B757 crew encounter some confusion with mia approach while on vector to final.

Attributes
ACN	567867
Time
Date	200212
Day	Mon
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : mia.airport
State Reference	FL
Altitude	msl single value : 4000
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Weather Elements	Thunderstorm
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : mia.tracon
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Navigation In Use	other
Route In Use	arrival : on vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
ASRS Report	567867
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Events
Anomaly	inflight encounter : weather non adherence : published procedure
Independent Detector	other controllera other controllerb other flight crewa other flight crewb
Resolutory Action	controller : issued new clearance other
Supplementary
Problem Areas	ATC Human Performance
Primary Problem	ATC Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Intra Facility Coordination Failure

Narrative:

Location heading 270 parallel approach course runway 9L mia not quite 8000 ft parallel runway 9L heading 270 degrees. Lots of rain thunderstorm and red on radar screen. Controller says turn left to 180 degrees and descend to 4000 ft. First officer flying, I read back and lowered landing gear and set flaps 20 degrees approach. My thinking is, he turned us in close to avoid WX. However, as we approached the final approach course and the turn to intercept became less likely. I queried controller as to his intentions. Answer -- 'I donno. I just sat down.' as we flew through final course heading 180 degrees, he says, 'I was kinda wondering why you were headed like that.' I then asked for a deviation and waited a long time for an answer. After much vectoring through a lot of WX, he asked if we wanted runway 9L or runway 9R. We still wanted runway 9L, and were vectored to final and landing. I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but both the first officer and myself are absolutely sure we heard the clearance correctly. Thinking back, I probably wouldn't take a turn in that close next time.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 CREW ENCOUNTER SOME CONFUSION WITH MIA APCH WHILE ON VECTOR TO FINAL.

Narrative: LOCATION HDG 270 PARALLEL APCH COURSE RWY 9L MIA NOT QUITE 8000 FT PARALLEL RWY 9L HDG 270 DEGS. LOTS OF RAIN TSTM AND RED ON RADAR SCREEN. CTLR SAYS TURN L TO 180 DEGS AND DSND TO 4000 FT. FO FLYING, I READ BACK AND LOWERED LNDG GEAR AND SET FLAPS 20 DEGS APCH. MY THINKING IS, HE TURNED US IN CLOSE TO AVOID WX. HOWEVER, AS WE APCHED THE FINAL APCH COURSE AND THE TURN TO INTERCEPT BECAME LESS LIKELY. I QUERIED CTLR AS TO HIS INTENTIONS. ANSWER -- 'I DONNO. I JUST SAT DOWN.' AS WE FLEW THROUGH FINAL COURSE HDG 180 DEGS, HE SAYS, 'I WAS KINDA WONDERING WHY YOU WERE HEADED LIKE THAT.' I THEN ASKED FOR A DEV AND WAITED A LONG TIME FOR AN ANSWER. AFTER MUCH VECTORING THROUGH A LOT OF WX, HE ASKED IF WE WANTED RWY 9L OR RWY 9R. WE STILL WANTED RWY 9L, AND WERE VECTORED TO FINAL AND LNDG. I'M STILL NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED, BUT BOTH THE FO AND MYSELF ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE WE HEARD THE CLRNC CORRECTLY. THINKING BACK, I PROBABLY WOULDN'T TAKE A TURN IN THAT CLOSE NEXT TIME.

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.