Date: 201407
Local time of day: 1201-1800
Location: CAK.TRACON, OH
Light: Daylight
Aircraft: Medium Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Cruise
Airspace: Class E ZOB
ATC / advisory: TRACON CAK
Second aircraft: Large Transport
Reporter organization: Government
Reporter function: Departure
Reporter qualification: Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Anomaly: ATC Issue All Types; Airspace Violation All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Detector: Person Air Traffic Control
When detected: In-flight
Result: Air Traffic Control Separated Traffic; Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance
Contributing factors: Procedure; ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings
Primary problem: Procedure

Narrative: Aircraft X departed Runway 23 on runway heading from CAK. Radar identified fine; climbed to FL080 and turned to heading 140. He is planning for a final altitude of FL270; and FL080 is the top of our airspace. 140 heading is the farthest east we can turn before leaving either A) 4;000; or B) 3 miles from the airport. He was climbing slow; so I left him on that heading; and turned my attention to other duties; including running a VFR onto an instrument approach at a satellite airport; giving an aircraft on the ground at a different satellite airport an IFR clearance and release for departure; as well as taking a point out from adjacent Youngstown (YNG) Sector. Sometime during all this; Aircraft X's tag dropped off his target. During this; Aircraft Y departed Runway 23 at CAK and checked on. I believe he radar identified fine; and I turned him on course to CTW (~190 heading) and climbed him to 80. Next; Aircraft X called and asked for a turn on course. I notice he is no longer acquired on radar; and I asked his position. All of a sudden; Aircraft X reacquires with no input from me 10 NM west of PIT's airspace; adjacent to ours to the southeast; still on the 140 heading at 80; still flashing the hand off to ZOB. Simultaneously; I notice Aircraft Y has now dropped off radar; and I ask him to verify their squawk. He does; and reacquires. I immediately called PIT for the point out; planning to turn Aircraft X; with PITs approval; on course to EWC (~050 heading from his current position) after they took the point out; but after ~90 seconds of asking for PIT to answer and getting no reply; I realized I had to turn Aircraft X away from their airspace. I gave him a 320 heading to avoid; but he ended up about 2 NM inside their airspace at FL080; which they own. There was no conflict with any other known or observed traffic. Meanwhile; my CIC dials PIT on the dial line; asking what the deal is with the shout line. They say everything is normal on their end; we tell them about Aircraft X and our plan to get him up and eastbound. They approve the point out; and my CIC calls the relevant Cleveland Center sector; Briggs (BSV). The person at ZOB on the other end of the line is very abrasive; very unwilling to take the hand off ('that's PITs airspace; give Aircraft X to them; I don't want him.'). Our response was the obvious; 'he wants flight levels! PIT has the point out!' still unwilling to take the hand off; we say 'PIT has the point out; APREQ a 360 heading; your control?' to which she replies 'fine.' We reply 'do you have radar?' to which she replies 'I took the handoff!' I turn Aircraft X right to a 360 heading and give him to ZOB BSV Sector on 120.6.CAK has been continually plagued with equipment issues; both inside and outside the operation; everything from the wind instruments (OTS for almost a year) to the air [conditioner] randomly shutting off and turning the TRACON into a sauna (obviously not good for the controllers; much less the equipment). This was evidence of another series of equipment issues piling on top of each other to compound an already less than optimal situation. The PIT shout line going OTS at a moment's notice; the radar ID tags randomly and without warning dropping off of targets; and then on top of all that a hostile yet disturbingly apathetic attitude from the Center Controller. There were obviously issues here that could have been rectified sooner or avoided all together; but the unavoidable ones are what made this turn from a frustrating/confusing hand off/coordination into a mandatory report filing.




Synopsis: CAK TRACON Controller describes equipment failures that cause an airspace deviation with the Center.