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A tower controller reported issuing the wrong clearance due to similar sounding same company call signs. The same controller also had to issue clearances and taxi instructions to three aircraft on frequency at the same time with similar company call signs.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1389613 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201609 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Medium Transport |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Medium Transport |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Ground |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (mon) 8 Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 1 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
As instructed in a facility briefing; this is two reports of two instances of similar sounding call-signs; both within one session. The first occurred when [company] 1245 was taxied out as [company] 1345. These were both active proposed flight plans and the error was caught by the pilot verifying the call-sign after I had put the aircraft into position.the second instance occurred at roughly [one hour later] when [company] 1152; [company] 1452; and [company] 1252 all taxied out at the same time to the same runway. All pilots were notified and additional confusion was avoided.airlines need to do a better job of avoiding similar call-signs all together. It is understandable that this can be complicated when considering the volume of flights and the fact that one numbering system may span a legacy carrier and all its code-shares; but there's surely room for improvement. Additionally; similar call-signs that are separated by proposed departure times can still become an issue during extensive weather delays. During such occurrences; similar call-signs can be even more confusing and dangerous due to the increased complexity and workload already on controllers and pilots.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Tower Controller reported issuing the wrong clearance due to similar sounding same company call signs. The same Controller also had to issue clearances and taxi instructions to three aircraft on frequency at the same time with similar company call signs.
Narrative: As instructed in a facility briefing; this is two reports of two instances of similar sounding call-signs; both within one session. The first occurred when [company] 1245 was taxied out as [company] 1345. These were both active proposed flight plans and the error was caught by the pilot verifying the call-sign after I had put the aircraft into position.The second instance occurred at roughly [one hour later] when [company] 1152; [company] 1452; and [company] 1252 all taxied out at the same time to the same runway. All pilots were notified and additional confusion was avoided.Airlines need to do a better job of avoiding similar call-signs all together. It is understandable that this can be complicated when considering the volume of flights and the fact that one numbering system may span a legacy carrier and all its code-shares; but there's surely room for improvement. Additionally; similar call-signs that are separated by proposed departure times can still become an issue during extensive weather delays. During such occurrences; similar call-signs can be even more confusing and dangerous due to the increased complexity and workload already on controllers and pilots.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.