Narrative:

We were on the seventh leg of the day--7 hours of flying and 7 approachs in low IFR WX. The approach was the ILS 1 at mci. The ILS 1 was the only approach in use and it was the rush hour, so approach had a lot of aircraft ot deal with. We had flown a 25 mi downwind for the approach and were inbound about 3 mi from the OM when ATC gave us an unusual clearance: a left turn to 090 degree heading. The first officer read back the clearance, but with a right turn, since that would have made more sense. ATC came back and said, 'no, a right turn to 090,' so I started the turn. It seemed odd, but we had been asked to slow for traffic ahead and I thought we had just gotten too close. As we were passing through heading 210, ATC asked us our heading and what we were doing, at which point the first officer didn't know what to say, so I told him what clearance he gave us and that we had read it back (twice). He apologized and said he gave us abfx, a clearance which had been meant for abc X. We were then vectored for another approach west/O further incident. This event occurred at the end of a long day of snow, with low ceilings and visibility, and I expect that both the controller and I were suffering from fatigue. He made the initial mistake, and I failed to recognize it soon enough to question him properly before the event occurred. It could have turned out much worse than it did. I don't know how close we came to any of the many others in the area at the time.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: APCH CTLR USED THE WRONG CALL SIGN WHEN GIVING A RADAR VECTOR AND WHEN THE ACFT RESPONDED THE CTLR NOTICED THE ERROR AND CORRECTED THE HEADING ASSIGNMENT.

Narrative: WE WERE ON THE SEVENTH LEG OF THE DAY--7 HRS OF FLYING AND 7 APCHS IN LOW IFR WX. THE APCH WAS THE ILS 1 AT MCI. THE ILS 1 WAS THE ONLY APCH IN USE AND IT WAS THE RUSH HOUR, SO APCH HAD A LOT OF ACFT OT DEAL WITH. WE HAD FLOWN A 25 MI DOWNWIND FOR THE APCH AND WERE INBND ABOUT 3 MI FROM THE OM WHEN ATC GAVE US AN UNUSUAL CLRNC: A LEFT TURN TO 090 DEG HDG. THE F/O READ BACK THE CLRNC, BUT WITH A RIGHT TURN, SINCE THAT WOULD HAVE MADE MORE SENSE. ATC CAME BACK AND SAID, 'NO, A RIGHT TURN TO 090,' SO I STARTED THE TURN. IT SEEMED ODD, BUT WE HAD BEEN ASKED TO SLOW FOR TFC AHEAD AND I THOUGHT WE HAD JUST GOTTEN TOO CLOSE. AS WE WERE PASSING THROUGH HDG 210, ATC ASKED US OUR HDG AND WHAT WE WERE DOING, AT WHICH POINT THE F/O DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY, SO I TOLD HIM WHAT CLRNC HE GAVE US AND THAT WE HAD READ IT BACK (TWICE). HE APOLOGIZED AND SAID HE GAVE US ABFX, A CLRNC WHICH HAD BEEN MEANT FOR ABC X. WE WERE THEN VECTORED FOR ANOTHER APCH W/O FURTHER INCIDENT. THIS EVENT OCCURRED AT THE END OF A LONG DAY OF SNOW, WITH LOW CEILINGS AND VIS, AND I EXPECT THAT BOTH THE CTLR AND I WERE SUFFERING FROM FATIGUE. HE MADE THE INITIAL MISTAKE, AND I FAILED TO RECOGNIZE IT SOON ENOUGH TO QUESTION HIM PROPERLY BEFORE THE EVENT OCCURRED. IT COULD HAVE TURNED OUT MUCH WORSE THAN IT DID. I DON'T KNOW HOW CLOSE WE CAME TO ANY OF THE MANY OTHERS IN THE AREA AT THE TIME.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of August 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.