Narrative:

Flying the coatt 4 arrival. ATC cleared us to cross falko intersection 250 KTS, 13000 ft. The arrival depicts falko crossing as 250 KTS, 10000 ft. I set 13000 ft in the altitude window and the first officer verified it. We were handed off to the next controller. I checked on level at 13000 ft. Approach said 'tell me you're not at 13000 ft.' I assured him we were assigned falko at 250 KTS, 13000 ft. He said they should have assigned 10000 ft and cleared us 6000 ft and asked us to expedite through 7000 ft. He also told us to expect runway 19R and to fly the barin transition. The subsequent controller worked us down to 2000 ft, while on the barin and asked if we could accept runway 19L (said it would be faster). We accepted the change. Approach assigned a 260 degree heading and clearance to 1000 ft. The first officer verified the altitude. I loaded the approach in the mcdu and looked to my page to ascertain the airport elevation. Our clearance to 1000 ft seemed odd. Approach assigned 2 additional headings prior to clearing us for the approach. Passing through approximately 1300 ft, approach asked for our altitude. I reported our altitude and he told us to climb to 1700 ft. He said he never cleared us to 1000 ft. We crossed the OM (jarob) at 1700 ft and continued the approach. Somewhere around 1200 ft we received a TCASII RA. The first officer initiated a climb only to resume the approach after eye contact with the traffic. Landed.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AN A320 CREW RECEIVE CONFLICTING INSTRUCTIONS FROM ATC DURING DSCNT INTO IAD.

Narrative: FLYING THE COATT 4 ARR. ATC CLRED US TO CROSS FALKO INTXN 250 KTS, 13000 FT. THE ARR DEPICTS FALKO XING AS 250 KTS, 10000 FT. I SET 13000 FT IN THE ALT WINDOW AND THE FO VERIFIED IT. WE WERE HANDED OFF TO THE NEXT CTLR. I CHKED ON LEVEL AT 13000 FT. APCH SAID 'TELL ME YOU'RE NOT AT 13000 FT.' I ASSURED HIM WE WERE ASSIGNED FALKO AT 250 KTS, 13000 FT. HE SAID THEY SHOULD HAVE ASSIGNED 10000 FT AND CLRED US 6000 FT AND ASKED US TO EXPEDITE THROUGH 7000 FT. HE ALSO TOLD US TO EXPECT RWY 19R AND TO FLY THE BARIN TRANSITION. THE SUBSEQUENT CTLR WORKED US DOWN TO 2000 FT, WHILE ON THE BARIN AND ASKED IF WE COULD ACCEPT RWY 19L (SAID IT WOULD BE FASTER). WE ACCEPTED THE CHANGE. APCH ASSIGNED A 260 DEG HDG AND CLRNC TO 1000 FT. THE FO VERIFIED THE ALT. I LOADED THE APCH IN THE MCDU AND LOOKED TO MY PAGE TO ASCERTAIN THE ARPT ELEVATION. OUR CLRNC TO 1000 FT SEEMED ODD. APCH ASSIGNED 2 ADDITIONAL HDGS PRIOR TO CLRING US FOR THE APCH. PASSING THROUGH APPROX 1300 FT, APCH ASKED FOR OUR ALT. I RPTED OUR ALT AND HE TOLD US TO CLB TO 1700 FT. HE SAID HE NEVER CLRED US TO 1000 FT. WE CROSSED THE OM (JAROB) AT 1700 FT AND CONTINUED THE APCH. SOMEWHERE AROUND 1200 FT WE RECEIVED A TCASII RA. THE FO INITIATED A CLB ONLY TO RESUME THE APCH AFTER EYE CONTACT WITH THE TFC. LANDED.

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.