 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
Airbus captain identified confusing fix names KI45O and KI450 and recommends avoiding the use of the letter 'O' along with numbers in naming waypoints.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1665761 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201907 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZID.ARTCC |
| State Reference | IN |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Airbus Industrie Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
FAA needs to re-think naming of alpha-numeric waypoint fixes. This fix 'KI45O' is easily confused with fix 'KI450. Why is an alphabetical designation affixed to the end of a numerical portion of a fix name? Why not use 'KIO45' instead negating confusion over letter and number designator. A fix name should not go from letters to numbers and back to letters.dispatch should have paper work that uses the letter 'O' for the letter 'O' and a zero with a diagonal line to represent the number zero. Notice that even in this report it is hard to discriminate between O and 0- this font does not use a line diagonally through zero.we could have asked ATC clearance to recheck waypoint 'KI450' and that might have solved the ambiguous waypoint that was 6666 miles to the southeast.we could have queried ATC prior to reaching the confusing waypoint if they showed KI450 or KI450.the flight release and operational flight plan both interchange zeros (0) and the letter (O). Notice that honeywell uses a zero with a diagonal and a letter O without a diagonal to represent numbers versus letters in the nomenclature of the mcdu. In the cockpit we have one format that has 'O' and '0' in our paperwork; while the mcdu uses the industry standard of a letter 'O' and the zero numeral with a diagonal through it.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Airbus Captain identified confusing fix names KI45O and KI450 and recommends avoiding the use of the letter 'O' along with numbers in naming waypoints.
Narrative: FAA needs to re-think naming of alpha-numeric waypoint fixes. This fix 'KI45O' is easily confused with fix 'KI450. Why is an alphabetical designation affixed to the end of a numerical portion of a fix name? Why not use 'KIO45' instead negating confusion over letter and number designator. A fix name should not go from letters to numbers and back to letters.Dispatch should have paper work that uses the letter 'O' for the letter 'O' and a zero with a diagonal line to represent the number zero. Notice that even in this report it is hard to discriminate between O and 0- this font does not use a line diagonally through zero.We could have asked ATC clearance to recheck waypoint 'KI450' and that might have solved the ambiguous waypoint that was 6666 miles to the southeast.We could have queried ATC prior to reaching the confusing waypoint if they showed KI450 or KI450.The Flight Release and Operational Flight Plan both interchange zeros (0) and the letter (O). Notice that Honeywell uses a zero with a diagonal and a letter O without a diagonal to represent numbers versus letters in the nomenclature of the MCDU. In the cockpit we have one format that has 'O' and '0' in our paperwork; while the MCDU uses the industry standard of a letter 'O' and the zero numeral with a diagonal through it.
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.