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A B757 was issued a change in clearance on low altitude airways between guayaquil, ecuador and quito, ecuador, causing initial confusion with the flight crew.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 640520 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200411 |
| Day | Thu |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601 To 1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : gye.airport |
| Altitude | agl single value : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | ground : preflight |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 217 flight time total : 15000 flight time type : 3000 |
| ASRS Report | 640520 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : first officer |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | other flight crewa |
| Resolutory Action | controller : issued new clearance |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | ATC Human Performance Aircraft |
| Primary Problem | Aircraft |
Narrative:
On a flight between guayaquil, ecuador and quito, ecuador, the flight plan was filed 'catra W1 qit.' however, clearance delivery issued 'carte W12 qms qit.' the clearance was very confusing. The similarities in the first fix (carta versus carte), the low altitude airways (W1 versus W12), and the language barrier created confusion. Additionally, the FMC was programmed via uplink, and several attempts were made to correct the error. An alert first officer discovered the ambiguity, and the correct airways were programmed. The error was corrected prior to departure. Crews should be alert for this anomaly.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B757 WAS ISSUED A CHANGE IN CLRNC ON LOW ALT AIRWAYS BTWN GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR AND QUITO, ECUADOR, CAUSING INITIAL CONFUSION WITH THE FLT CREW.
Narrative: ON A FLT BTWN GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR AND QUITO, ECUADOR, THE FLT PLAN WAS FILED 'CATRA W1 QIT.' HOWEVER, CLRNC DELIVERY ISSUED 'CARTE W12 QMS QIT.' THE CLRNC WAS VERY CONFUSING. THE SIMILARITIES IN THE FIRST FIX (CARTA VERSUS CARTE), THE LOW ALT AIRWAYS (W1 VERSUS W12), AND THE LANGUAGE BARRIER CREATED CONFUSION. ADDITIONALLY, THE FMC WAS PROGRAMMED VIA UPLINK, AND SEVERAL ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO CORRECT THE ERROR. AN ALERT FO DISCOVERED THE AMBIGUITY, AND THE CORRECT AIRWAYS WERE PROGRAMMED. THE ERROR WAS CORRECTED PRIOR TO DEP. CREWS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THIS ANOMALY.
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.