Date: 201408
Local time of day: 0001-0600
Location: ZAB.ARTCC, NM
Aircraft: Widebody; Low Wing; 3 Turbojet Eng
Operator: Government
Operating under: Part 91
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Refueling
Flight phase: Cruise
Airspace: Class A ZAB
ATC / advisory: Center ZAB
Second aircraft: Fighter
Reporter organization: Government
Reporter function: Enroute
Reporter qualification: Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Human factors: Communication Breakdown; Workload; Situational Awareness
Second reporter function: Supervisor / CIC; Enroute
Anomaly: Airspace Violation All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Detector: Person Air Traffic Control
When detected: In-flight
Result: Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance
Contributing factors: Airspace Structure; Procedure; Weather
Primary problem: Weather

Narrative: I was working Sector 42 on the radar position we had a large amount of weather along the boundary with Los Angeles Center. We were showing weather extending from the vicinity of the PKE VORTAC all the way down to well into Mexico. We had numerous deviations on aircraft climb out of and descending into PHX. Most of the aircraft were requesting to deviate north to around PKE or north of it. The Northwest area was requesting release of the Gladden and Baghdad areas for military training. I told the Supervisor that I thought it was a bad idea because of the deviations. He decided to release the southern part of Gladden FL190 and below and the northern part FL330 and below and Baghdad was going active FL280 and below. We had a flight that was originally an Altitude Reservation of 1 Aircraft X and 5 Aircraft Y's going direct PKE for the weather. The aircraft request to deviate north for weather. I approved the deviation because aircraft had not been going as far north as Baghdad and the part of Gladden that was active that he was crossing was only FL190 and below. The formation flight was in an altitude block of 240B260. The flight was getting much farther north than I had expected and he was getting close to Baghdad. I told him I needed him to turn left to a heading of 270 to avoid military airspace. He said he was unable to turn because of weather; but that he could climb. I had other traffic that made it unsafe for him to climb. We called the sector working the Baghdad area and told them of the situation and they later deactivated the airspace. But not before the flight clipped the southwestern corner of it. We should not be releasing airspace for military operations whenever we have massive weather deviations in the vicinity of the airspace.


Second narrative: 1. Aircraft X and Aircraft Y ALTRV. Flight came into Sector 90 level at FL310. I asked the TMU unit if the flight was still an active ALTRV. They said as far as they know it was. I had the R90 Controller ask the flight if they were still an ALTRV. Just prior to this Aircraft X requested the block 240B260. When the controller asked about ALTRV status; Aircraft X affirmed that in fact they were still an ALTRV. This is an issue because the FL310 was never coordinated and aircraft y was Non-RVSM. The flight descended back to correct altitude for the ALTRV.2. The NW area called and requested Gladden/Baghdad ACTAA/MOA FL330 and below. I told them to stand by and spoke with the OM about the airspace issues this would cause. The NW Front Line Manager (FLM) was there for this conversation also. I released FL190 and below in the southern areas. The NW Front Line Manager (FLM) released FL280 and below in the northern areas. Aircraft X flight now in the FL240B260 block; was now deviating north around a large area of weather that had been there for hours. This is the reason I limited Gladden/Baghdad to FL190. I told the R42 Controller who was working Aircraft X to terminate the ALTRV and inform the flight they are now random refueling. The controller cleared as such. Aircraft X deviated so far north as to go toward the portion of Gladden/Baghdad that was FL280 and below. The controller tried to get the flight to turn away from the MOA/ACTAA. The controller asked the Aircraft X flight to turn to the left and away from the MOA/ACTAA. Aircraft X did turn back a little but not enough and violated the MOA for a few miles.We need to not be afraid to limit the altitudes of the MOA/ACTAA. It seems too many of the FLM's and controllers that we strive to serve the requests for these areas at the cost of safety. This has been an issue for years. The military seems to have a lot of pull and this area is a bad place for a MOA anyway! There are multiple arrival and departure routes near and when there is weather it makes things unsafe. When there is this weather we need to call the military and tell them we will not approve this airspace request no matter what. This should have been done this evening. I even had the weather unit (in our stand up briefing) pull up the center weather advisories along with a map of the MOA/ACTAA. I told everyone there that it was not a good idea. The maps showed this. The only clear area was in the Gladden/Baghdad area. (And where do you suppose the aircraft wanted to go?)


Synopsis: Controllers report of bad weather and aircraft deviations causing an airspace violation.