NASA · Aviation Safety Reporting System
B737-700 flight crew reported a track deviation and possible encroachment of a restricted area occurred following a wake turbulence encounter departing DCA.
What is ASRS?
The Aviation Safety Reporting System is NASA's voluntary, confidential, non- punitive incident-reporting system, established 1976. Pilots, controllers, dispatchers, and maintenance technicians file reports describing safety- relevant events. NASA de-identifies every report before adding it to the public database. Reports are not investigated by NASA, the FAA, or the NTSB — they represent the reporter's perspective.
Pilot narratives
Verbatim from the de-identified NASA record. First-person account by the
reporter. NASA strips identifying details (names, company, specific time);
anonymization placeholders are ZZZ,
X, Y.
Reporter 1
On REBLL 5 RNAV Departure, Tower cleared us to depart shortly after a (other carrier aircraft) and told us to maintain visual separation. Shortly after cleanup, we encountered robust wake turbulence and caused a sharp right rolling action. The autopilot disconnected from LNAV mode and transitioned to CWS (Control Wheel Steering) R. The First Officer was flying and appeared to not know how to utilize the CWS R mode to come back to the left. After a brief discussion, I directed the First Officer to come back to the left immediately, due to the proximity to P-56A. To the best of my knowledge, I believe we did not infringe upon the lateral confines of P-56A, but it's hard to discern exactly due to the non-standard shape of the P-56A airspace. We quickly corrected back to course and were not informed of any deviations by ATC. I need to be more directive and perhaps intervene when it appears the First Officer may be confused, and/or slow to correct in the vicinity of P-56A.
Reporter 2
FO (First Officer) was PF (Pilot Flying). Upon departure from DCA, Runway 1, REBLL 5 RNAV Departure. ATC cleared us for takeoff and to maintain visual separation from recently cleared (other carrier). Near 1500 [ft.] AGL, we experienced strong wake turbulence causing a rolling moment to the right, automation was engaged, causing the activation of CWS (Control Wheel Steering), and loss of lateral guidance. Initial course correction was delayed and could have been more abrupt. The course was corrected to the left and returned to the departure path. ATC did not mention any abnormality or divergence. As far as we know, the aircraft remained clear of the Restricted Area P-56A. More immediate and efficient crew communication would have assisted with course correction and we de-briefed lessons learned. Additionally, situational awareness would have been improved with use of additional fix info rings to help identify the restricted areas.
Analyst callback
ASRS analysts occasionally follow up with reporters by phone. These are the paraphrased additional notes from those conversations.
Reporter stated the proximity to the restricted area complicated the wake response.
NASA classification — Anomalies
- Airspace Violation
- Deviation - Track / Heading
- Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural
- Inflight Event / Encounter
NASA classification — Assessments
- Contributing Factors / Situations
- Environment - Non Weather Related · Human Factors · Procedure
- Primary Problem
- Ambiguous
ASRS reports are voluntarily submitted, de-identified by NASA, and represent the reporter's perspective. The presence of reports on a topic cannot be used to infer prevalence in the National Airspace System. The authoritative source is the NASA ASRS Database Online at asrs.arc.nasa.gov ↗.