Date: 201310
Local time of day: 1801-2400
Location: DEN.Airport, CO
Reporter organization: Government
Reporter function: Local
Reporter qualification: Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Anomaly: ATC Issue All Types
Detector: Person Air Traffic Control
Result: General None Reported / Taken
Contributing factors: Procedure
Primary problem: Procedure

Narrative: During an arrival push at DIA the winds were picking up from the south. The TMC coordinated before the push with the Denver TRACON to go south early to avoid doing a runway change during busy traffic. We were north and east configuration running simultaneous ILS north due to low ceilings and low visibility to the south of the airport and visual approaches to Runway 7. Right as the traffic hit; the winds increased to more than a 10-knot tailwind for traffic landing north which was anticipated. The TRACON wanted to change. Due to the failure of the TRACON TMC to affect a runway change during slow traffic when the Tower TMC wanted; the operation was now put into a configuration change during a busy arrival push. The TRACON wanted now to go south and east. With the north traffic (simultaneous 35R/L) in monitor ILS approaches which is an illegal operation; not authorized in SOP and LOA to run north-south configuration at the same time since we were simultaneous to the north. North-south operation must be run VFR conditions with aircraft on visual approaches to all runways which was not the case at this point. The Tower TMC advised the TRACON TMC several times on a recorded line that they could not run both north and south at the same time due to the weather. The TMC in the Tower asked the TRACON TMC to provide the Tower with the last north lander that had to be on the ground before commencing south 16L/R arrivals. The TRACON TMC and management ignored that and commenced running this unauthorized configuration even after being advised not to and that it was not safe or authorized. The Tower was in chaos at this point. The TMC was begging anyone who would listen to somehow get the TRACON off of the configuration. The controllers in the Cab were very confused and were put into a scary situation. Do we penalize all the aircraft on final and send them around causing even more confusion or let this; albeit unauthorized; operation to continue. Throwing 8 to 10 aircraft into a small departure dump would cause a huge safety risk. The Tower was in utter chaos; confusion and was completely engulfed in distraction as to what to do. For TMC to authorize and then run an illegal operation even when they knew it was unauthorized and was told so is deplorable. I believe every aircraft that was cleared for that approach was an operational error. Had the Tower been told to stop departures and we decided to keep rolling what would happen? That is basically what happened. We told the TRACON not to run the north ILS traffic and they ignored the TMC/CIC and FLM. It's my opinion that the TMC should be given operational errors for every arrival for purposely ignoring the Tower and commencing with an illegal operation even after being told not to. [There should be a] full investigation of [this] event.




Synopsis: DEN Controller described an unsafe event when the TRACON TMC elected to conduct a landing operation that was deemed illegal by Tower personnel.