ALTDEV.

Narrative

ENRTE AND IN DSCNT FROM FL410 TO CLT. DSCNT TO FL370; THEN TOLD TO EXPECT CROSS 15 E VXV AT FL290. SWITCHED FREQ; THEN GIVEN DSCNT TO FL350. FO ASKED CTR IF WE WOULD STILL HAVE XING ALT 15 E OF VXV AS EXPECTED. CTR SAID 'GRADUAL DSCNT TO CLT EXPECTED' AND HAVE TFC AT 1:30 POS FL330. I WAS LOOKING FOR THE TFC WHEN WE WERE ASKED OUR ALT. I LOOKED AT ALT AND WERE PASSING 34200 FT. WE HAD LEVELED AT FL350 FOR A FEW MINS WHILE WE ASKED ABOUT ANY COMING RESTR E OF VXV. THE CAPT THOUGHT CTLR HAD GIVEN CLRNC TO FL330 AND RESET OUR FLT ALT ALERT WINDOW TO FL330. I DID NOT NOTICE THE CHANGE IN THE ALT WINDOW AS I WAS LOOKING OUT THE R WINDOW FOR TFC AT 1:30. WHEN WE WERE ASKED OUR ALT BY ZTL; I SAW 34200 FT AND DSNDING AND FL330 IN ALT WINDOW. I ASKED CAPT WHY FL330 WAS IN WINDOW AND HE SAID HE THOUGHT WE WERE CLRED TO FL330. CTR VECTORED OTHER ACFT AROUND US AND WE CALLED ZTL AFTER LNDG. WE BOTH FILED NASA RPTS TO COVER ALT PROB/INCIDENT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTING FO HAS NOT HEARD FROM THE FAA ON THIS INCIDENT. WHEN THE CAPT CALLED FROM CLT; THE CTLR SAID THAT NO RPT WOULD BE FORWARDED TO FSDO. THE CHANGE OF CTLRS AND THE APPARENT NONSTANDARD TERMINOLOGY BY THE CTLRS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS AS WELL AS THE LACK OF COM BTWN THE 2 PLTS. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 294362: INBOUND TOWARD CLT AT FL370; WE WERE TOLD TO EXPECT TO CROSS VXV AT FL290; THEN CLRED TO DSND TO FL350. AT FL350 WE WERE TOLD TO EXPECT 15 MI W OF VXV AT FL290. AS WE WERE GETTING CLOSE TO TOP OF DSCNT TO MAKE THAT RESTR; WE ASKED ZTL IF THEY WERE GOING TO HOLD US TO THE EXPECTED CLRNC. THEY REPLIED 'YOU CAN START A SLOW DSCNT TO FL330 AND WOULD GET LOWER ALT AFTER PASSING TFC.' APCHING FL330; THE CTLR ASKED OUR ALT AND WE CALLED NEARING FL330. HE THEN GAVE IMMEDIATE TURN INSTRUCTIONS TO ANOTHER (OPPOSING) ACFT ALSO AT FL330. WE WERE SCOLDED FOR LEAVING FL350 AND GIVEN A PHONE NUMBER TO CALL ABOUT IT. UPON REACHING CLT; I CALLED AND SPOKE TO A SUPVR. HE SCOLDED ME AGAIN AND I THEN ASKED IF HE HAD REVIEWED THE TAPES AND HE SAID SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH THE MACHINE AND THE AUDIO WAS DESTROYED. A REVIEW OF THE SCOPE TAPE SHOWED WE MISSED BY 5.1 MI.