Forgotten by ATC

[Dean]

A few weeks ago I was on my way home from Ada, OK to Sullivan. I called up Ft.Worth center for flight follow and got my Sqwk code. They handed me off to Tulsa approach. I have made this trip several times and this was the first time I was handed off to Tulsa. As I got closer to the MO, AR,OK boarders I was expecting to be handed off to Razorback like all the other times. I was nearing my time to descend and called up Tulsa to let them know I was starting down. They ask me my location and when I told them where I was, they told me I had been out of their radar coverage for sometime and to sqwk 1200, change frqs and have a good day. Has this ever happened to any of you? Are the controllers getting so busy the can't keep up? This was a first for me.

 

[bbchien]

A few weeks ago I was on my way home from Ada, OK to Sullivan. I called up Ft.Worth center for flight follow and got my Sqwk code. They handed me off to Tulsa approach. I have made this trip several times and this was the first time I was handed off to Tulsa. As I got closer to the MO, AR,OK boarders I was expecting to be handed off to Razorback like all the other times. I was nearing my time to descend and called up Tulsa to let them know I was starting down. They ask me my location and when I told them where I was, they told me I had been out of their radar coverage for sometime and to sqwk 1200, change frqs and have a good day. Has this ever happened to any of you? Are the controllers getting so busy the can't keep up? This was a first for me.

It's even worse than that, Deano. I was IFR across the same area and was not handed off. I got the same response when I called up, so being in VMC I said, OK. I remained on to monitor the frequency. Then about 30 minutes later they called me up and asked me if I would cancel my IFR (you see, ATC cannot cancel your IFR). I said, NO, would they like to in fact pick me up again. They did.

 

[markb5900]

Unfortunately it has happened to me a couple of times. Once was across that same region, another time I was out in Kansas and by the time they remembered me, I could barely hear them and they couldn't hear me at all. So, I contacted center and it all worked out fine. I was IFR but in VMC both of these times.

 

[wsuffa]

Razorback asked me for my entire IFR filed flight plan and clearance because they didn't get it from Center. This dodging TSRAs out of Diana's place last spring.

 

[Earthroamer]

Exchange from Tulsa Approach at 1am last week.

Me, "Ahhh Steve (controller), we are at 15,000 and almost to Wichita, ya think we should talk to Kansas City Center or are you going to watch us the whole way across?"

Controller, "Yeah let me put the pizza down and see if I can push a button to tell Center your coming. Yep, that the button. Wait no, wrong one. Ahhh, just go over to 127.8 and say Hi to them for me. If they are mad at the late hand off, just tell them Steve was eating a pizza."

Yeah, like was going to do that....