency status. But when it became clear the situation was too much for this particular controller; I think they should have been relieved earlier. It was good to get a handoff controller to assist. I don't believe an emergency was formally declared for this pilot and I think that should have been done.
JCF Controller reported assisting radar controller during an emergency situation who was unable to handle the traffic complexity.