Narrative:

While at the gate in santa barbara preparing for departure during a quick turn I called sba clearance delivery frequency to obtain IFR clearance. The controller cleared our flight to depart runway 07 mishn 2 departure kptin transition direct weezl...; climb and maintain 3;000. The controller didn't spell out weezl with the phonetic alphabet. I began to program the FMS flight plan. Weezl wasn't on our flight plan so I typed in weesl into the flight plan along with the other fixes and then gave the route an inspection on the FMS map page of the multi-function-display. Initially I didn't see any issues with the flight plan and direction of flight but upon closer inspection; I saw that the weesl fix was toward the high rising terrain just northeast of the sba airport. I typed in weezl instead and noticed that it was out over the ocean in between kptin and sxc. I decided that this was the correct weezl but just to be sure; I called the controller back to have him spell out and clarify which fix he cleared us to: weezl or weesl. Per the controller; the correct fix was weezl. I mentioned to the controller that there was another fix weesl not far away that was in mountainous terrain and to please be careful when giving clearances in the future. I also cited an accident in cali columbia while speaking with him over the radio. Controller didn't seem familiar with the accident. It is important to note that being cleared to weezl is common when departing out of santa barbara even though it is not included on our flight plans nor printed on our releases for easy recognition. Our flight departed without further incident and safely arrived into our destination. Suggestions: incorrectly programming the FMS is what killed all but one passenger on the 757 that attempted to land in cali columbia at night in mountainous terrain. The fix that was programmed by the pilots into the FMS was one at an airport on the other side of the mountain range of the valley they were flying. The fixes were similar in spelling which contributed to the error. In santa barbara and the surrounding area and airports; these two fixes: weezl and weesl can pose the same confusing problem for pilots. It can be especially dangerous when departing in poor visibility from santa barbara airport and for pilots who are not familiar with the weezl fix that is commonly given in the clearance to pilots departing from santa barbara. I suggest that the weesl (in the mountainous terrain) fix be renamed to eliminate any confusion or danger in the future. It's too close in proximity to the weezl (over the ocean) fix; and can be mis-programmed into the FMS. This is especially the case when the controller issuing the clearance doesn't spell out the fix to the pilot. Clearance delivery controllers in santa barbara are accustomed to giving weezl in the clearance to pilots and sometimes they assume the pilot is familiar with its location and spelling. This is a dangerous and terrible assumption. If one of captains that isn't familiar with santa barbara is departing in IFR conditions to the wrong 'weesl' it could cause a GPWS warning or worse.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier Captain reported similar sounding fixes WEEZL and WEESL may be misunderstood.

Narrative: While at the gate in Santa Barbara preparing for departure during a quick turn I called SBA Clearance Delivery frequency to obtain IFR clearance. The controller cleared our flight to depart Runway 07 MISHN 2 departure KPTIN transition direct WEEZL...; climb and maintain 3;000. The controller didn't spell out WEEZL with the phonetic alphabet. I began to program the FMS flight plan. WEEZL wasn't on our flight plan so I typed in WEESL into the flight plan along with the other fixes and then gave the route an inspection on the FMS map page of the multi-function-display. Initially I didn't see any issues with the flight plan and direction of flight but upon closer inspection; I saw that the WEESL fix was toward the high rising terrain just northeast of the SBA airport. I typed in WEEZL instead and noticed that it was out over the ocean in between KPTIN and SXC. I decided that this was the correct WEEZL but just to be sure; I called the controller back to have him spell out and clarify which fix he cleared us to: WEEZL or WEESL. Per the controller; the correct fix was WEEZL. I mentioned to the controller that there was another fix WEESL not far away that was in mountainous terrain and to please be careful when giving clearances in the future. I also cited an accident in Cali Columbia while speaking with him over the radio. Controller didn't seem familiar with the accident. It is important to note that being cleared to WEEZL is common when departing out of Santa Barbara even though it is not included on our flight plans nor printed on our releases for easy recognition. Our flight departed without further incident and safely arrived into our destination. Suggestions: Incorrectly programming the FMS is what killed all but one passenger on the 757 that attempted to land in Cali Columbia at night in mountainous terrain. The fix that was programmed by the pilots into the FMS was one at an airport on the other side of the mountain range of the valley they were flying. The fixes were similar in spelling which contributed to the error. In Santa Barbara and the surrounding area and airports; these two fixes: WEEZL and WEESL can pose the same confusing problem for pilots. It can be especially dangerous when departing in poor visibility from Santa Barbara airport and for pilots who are not familiar with the WEEZL fix that is commonly given in the clearance to pilots departing from Santa Barbara. I suggest that the WEESL (in the mountainous terrain) fix be renamed to eliminate any confusion or danger in the future. It's too close in proximity to the WEEZL (over the ocean) fix; and can be mis-programmed into the FMS. This is especially the case when the controller issuing the clearance doesn't spell out the fix to the pilot. Clearance delivery controllers in Santa Barbara are accustomed to giving WEEZL in the clearance to pilots and sometimes they assume the pilot is familiar with its location and spelling. This is a dangerous and terrible assumption. If one of Captains that isn't familiar with Santa Barbara is departing in IFR conditions to the wrong 'WEESL' it could cause a GPWS warning or worse.

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.