<< >> NASA ASRS Report 443790, July 1999

A cpr flight crew flying a DA20 near tmu became confused with an ATC instruction to fly to an intersection that is not depicted on any aeronautical chart.

Attributes
ACN	443790
Time
Date	199907
Day	Sun
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
State Reference	CT
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : zny.artcc
Operator	general aviation : corporate
Make Model Name	Falcon 20FJF/20C/20D/20E/20F
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Navigation In Use	other vortac
Flight Phase	cruise : level
Route In Use	enroute : on vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 75 flight time total : 9000 flight time type : 300
ASRS Report	443790
Person 2
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : radar
Qualification	controller : radar
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa other flight crewb
Resolutory Action	controller : provided flight assist none taken : anomaly accepted
Supplementary
Problem Areas	ATC Human Performance
Primary Problem	ATC Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Operational Deviation

Narrative:

Original clearance included orw 130 degree radial to depot intersection. En route asked center to clarify since intersection could not be found. Reply was that no one could find it since it wasn't shown on chart. We were issued heading to intercept 130 degrees off of tmu -- we believe. Then kept getting turns left, so possibly center meant the orw 130 degree radial. There was a great deal of confusion at this point with many aircraft trying to find this intersection. Before we could ascertain which radial they meant, we were cleared direct to nantucket, so it was no longer a factor. We should have been more diligent in getting an explanation and center should not be sending people to unpublished fixes. This would help prevent confusion on both sides.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CPR FLC FLYING A DA20 NEAR TMU BECAME CONFUSED WITH AN ATC INSTRUCTION TO FLY TO AN INTXN THAT IS NOT DEPICTED ON ANY AERO CHART.

Narrative: ORIGINAL CLRNC INCLUDED ORW 130 DEG RADIAL TO DEPOT INTXN. ENRTE ASKED CTR TO CLARIFY SINCE INTXN COULD NOT BE FOUND. REPLY WAS THAT NO ONE COULD FIND IT SINCE IT WASN'T SHOWN ON CHART. WE WERE ISSUED HDG TO INTERCEPT 130 DEGS OFF OF TMU -- WE BELIEVE. THEN KEPT GETTING TURNS L, SO POSSIBLY CTR MEANT THE ORW 130 DEG RADIAL. THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF CONFUSION AT THIS POINT WITH MANY ACFT TRYING TO FIND THIS INTXN. BEFORE WE COULD ASCERTAIN WHICH RADIAL THEY MEANT, WE WERE CLRED DIRECT TO NANTUCKET, SO IT WAS NO LONGER A FACTOR. WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE DILIGENT IN GETTING AN EXPLANATION AND CTR SHOULD NOT BE SENDING PEOPLE TO UNPUBLISHED FIXES. THIS WOULD HELP PREVENT CONFUSION ON BOTH SIDES.

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.