Narrative:

I was pilot flying (PF) on approach into atl; assigned vyppr 1 runway 10 transition. We were cleared to descend via but assigned 250 knots at redtl; which was published at or above 10;000'. The next waypoint after redtl was swchm at 250/8000'. Arrival appeared to go ok; we worked diligently to comply with restrictions despite strong tailwind and flying VNAV. Extensive use of speedbrakes was required. Radio traffic was very congested; and once vectored onto the ILS prm 10 we were assigned 180 knots until zmann; which we strictly complied with. On short final to 10; we heard tower tell the preceding other carrier flight (just after clearing the runway) that they had a possible pilot deviation and to call a phone number. I believe we were at about 1200' AGL; and I remember thinking what a terrible thing to hear for any pilot. We landed without incident; and just after clearing the runway were told the exact same thing; which we copied. While taxiing northbound; we heard an additional carrier flight behind us was given the same message. We taxied to the gate; and after shutdown and checklists I called dispatch and passed on all information. The dispatcher called me back and patched me through to the chief pilot on call; who told me that he would pass everything on to the ATC specialists; who would call me back. [Dispatch] also advised us to call the as soon as possible hotline and do a quick report and receive a confirmation number; which the first officer and I did before leaving atl on our last leg. Upon terminating; I retrieved a voicemail from [the] ATC specialist. We called him back; and he informed us that 40-50 aircraft from all carriers had received the same message from atl ATC; but still had no exact information as to the exact deviation; but the prevailing suspicion was that the tailwinds on approach were exceeding the parameters of the STAR. He also advised us to follow up our as soon as possible phone calls with written reports. I still do not know exactly what our possible deviation was.perhaps the STAR should be examined for any flaws that would make it impossible to comply with; especially in certain meteorological conditions such as strong tailwinds. Also; if every aircraft on the procedure is having difficulty with the restrictions on the STAR; perhaps atl ATC should revise the instructions they are giving aircraft; or stop using the STAR altogether. The high workload in the atl terminal environment with a demanding local ATC; large amount of traffic to visually monitor; high radio congestion; tight airspeed requirements; all combined with a strong tailwind; would make it very challenging to recognize an impending deviation; and even more difficult to fit in a radio call to notify ATC of the impending deviation. If atl approach is trying to collect data points on particular procedures; threatening all the aircrews from across the spectrum of carriers with pilot deviations is an inappropriate and unprofessional way to do it. This induces anxiety and could end up being an inflight distraction that is a threat to flight safety.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Captain flying the ATL VYPPR 1 RNAV Runway 10 with a 250 kt constraint; reported being told after landing to call for a possible deviation after all apparent arrival constraints were met. Later; he learned 40-50 aircraft that day received the same warning for an undetermined reason.

Narrative: I was Pilot Flying (PF) on approach into ATL; assigned VYPPR 1 Runway 10 transition. We were cleared to descend via but assigned 250 knots at REDTL; which was published at or above 10;000'. The next waypoint after REDTL was SWCHM at 250/8000'. Arrival appeared to go OK; we worked diligently to comply with restrictions despite strong tailwind and flying VNAV. Extensive use of speedbrakes was required. Radio traffic was very congested; and once vectored onto the ILS PRM 10 we were assigned 180 knots until ZMANN; which we strictly complied with. On short final to 10; we heard Tower tell the preceding other carrier flight (just after clearing the runway) that they had a possible Pilot Deviation and to call a phone number. I believe we were at about 1200' AGL; and I remember thinking what a terrible thing to hear for any Pilot. We landed without incident; and just after clearing the runway were told the exact same thing; which we copied. While taxiing northbound; we heard an additional carrier flight behind us was given the same message. We taxied to the gate; and after shutdown and checklists I called Dispatch and passed on all information. The Dispatcher called me back and patched me through to the Chief Pilot On Call; who told me that he would pass everything on to the ATC Specialists; who would call me back. [Dispatch] also advised us to call the ASAP Hotline and do a quick report and receive a confirmation number; which the First Officer and I did before leaving ATL on our last leg. Upon terminating; I retrieved a voicemail from [the] ATC Specialist. We called him back; and he informed us that 40-50 aircraft from all carriers had received the same message from ATL ATC; but still had no exact information as to the exact deviation; but the prevailing suspicion was that the tailwinds on approach were exceeding the parameters of the STAR. He also advised us to follow up our ASAP phone calls with written reports. I still do not know exactly what our possible deviation was.Perhaps the STAR should be examined for any flaws that would make it impossible to comply with; especially in certain meteorological conditions such as strong tailwinds. Also; if every aircraft on the procedure is having difficulty with the restrictions on the STAR; perhaps ATL ATC should revise the instructions they are giving aircraft; or stop using the STAR altogether. The high workload in the ATL terminal environment with a demanding local ATC; large amount of traffic to visually monitor; high radio congestion; tight airspeed requirements; all combined with a strong tailwind; would make it very challenging to recognize an impending deviation; and even more difficult to fit in a radio call to notify ATC of the impending deviation. If ATL Approach is trying to collect data points on particular procedures; threatening all the Aircrews from across the spectrum of carriers with Pilot Deviations is an inappropriate and unprofessional way to do it. This induces anxiety and could end up being an inflight distraction that is a threat to flight safety.

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.