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B737 captain reports possibly accepting a frequency change for another flight due to several similar sounding call signs.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1117041 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201309 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZJX.ARTCC |
| State Reference | FL |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | STAR HUSTN2 |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
Reported to center cleared direct promm on the HUSTN2 star clt. After a few minutes ACARS note to call center on previous frequency 135.05. We asked center on 124.07 if we needed to return to 135.05 and she said no. Center asked where we were going direct to; and we responded promm as cleared. She asked us to call jax center upon arrival and gave us a phone number. We noted at the time there were three flights with similar call signs on that frequency. We called ZJX after arrival clt. The supervisor said she just wanted to know how we lost contact and that there was no deviations or issues. When I told her of the three similar call signs; she said she would contact the company and try to get these numbers changed as it was confusing to all; controllers and pilots. She thanked us for the call back and once again said there were 'no' deviations or 'issues'. There seems to be more similar call signs as the airspace becomes more congested. Many times ATC controllers as well as air crew can respond to a similar call sign by mistake. Vigilance and trying to reduce these flight numbers that are very similar in the same airspace at the same time would help.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737 Captain reports possibly accepting a frequency change for another flight due to several similar sounding call signs.
Narrative: Reported to Center cleared direct PROMM on the HUSTN2 Star CLT. After a few minutes ACARS note to call Center on previous frequency 135.05. We asked Center on 124.07 if we needed to return to 135.05 and she said no. Center asked where we were going direct to; and we responded PROMM as cleared. She asked us to call Jax Center upon arrival and gave us a phone number. We noted at the time there were three flights with similar call signs on that frequency. We called ZJX after arrival CLT. The Supervisor said she just wanted to know how we lost contact and that there was no deviations or issues. When I told her of the three similar call signs; she said she would contact the Company and try to get these numbers changed as it was confusing to all; controllers and pilots. She thanked us for the call back and once again said there were 'no' deviations or 'issues'. There seems to be more similar call signs as the airspace becomes more congested. Many times ATC controllers as well as air crew can respond to a similar call sign by mistake. Vigilance and trying to reduce these flight numbers that are very similar in the same airspace at the same time would help.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.