When is "radar contact" not appropriate?

[Kurtis Snyder 854599]

I was wondering. I thought I had read somewhere that it is not correct to say "radar contact" on intial contact of a plane that was in previous control of another controler. For example, if I am controlling LA Center and I get a handoff from ALB Ctr, when the pilots contacts me, would I say "callsign, radar contact, continue as filed"? I thought that you only say that on the first contact an aircraft has made with a controller. I hope this made sense...

[Jason Baxter 920557]

The phrase radar contact means "I have found you on radar and will now begin providing the services you requested(flight following) or IFR radar services"

 

note the word begin, since you cant begin whats already been started the only controller that should say Radar contact

[Alex Goldstein 857161]

Usually when an aircraft is handed off to you from another center you normally just need to say "N4715, Memphis Center, good evening", say you just log on or an aircraft coming from uncontrolled airspace calls you you would say "N4715, Memphis Center, radar contact FL250 25 miles east of Jackson VOR..." Hope i helped

[Mark Brummett]

The reasoning behind this is because if you are accepting a handoff from another facility, you have acknowledged radar contact and don't need to tell the a/c that. That's why approach controllers always say it, because tower is techically not a radar position and doesn't really do a "handoff".

[Aaron Flodin 878523]

And for this ladies and gentlemen we take a stroll down to the Bible of ATC

 

Chapter 5 section 3......

 

http://www.faa.gov/ATPubs/ATC/Chp5/atc0503.html

[Kurtis Snyder 854599]

Thanks alot guys! That is what I thought, but I just wanted to make sure!

[Fritz Eisler 879638]

Also the other way around . . if no adjacent controller present you say " . . no further ATC available, radar service terminated, switch to Unicom . ."

Greetz,

Fritz

[Andrew Miller 873677]

If a Departure Controller handed you off to Center, the center should not say radar contact, because the last controller already had you radar identified. So you are correct, he didn't need to say it.

[Victor Lima 889733]

I'm not a controller and have never flown in American airspace as a pilot but I know for a fact that in other parts of the world such as my home country (Brazil) where we don't have radar available everywhere controllers always say to an a/c on inital contact whether they are under radar survaillance or not. Doesn't matter if it is a handoff from a another ATC where the a/c was flying under radar. If there is radar contact the controller must announce it so that the pilot knows that from that point on he does not have to report in on the compulsory reporting fixes depicted in the ERCs.

 

Regards,

Victor Lima