LANGUAGE BARRIER -- AN ACR MADE AN APCH TO A FOREIGN ARPT AS CLRED; BUT APPARENTLY SOONER THAN EXPECTED. ANOTHER ACR WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FIRST.
Synopsis
LANGUAGE BARRIER -- AN ACR MADE AN APCH TO A FOREIGN ARPT AS CLRED; BUT APPARENTLY SOONER THAN EXPECTED. ANOTHER ACR WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FIRST.
Narrative
ON JUNE/FRI/95 QUITO APCH CLRED MY FLT FOR A VOR; ILS APCH TO RWY 35 AT SEQU. APCH CTL REQUESTED WE RPT INBOUND. WE DID SO AND WAS ADVISED TO CONTACT THE TWR OVER THE VOR INBOUND; WHICH WE DID AND WE WERE CLRED TO LAND ON RWY 35. DURING OUR HOLDING AND THE APCH WE WERE VFR. WHILE ON THE APCH WE OBSERVED ANOTHER ACFT ON A SBOUND COURSE; WELL E OF OUR POS. AFTER LNDG GND CTL ADVISED US TO CONTACT THE APCH CTLR. I CALLED THE APCH CTLR ON THE TELEPHONE AND HE ADVISED ME THAT WE WERE CLRED #2 FOR THE APCH. I ADVISED HIM THAT WE NEVER HEARD HIM SAY THAT WE WERE #2; BUT ALL WE HEARD HIM SAY WAS WE WERE CLRED FOR THE APCH; RPT INBOUND. I FEEL THAT THE MAIN PROB IN THIS MISUNDERSTANDING WAS THE APCH CTLR WAS TALKING TO MY FLT IN ENGLISH AND THE OTHER FLT IN SPANISH. NOT UNDERSTANDING SPANISH MY CREW AND I DIDN'T EVEN UNDERSTAND THAT THE OTHER ACFT WAS LNDG AT SEQU. WE NEVER HEARD THE CTLR CLR THE OTHER ACFT FOR APCH OR CLR US #2 FOR APCH. THIS SIT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF THE CTLR WAS SPEAKING ENGLISH TO BOTH FLTS. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR WAS HOLDING S OF THE QIT VOR WHEN HE FIRST SAW THE OTHER ACR. HE THOUGHT THAT THE ACR WAS JUST PASSING THROUGH THE AREA AND DID NOT HEAR THE CTLR INSTRUCT IT TO MAKE AN APCH TO THE ARPT. THE RPTR SPEAKS SOME SPANISH; BUT DOES NOT CONSIDER HIMSELF TO BE FLUENT. THE CTLR'S INSTRUCTIONS TO THE RPTR'S ACR WERE QUITE CLR; IN HIS MIND; THAT HE WAS TO MAKE THE APCH FOR LNDG. ON FINAL; WHILE TALKING TO THE TWR; THEY WERE SURPRISED TO BE ADVISED TO CLR THE RWY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER LNDG FOR THE ACR ON SHORT FINAL. THE ACR ON SHORT FINAL WAS THE SAME ACR THEY SAW WHILE HOLDING AT QIT. THE 'SHORT FINAL' WAS 3 NM IN TRAIL.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.