Narrative:

Flosi 3 RNAV STAR arrival into ewr. The VNAV performance was causing a distraction to the entire 3 person crew. I was the relief pilot. The first officer was managing a VNAV problem with MCP (mode control panel) inputs in order to make the last minute ATC crossing restriction crank at 8;000 feet. Shortly after crossing crank boston center told us to contact ny approach on 120.15. The captain switched to the cleared frequency and it was immediately apparent that it was very busy with nonstop clearances and read backs. Before there was a break in the transmissions for him to check in; approach gave us a clearance; 'aircraft X; 210 heading; decent 7;000; ILS 22L ATIS foxtrot.' the captain read back the clearance and the first officer followed the clearance. Within 3 minutes; ny approach transmission stated 'aircraft X for the third time; fly direct to teb decent 6;000 feet.' the captain acknowledged the direct teb; but not the altitude. We were still going down to 7;000 at this time. I mentioned to the crew that I believed we were cleared to 6;000. The captain confirmed the clearance and we continued to descend to 6;000 feet with no further issue; but that was after the controller altitude said 'yes cleared direct teb. Down to 6;000 feet for the third time' meaning it was the third time the controller had given us the direct teb. The captain verified with the crew that our altitude clearance was 6;000 feet. We all agreed to get clarification and the captain did so. Not one of us heard a clearance to go direct teb until approach gave us the clearance to go direct teb 'for the third time.'

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier Relief Pilot reported a track deviation arriving at EWR airport. Reporter noted the crew had difficulty with Mode Control Panel (MCP) inputs and communications issues with ATC.

Narrative: FLOSI 3 RNAV STAR arrival into EWR. The VNAV performance was causing a distraction to the entire 3 person crew. I was the Relief Pilot. The First Officer was managing a VNAV problem with MCP (Mode Control Panel) inputs in order to make the last minute ATC crossing restriction CRANK at 8;000 feet. Shortly after crossing CRANK Boston Center told us to contact NY Approach on 120.15. The Captain switched to the cleared frequency and it was immediately apparent that it was very busy with nonstop clearances and read backs. Before there was a break in the transmissions for him to check in; approach gave us a clearance; 'Aircraft X; 210 heading; decent 7;000; ILS 22L ATIS foxtrot.' The Captain read back the clearance and the First Officer followed the clearance. Within 3 minutes; NY approach transmission stated 'Aircraft X for the third time; fly direct to TEB decent 6;000 feet.' The Captain acknowledged the Direct TEB; but not the altitude. We were still going down to 7;000 at this time. I mentioned to the crew that I believed we were cleared to 6;000. The Captain confirmed the clearance and we continued to descend to 6;000 feet with no further issue; but that was after the Controller altitude said 'yes cleared direct TEB. Down to 6;000 feet for the third time' meaning it was the third time the Controller had given us the direct TEB. The Captain verified with the crew that our altitude clearance was 6;000 feet. We all agreed to get clarification and the Captain did so. Not one of us heard a clearance to go direct TEB until approach gave us the clearance to go direct TEB 'for the third time.'

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.