Narrative:

I was told to relieve the tower positions. That included all positions. The weather was IFR with low ceilings and visibility was less than 10 miles. I previewed the area; looked out the window; glanced at the board; noted the runway configuration and then told the controller I was relieving I was ready when he was. He gave me the position relief briefing which included two departures. One was still on our frequency and I'd need to switch and another that was on the climb out with departure control. Also was aircraft X arrival that he was not talking to yet.when aircraft X checked on with me I acknowledged with 'aircraft X; cak tower; good afternoon; runway 1 cleared to land; winds....'. The pilot read it back. I noted that he flew through his intercept to the final and was right of course but correcting. Then he went left of course and was correcting back. His altitude was good and then suddenly he descended below the minimum vectoring altitude (MVA) and the crossing altitude of the outer marker. I issued a low altitude alert but my phraseology was not correct. Shortly after that while I was looking up the crossing restrictions the TRACON controller called up and gave them to me which I then told the pilot. The pilot acknowledged but never climbed to meet them.during this time there was a new ATIS which I eventually broadcast while the aircraft was on about a 2-3 mile final. Once the pilot got on the ground I issued his taxi instructions. He requested them again. I reissued the taxi instructions. He still did not have them and asked again so I gave them to him one turn at a time. Eventually he got to parking. I was watching as he pulled on to the ramp. I was amazed as he pulled right past the ramp person who was trying to guide them to parking. Eventually I saw the ramp person throw up his hands and walk away because the plane went right past him.after I was relieved from position I went down stairs and spoke to the controller in charge (controller in charge). We discussed the whole situation and I enlightened them about the taxiing and parking of the aircraft. Later I was advised by that the controller in charge had reviewed the tapes and determined that my phraseology was not perfect. I told them don't worry about my phraseology. I was more concerned about the [passengers] on the plane.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Tower Controller reported an aircraft on approach flying in an erratic manner; unable to understand taxi instructions and ignored the ramp personnel's instructions.

Narrative: I was told to relieve the Tower positions. That included all positions. The weather was IFR with low ceilings and visibility was less than 10 miles. I previewed the area; looked out the window; glanced at the board; noted the runway configuration and then told the controller I was relieving I was ready when he was. He gave me the position relief briefing which included two departures. One was still on our frequency and I'd need to switch and another that was on the climb out with Departure Control. Also was Aircraft X arrival that he was not talking to yet.When Aircraft X checked on with me I acknowledged with 'Aircraft X; CAK Tower; good afternoon; Runway 1 cleared to land; winds....'. The pilot read it back. I noted that he flew through his intercept to the final and was right of course but correcting. Then he went left of course and was correcting back. His altitude was good and then suddenly he descended below the Minimum Vectoring Altitude (MVA) and the crossing altitude of the Outer Marker. I issued a Low Altitude Alert but my phraseology was not correct. Shortly after that while I was looking up the crossing restrictions the TRACON Controller called up and gave them to me which I then told the pilot. The pilot acknowledged but never climbed to meet them.During this time there was a new ATIS which I eventually broadcast while the aircraft was on about a 2-3 mile final. Once the pilot got on the ground I issued his taxi instructions. He requested them again. I reissued the taxi instructions. He still did not have them and asked again so I gave them to him one turn at a time. Eventually he got to parking. I was watching as he pulled on to the ramp. I was amazed as he pulled right past the ramp person who was trying to guide them to parking. Eventually I saw the ramp person throw up his hands and walk away because the plane went right past him.After I was relieved from position I went down stairs and spoke to the Controller in Charge (CIC). We discussed the whole situation and I enlightened them about the taxiing and parking of the aircraft. Later I was advised by that the CIC had reviewed the tapes and determined that my phraseology was not perfect. I told them don't worry about my phraseology. I was more concerned about the [passengers] on the plane.

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.