Narrative:

We were on the second leg of the day and the first officer was at the controls. On arriving at mco on downwind with approach control we were given an expect clearance for a visual to runway 17L. We were asked if we wanted to take a visual to runway 18R. I was considering it as there was a thunderstorm not far from the approach end. As I was pondering the request the first officer answered and said that we could. As I questioned his response he said he thought I had missed the call from ATC. The first officer then turned toward the runway. On heading 270 ATC questioned our heading I said 270. He then came back and said that he said for us to expect the visual to runway 18R. He then told us to level at 3500 ft; which we did as we were crossing the approach for runway 17. I apologized for our mistake. He said no problem we were now cleared for the visual to runway 18R. The storm was getting close now but was not yet over the approach corridor. We continued to slow to get the gear and flaps down. As we turned onto final we were excessively high. As the approach continued I decided we would not be in a position for a stabilized approach and were experiencing some windshear with speed increases. I said 'lets go around'. Announcing this to tower we were given a clearance to descend to 1500 ft on a runway heading. Over the far end of runway we were then given a clearance to turn 090 and climb. This we did. The thing that followed was an uneventful approach to runway 17L as the thunderstorm was now over the end of runway 18R. On landing the first officer was very apologetic for his mistake as to the clearance. I asked for the telephone number of approach control from ground and when arriving at the gate called to speak to the controller. I was advised he stepped out and I was talking to the supervisor. He told me that no legalities were broken and that everything was fine. I missed the call for us to expect the visual as well as the first officer. As it was quite a busy time; with the thunderstorms's etc it does pay to keep your head in the loop and not let other distractions take you away from doing your job safely.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B757 Captain reported on the circumstances of a go-around at MCO after a visual approach clearance was offered by ATC.

Narrative: We were on the second leg of the day and the First Officer was at the controls. On arriving at MCO on downwind with Approach Control we were given an expect clearance for a visual to Runway 17L. We were asked if we wanted to take a visual to Runway 18R. I was considering it as there was a thunderstorm not far from the approach end. As I was pondering the request the First Officer answered and said that we could. As I questioned his response he said he thought I had missed the call from ATC. The First Officer then turned toward the runway. On heading 270 ATC questioned our heading I said 270. He then came back and said that he said for us to expect the visual to Runway 18R. He then told us to level at 3500 FT; which we did as we were crossing the approach for Runway 17. I apologized for our mistake. He said no problem we were now cleared for the visual to Runway 18R. The storm was getting close now but was not yet over the approach corridor. We continued to slow to get the gear and flaps down. As we turned onto final we were excessively high. As the approach continued I decided we would not be in a position for a stabilized approach and were experiencing some windshear with speed increases. I said 'lets go around'. Announcing this to Tower we were given a clearance to DESCEND to 1500 FT on a runway heading. Over the far end of runway we were then given a clearance to turn 090 and climb. This we did. The thing that followed was an uneventful approach to Runway 17L as the thunderstorm was now over the end of Runway 18R. On landing the First Officer was very apologetic for his mistake as to the clearance. I asked for the telephone number of Approach Control from ground and when arriving at the gate called to speak to the Controller. I was advised he stepped out and I was talking to the Supervisor. He told me that no legalities were broken and that everything was fine. I missed the call for us to expect the visual as well as the First Officer. As it was quite a busy time; with the thunderstorms's etc it does pay to keep your head in the loop and not let other distractions take you away from doing your job safely.

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.