Cargo 727 has heading deviation on arrival to iah.

Attributes
ACN	306120
Time
Date	199505
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : iah
State Reference	TX
Altitude	msl bound lower : 30000 msl bound upper : 30000
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Dusk
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : zhu
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B727 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	descent other
Route In Use	arrival other arrival star : star
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp pilot : flight engineer
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 180 flight time total : 8000
ASRS Report	306120
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : commercial pilot : instrument
Events
Anomaly	non adherence : clearance non adherence : published procedure other spatial deviation
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	flight crew : became reoriented flight crew : returned to intended course or assigned course other
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

We were on the gland 7 arrival to houston. The first officer was flying, and I was messing around with paper work. The controller asked us what we were doing. I replied 'the gland 7,' without checking our position. The first officer for some reason took it upon himself to ignore the transition off corpus christi and angle in to intercept the iah 054 degree radial inside gland. The controller gave us a vector to reintercept the arrival outside gland. I asked the first officer why he did that, and he replied that he just wanted to take a short cut. Up to this time, he had proved to be quite competent. So I learned to always monitor the navigation, and not to assume that a previously competent pilot wouldn't do something weird.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CARGO 727 HAS HDG DEV ON ARR TO IAH.

Narrative: WE WERE ON THE GLAND 7 ARR TO HOUSTON. THE FO WAS FLYING, AND I WAS MESSING AROUND WITH PAPER WORK. THE CTLR ASKED US WHAT WE WERE DOING. I REPLIED 'THE GLAND 7,' WITHOUT CHKING OUR POS. THE FO FOR SOME REASON TOOK IT UPON HIMSELF TO IGNORE THE TRANSITION OFF CORPUS CHRISTI AND ANGLE IN TO INTERCEPT THE IAH 054 DEG RADIAL INSIDE GLAND. THE CTLR GAVE US A VECTOR TO REINTERCEPT THE ARR OUTSIDE GLAND. I ASKED THE FO WHY HE DID THAT, AND HE REPLIED THAT HE JUST WANTED TO TAKE A SHORT CUT. UP TO THIS TIME, HE HAD PROVED TO BE QUITE COMPETENT. SO I LEARNED TO ALWAYS MONITOR THE NAV, AND NOT TO ASSUME THAT A PREVIOUSLY COMPETENT PLT WOULDN'T DO SOMETHING WEIRD.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.