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C650 on approach to st. Johns antigua received TCAS RA with other holding aircraft; ATC indicated the flight crew was at other than assigned altitude.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 823780 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200902 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | TAPA.Airport |
| State Reference | FO |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Citation III VI VII (C650) |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Route In Use | Other Holding Pattern |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Cessna Citation Sovereign (C680) |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 120 Flight Crew Total 3100 Flight Crew Type 1500 |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Pilot Not Flying First Officer |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 75 Flight Crew Total 9700 Flight Crew Type 1500 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Procedural Clearance |
| Miss Distance | Horizontal 2500 Vertical 100 |
Narrative:
We were approaching antigua on airway G633 and ZSU had terminated radar service and handed us off to vc bird approach. While in the descent; there was another aircraft with a similar call sign. Ours is xxxxx and theirs was xyxxx. The controller for vc bird approach was giving multiple instructions to both of us but referring to each aircraft as either 'XXX' or 'xx' and not giving the complete call sign. We were one of several aircraft intercepting the anu 12 DME arc to hold as published at omrel. They were stacking us in 2000 ft intervals until being cleared to land. We were getting multiple stepdown instructions which would change before we reached the last assigned altitude. It was a high workload and the foreign accent was very hard to understand. We got an RA as we entered the hold at 5000 ft. The RA command was to 'arrest descent.' I saw the high wing twin turboprop at 9 o'clock position and about 2500 ft away as it passed behind us. When we switched to tower; they said we read back the wrong tail number instructions and we were supposed to be at 7000 ft instead of 5000 ft. We talked to another crew who was airborne at that time and they were amazed at the chaotic environment.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: C650 on approach to St. Johns Antigua received TCAS RA with other holding aircraft; ATC indicated the flight crew was at other than assigned altitude.
Narrative: We were approaching Antigua on Airway G633 and ZSU had terminated radar service and handed us off to VC Bird Approach. While in the descent; there was another aircraft with a similar call sign. Ours is XXXXX and theirs was XYXXX. The Controller for VC Bird Approach was giving multiple instructions to both of us but referring to each aircraft as either 'XXX' or 'XX' and not giving the complete call sign. We were one of several aircraft intercepting the ANU 12 DME arc to hold as published at OMREL. They were stacking us in 2000 FT intervals until being cleared to land. We were getting multiple stepdown instructions which would change before we reached the last assigned altitude. It was a high workload and the foreign accent was very hard to understand. We got an RA as we entered the hold at 5000 FT. The RA command was to 'Arrest Descent.' I saw the high wing twin turboprop at 9 o'clock position and about 2500 FT away as it passed behind us. When we switched to Tower; they said we read back the wrong tail number instructions and we were supposed to be at 7000 FT instead of 5000 FT. We talked to another crew who was airborne at that time and they were amazed at the chaotic environment.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.