Date: 201604
Local time of day: 1801-2400
Location: PIA.TRACON, IL
Flight conditions: VMC
Light: Daylight
Aircraft: Military Transport
Operator: Military
Operating under: Part 91
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Training
Flight phase: Final Approach
Airspace: Class C PIA
ATC / advisory: TRACON PIA
Second aircraft: Small Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turboprop Eng
Reporter organization: Government
Reporter function: Approach
Reporter qualification: Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Human factors: Human-Machine Interface; Confusion; Situational Awareness
Anomaly: ATC Issue All Types; Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Detector: Person Air Traffic Control
When detected: In-flight
Result: Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Air Traffic Control Separated Traffic
Contributing factors: Procedure; Manuals; Airport
Primary problem: Procedure

Narrative: Aircraft X departed PIA tagged as a VFR aircraft. He had requested a VOR to Runway 31 circle to land Runway 13. The strip marking and the code led me to believe he was VFR not IFR. I checked with Local control and Aircraft X was IFR. I coordinated Aircraft X inbound to Local Control and I DID NOT use the Opposite Direction Operation (ODO) phraseology because I believed a circling approach to the active runway was not an ODO. Aircraft X was the only airplane on the scope at the time. I cleared him for the VOR circle south to Runway 13. After Aircraft X was talking to Local Control a departure came off of Runway 13. The heading on the strip read 330 my control for turns. Local Control then called down and told me the departure took the wrong heading and would then be on a 360 heading and my control for turns. Before I talked to the departing aircraft it looked like he had turned towards the Aircraft X before turning north. After Aircraft X had circled and I radar Identified the departure and turned him on course. Even though I believed Aircraft X operation was not an ODO I never thought Local Control would launch another aircraft towards the inbound with ODO being a hot issue. That is why I ask management to clarify if a circling approach was in fact an ODO because the departure was launched well with inside the cutoff point. The Front Line Manager (FLM) and I read the ODO several times to see if it stated that a circling approach is an ODO. The order talks about the intended runway of landing and does not address approach that terminate to the active runway.I believe a circling approach is a valuable tool to both pilots and controllers. We should not remove this tool from future use. however I believe the ODO order needs to be re written in sections to address a circling approached to an advertise active runway and remove the words 'Same runway' and 'intended runway of landing.' I don't know if by using the correct ODO phraseology it would have stopped Local from departing Aircraft Y? I brought this to light to my FLM because I feel it was an unsafe operation to depart an aircraft before Aircraft X started the circle.




Synopsis: A Tower Controller reported that an aircraft was cleared to depart towards an arrival conducting an opposite direction circling approach to the same runway. The TRACON Controller was not sure if facility opposite direction orders apply to circling approaches.