Narrative:

We were on arrival into tlpl. Communications in that area are very difficult at best. Poor transmitters and very strong accents caused us a great deal of difficulty understanding our clearances. Since there was not an ATIS available; we started asking for weather conditions. We were in intermittent IMC conditions and were not told to expect any approach in particular. We were only able to confirm the altimeter setting. Runway in use; ceiling; and winds could not be determined. About 3 miles from the NDB on the field; we were suddenly cleared for the NDB approach. We decided that NDB 28 was the approach they had in mind (it was very difficult to know exactly what was said at this point.) we briefed and set up the approach in the FMS; and proceeded to execute the outbound procedure turn. We were told to report our position a couple of times (which we did to the best of our abilities). On our inbound leg; approximately 7 miles east of the field; I reported our position; and that we had the field in sight. At this point the tower controller cleared us to land. The controller may; or may not have made reference to the runway (we couldn't be sure). There was no other traffic in the area; and we landed on runway 28. During our taxi back to the ramp; the controller asked why we landed on 28; and that he had expected us to land on 10. Needless to say we felt pretty sick at that point. We told the controller as best we could what had happened. They didn't really seem upset; and didn't request any action on our part. Contributing factors were: no ATIS or weather information available prior to our arrival; poor transmitter capabilities; very difficult accent to understand; non radar environment; being rushed to set up an approach and execute it with very little notice; and marginal weather conditions with terrain partially obscured in clouds. Lessons learned: always question any unclear instructions; clarify any misunderstood instructions; and don't get distracted.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Fractional Carrier Crew on approach to TLPL (St. Lucia) experienced severe language and communications difficulties. After executing the NDB 28 and landing on Runway 28 ATC told the crew that they were cleared to land on Runway 10.

Narrative: We were on arrival into TLPL. Communications in that area are very difficult at best. Poor transmitters and very strong accents caused us a great deal of difficulty understanding our clearances. Since there was not an ATIS available; we started asking for weather conditions. We were in intermittent IMC conditions and were not told to expect any approach in particular. We were only able to confirm the altimeter setting. Runway in use; ceiling; and winds could not be determined. About 3 miles from the NDB on the field; we were suddenly cleared for the NDB approach. We decided that NDB 28 was the approach they had in mind (It was very difficult to know exactly what was said at this point.) We briefed and set up the approach in the FMS; and proceeded to execute the outbound procedure turn. We were told to report our position a couple of times (which we did to the best of our abilities). On our inbound leg; approximately 7 miles east of the field; I reported our position; and that we had the field in sight. At this point the Tower Controller cleared us to land. The Controller may; or may not have made reference to the runway (we couldn't be sure). There was no other traffic in the area; and we landed on Runway 28. During our taxi back to the ramp; the Controller asked why we landed on 28; and that he had expected us to land on 10. Needless to say we felt pretty sick at that point. We told the controller as best we could what had happened. They didn't really seem upset; and didn't request any action on our part. Contributing factors were: No ATIS or weather information available prior to our arrival; poor transmitter capabilities; Very difficult accent to understand; non radar environment; Being rushed to set up an approach and execute it with very little notice; and marginal weather conditions with terrain partially obscured in clouds. Lessons learned: always question any unclear instructions; clarify any misunderstood instructions; and don't get distracted.

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.