Md-80 holding at FL320 experienced a conflict with opposite direction traffic; resulting in two oppo...

Narrative:

Due to weather/congestion at our destination; we were given holding instructions by memphis center to hold southwest of bwg on J6 at our current altitude of FL320. Using 2-engine holding performance for a 140K-lb aircraft at FL320; we calculated a conservative holding speed of 255 KTS. We entered holding. We requested and were given approval for 20-mile legs. Weather was partly cloudy at altitude. While established in holding we got a TA alert 'traffic; traffic.' this aircraft had a TCAS display range of only 12NM. We could see the target at approximately 10 to 11 O'clock relative to our position on the TCAS display. The target was at our altitude. The first officer stated 'be ready to maneuver.' within seconds; the TCAS gave an RA alert 'descend; descend; descend.' the green arc commanded a descent rate of 1500 FPM. The captain immediately disconnected the autopilot and autothrottles. Almost immediately afterwards; ATC directed us to turn left to a heading of 330 degrees. The first officer stated that we were unable; because we were descending to comply with an RA. The target appeared to also be descending because the data remained at +00 to +/-01 (within 100 feet of our altitude). Again within seconds; the TCAS alert changed to 'climb; climb now; climb; climb now; climb; climb now'; requiring a 1500 FPM climb to get into the green arc. By this time; we had lost approximately 700-800 ft. The first officer saw that our aircraft symbol and the target symbol overlapped. During the climb maneuver; the aircraft experienced a low-speed buffet and the airspeed was observed to be approximately 220 KTS. The stall recovery procedure was followed. No stall or stall warnings were encountered. A few seconds later; we received the TCAS alert 'clear of conflict.' we immediately returned to the assigned holding pattern as we accelerated to approximately 260 KTS and leveled off at FL320. We notified ATC of the conflict and maneuvers we had performed. When we queried memphis center (ATC) as to what had just happened; we got a period of silence and then instructed to call after we landed. They gave no further information after another query; but did advise us that 'they were sorting it all out.' upon landing; we had maintenance inspect the aircraft.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD-80 holding at FL320 experienced a conflict with opposite direction traffic; resulting in two opposite direction RAs as well as a new clearance from ATC.

Narrative: Due to weather/congestion at our destination; we were given holding instructions by Memphis Center to hold Southwest of BWG on J6 at our current altitude of FL320. Using 2-engine Holding Performance for a 140K-lb aircraft at FL320; we calculated a conservative holding speed of 255 KTS. We entered holding. We requested and were given approval for 20-mile legs. Weather was partly cloudy at altitude. While established in holding we got a TA Alert 'Traffic; Traffic.' This aircraft had a TCAS display range of only 12NM. We could see the target at approximately 10 to 11 O'Clock relative to our position on the TCAS display. The target was at our altitude. The First Officer stated 'Be ready to maneuver.' Within seconds; the TCAS gave an RA Alert 'Descend; descend; descend.' The green arc commanded a descent rate of 1500 FPM. The Captain immediately disconnected the autopilot and autothrottles. Almost immediately afterwards; ATC directed us to turn left to a heading of 330 degrees. The First Officer stated that we were unable; because we were descending to comply with an RA. The target appeared to also be descending because the data remained at +00 to +/-01 (within 100 feet of our altitude). Again within seconds; the TCAS Alert changed to 'Climb; Climb Now; Climb; Climb Now; Climb; Climb Now'; requiring a 1500 FPM climb to get into the green arc. By this time; we had lost approximately 700-800 FT. The First Officer saw that our aircraft symbol and the target symbol overlapped. During the climb maneuver; the aircraft experienced a low-speed buffet and the airspeed was observed to be approximately 220 KTS. The stall recovery procedure was followed. No stall or stall warnings were encountered. A few seconds later; we received the TCAS Alert 'Clear of Conflict.' We immediately returned to the assigned holding pattern as we accelerated to approximately 260 KTS and leveled off at FL320. We notified ATC of the conflict and maneuvers we had performed. When we queried Memphis Center (ATC) as to what had just happened; we got a period of silence and then instructed to call after we landed. They gave no further information after another query; but did advise us that 'they were sorting it all out.' Upon landing; we had maintenance inspect the aircraft.

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.

Attributes
ACN	833542
Time
Date	200904
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZME.ARTCC
State Reference	TN
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	MD-80 Series (DC-9-80) Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Other Holding
Route In Use	Airway J6
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Total 14000 Flight Crew Type 8000
Person 2
Function	Pilot Not Flying First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 300 Flight Crew Total 4200 Flight Crew Type 1800
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Speed All Types

Md-80 holding at FL320 experienced a conflict with opposite direction traffic; resulting in two opposite direction ras as well as a new clearance from ATC.