A DHC8-200 captain executed a go-around because of several TCAS conflicts alternating from left to r...

Narrative:

At 1800 MSL we received an RA on an object that started 3 miles to our left 700 below. It then jumped to the right side of the aircraft. We leveled off and the object disappeared. We still had the glide slope active so we continued on the approach. Once we started our decent the object reappeared. We then went missed off the approach. I contacted ATC and they said they didn't have anything on their radar in that location. The way the objected jumped from the left and then to the right of us on the TCAS screen we believe it was a phantom RA but to be safe we followed the RA and went missed on the approach.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A DHC8-200 Captain executed a go-around because of several TCAS conflicts alternating from left to right and a single associated RA. ATC said they had no traffic in the area; leavingthe flight crew to believe they were phantom targets.

Narrative: At 1800 MSL we received an RA on an object that started 3 miles to our left 700 below. It then jumped to the right side of the aircraft. We leveled off and the object disappeared. We still had the glide slope active so we continued on the approach. Once we started our decent the object reappeared. We then went missed off the approach. I contacted ATC and they said they didn't have anything on their radar in that location. The way the objected jumped from the left and then to the right of us on the TCAS screen we believe it was a phantom RA but to be safe we followed the RA and went missed on the approach.

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	883871
Time
Date	201004
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Dash 8-200
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe

A DHC8-200 captain executed a go-around because of several TCAS conflicts alternating from left to right and a single associated RA. ATC said they had no traffic in the area; leavingthe flight crew to believe they were phantom targets.