EVASIVE ACTION GAR.

Narrative

WE WERE ON THE ROME ARR; INITIALLY ASSIGNED RWY 8L. AFTER INITIAL VECTORS; ATL APCH CHANGED OUR RWY TO RWY 9R. WE WERE VECTORED TO INTERCEPT RWY 9R LOC AT AN ASSIGNED ALT OF 5000 FT. THE INTERCEPT HDG WAS GIVEN A BIT LATE; AND WAS UPDATED TO RWY HDG BY APCH CTL AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE LOC. THE AUTOPLT WAS ARMED IN VOR/LOC AND CAPTURED AS WE PASSED THROUGH THE LOC. ALTHOUGH THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN EASILY HANDLED BY THE AUTOPLT; WE WERE ABOUT 1 DOT HIGH ON THE GS AT THIS POINT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; WE WERE TOLD TO REDUCE OUR SPD FURTHER TO 170 KTS; AND I ASKED FOR LOWER. WE WERE GIVEN 4000 FT; AND WE STARTED DOWN; FAIRLY AGGRESSIVELY DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE WERE NOW ALMOST FULL SCALE HIGH. SUBSEQUENTLY WE WERE GIVEN 2500 FT AND CLRED FOR THE APCH. WE WERE ABOUT 2 1/2 MI BEHIND AN L-1011; AND I WAS CONCERNED THAT WE MAY GET TOO CLOSE TO THAT ACFT. ATL APCH ISSUED A SPD OF 160 KTS; AND ALTHOUGH I THOUGHT IT WAS FOR US; ANOTHER ACR A FLT ANSWERED. I INQUIRED AS TO WHAT SPD THE CTLR WANTED US TO FLY. HE REPLIED 160 KTS; AND WE BEGAN SLOWING. WE WERE ACTUALLY ABOUT 180 KTS AT THE TIME IN OUR EFFORT TO GET DOWN TO THE GS. I THEN XCHKED MY INSTS; AND NOTICED THAT MY HSI SHOWED THAT WE HAD DRIFTED SIGNIFICANTLY N OF THE LOC. MY COMMENT TO FO ABOUT THIS WAS INTERRUPTED BY A BLOCKED XMISSION WITH A LOUD SQUEAL. APCH IMMEDIATELY RETURNED WITH A REQUEST FOR US TO 'ABANDON APCH; TURN R TO 180 DEGS; CLB TO 3500 FT.' FO IS SURE THAT HIS LOC REMAINED CTRED; AND THE AUTOPLT WAS ENGAGED FOLLOWING HSI ON HIS SIDE AT THAT TIME. DUE TO THE REQUEST TO TURN TO 180 DEGS AND CLB TO 3500 FT; MY CONCERN SWITCHED TO FLYING THAT PROFILE; AND I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO PURSUE THE POSSIBLE DIFFERENCES IN OUR INDICATORS. WE WERE VECTORED AROUND FOR ANOTHER APCH; AND HAD NO PROBS OR UNUSUAL INDICATIONS ON THAT APCH. I AM NOT SURE WHETHER ATL APCH PULLED US OUT DUE TO A SPACING PROB ON THE ACFT IN FRONT OF US; OR IN FACT WE DID GET OFF THE LOC TO THE N. I AM ALSO NOT SURE WHY WE MAY HAVE HAD DIFFERENT INDICATIONS ON OUR HSI INDICATORS; AND THEY WORKED PERFECTLY ON THE NEXT APCH. ALTHOUGH I DID NOT THINK OF THIS UNTIL I WAS ON MY WAY HOME; THE FO'S HSI COURSE NEEDLE STUCK FULL SCALE R ONCE WHILE WE WERE ON DEP FROM TUL. FO TAPPED THE INDICATOR WHICH REMEDIED THE PROB; AND WE HAD NO FURTHER PROBS WITH THAT INDICATOR; HOWEVER; IN RETROSPECT THIS MAY HAVE BEEN RELATED TO OUR POSSIBLE CDI DIFFERENCES. WHILE THE VECTORING FROM ATL APCH MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PERFECT; I FEEL THAT IT WAS HANDLEABLE; AND WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT WORK. I FEEL BADLY THAT I WAS UNABLE TO MAKE IT WORK; AND AM BOTHERED BY THE DIFFERENCE IN CDI INDICATIONS WE MAY HAVE HAD. NORMALLY; DIFFERENCES IN COCKPIT INDICATIONS ARE QUICKLY PICKED UP; BUT IN THIS CASE MY CONCERN WITH THE HIGH AND CLOSE SIT OCCUPIED MY ATTN AND DID NOT LEAVE ME MY NORMAL TIME FOR XCHKING INDICATORS. IN THE END; ATL APCH WAS THERE TO INSURE THAT SAFETY WAS NOT FURTHER COMPROMISED FOR WHATEVER REASON; AND I THANK THEM FOR THAT. PERHAPS THE BEST LESSON HERE IS THAT WHILE ANY UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCE IN ITSELF MAY NOT CAUSE A PROB; THE COMBINED PROBS OF RWY CHANGE; ABOVE GS INTERCEPT; CLOSE SPACING; ETC; GREATLY INCREASES THE NEED FOR EXTRA VIGILANCE ON THE PART OF EVERYBODY. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR IS A BRAND NEW CAPT ON THE B-737 FOR A MAJOR UNITED STATES ACR. THIS IS HIS FIRST CAPT JOB; AND MARCH WAS HIS SECOND MONTH FLYING AS CAPT. THE RPTR TALKED TO HIS CHIEF PLT ABOUT THIS INCIDENT WHO TALKED TO A FRIEND IN ATC. THE ATC PERSON WAS NOT ABLE TO ASCERTAIN IF THE FLC HAD FOULED UP BY NOT BEING ON TRACK. THE ATC PERSON WAS WILLING FOR ATC TO TAKE A GOOD PART OF THE BLAME FOR HAVING THE ACFT TOO CLOSE TOGETHER. THIS WAS 'A LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR ME' SAYS THE RPTR. IT APPEARS TO THIS GRIZZLED VETERAN ANALYST THAT THE RPTR IS FRETTING ABOUT NOTHING. THE RPTR DOES NOT KNOW WHY; OR IF; ONE OF HIS HSI'S STUCK.