LANGUAGE BARRIER -- ACR SEES ANOTHER ACR CLBING TOWARD IT AND REALIZES THAT THE CTLR THINKS THAT IT IS ALREADY AT A HIGHER ALT. WHEN THIS IS POINTED OUT THE CTLR BECOMES ABUSIVE AND REFUSES TO GIVE THE RPTR A NORMAL ENRTE CLB.

Date: 1995-10 · Aircraft: B757-200 · Phase: climb

Anomalies: atc-issue-all-types|conflict-airborne-conflict|other-unspecified

Synopsis

LANGUAGE BARRIER -- ACR SEES ANOTHER ACR CLBING TOWARD IT AND REALIZES THAT THE CTLR THINKS THAT IT IS ALREADY AT A HIGHER ALT. WHEN THIS IS POINTED OUT THE CTLR BECOMES ABUSIVE AND REFUSES TO GIVE THE RPTR A NORMAL ENRTE CLB.

Narrative

DEPARTING SIMON BOLIVAR INTL ARPT IN CARACAS; VENEZUELA; ON THE 2 DARPA 08-09 DEP; LEVEL AT 4000 FT HAVING JUST INTERCEPTED THE MIQ 023 DEG RADIAL ENRTE TO DARPA; MAIQUETIA APCH POINTED OUT TFC AT 2 O'CLOCK 7000 FT. WE ACKNOWLEDGED THE TFC; AND HE CLRED US TO 6000 FT. WE READ BACK AND CONFIRMED TWICE THE CLRNC TO 6000 FT. WE PASSED THE RPTED TFC WHICH WAS CLBING THROUGH 5000 FT AND GOT A TCASII TA AS WE PASSED HIM ABOUT 2 MI TO OUR R IN VMC. THE CTLR HAD POSSIBLY FORGOTTEN THAT THE TFC WAS CLBING TO 7000 FT AND HAD NOT YET REACHED 7000 FT. WHEN HE REALIZED HIS MISTAKE; HE TOLD US TO DSND BACK TO 4000 FT. BUT BY THIS TIME WE WERE LEVEL AT 6000 FT AND THE OTHER TFC WAS WELL BELOW US. WE INFORMED HIM OF THIS FACT; HE SPOKE SPANISH TO THE OTHER ACFT; AND WE OBSERVED HIM DSND ON OUR TCASII DISPLAY. THE CTLR COULD HARDLY SPEAK ENGLISH. WE HAD TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING HIM AND HE HAD TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING US. HE HAD CLRLY MADE A MISTAKE AND THEN SPENT A LOT OF TIME DEMANDING TO KNOW MY NAME AND CERTIFICATE NUMBER AS IF I HAD BEEN THE ONE AT FAULT. HE LEFT US AT 6000 FT FOR QUITE SOME TIME OVER THE OCEAN AS ALL THIS WENT ON INSTEAD OF ISSUING US A CLRNC FOR HIGHER. HE STOPPED DEMANDING MY NAME AND NUMBER WHEN I DEMANDED HIS NAME AND CERTIFICATE NUMBER. MAIQUETIA ATC IS MOST ASSUREDLY BELOW THE ICAO STANDARD FOR ENGLISH SPEAKING CTLRS. NOT ONLY WAS THIS CTLR'S COM SKILL BAD; BUT ALSO HIS COMPETENCY AND ATTITUDE WERE CERTAINLY BELOW WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN. IN ADDITION; THE RADIO EQUIP IS VERY HARD TO HEAR. THERE IS MORE STATIC THAN VOICE IN THEIR XMISSIONS. THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED OCCURRENCE. IT IS WELL KNOWN AMONG PLTS WHO FLY TO S AMERICA THAT THIS QUALITY OF CTLING AND RADIO EQUIP IS MORE OFTEN THAN NOT THE NORM FOR MAIQUETIA ATC; BOTH ENRTE AND TERMINAL. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR WAS FLYING A B757-200 ON A DEP FROM CARACAS WHEN THIS EVENT OCCURRED. THE CTLR APPARENTLY THOUGHT THAT THE TFC CLBING TO 7000 FT WOULD BE CLR OF HIM. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE AND WHEN THE RPTR BROUGHT THIS TO THE CTLR'S ATTN HE BECAME AGITATED AND HIS ENGLISH FURTHER DETERIORATED. THE RPTR HAS NOT CHANGED HIS MIND ABOUT THE PROBS WITH ATC IN THIS AREA; BUT HE HAS CONTINUED TO OPERATE THERE OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS. HE SAID THAT THE RADIO EQUIP ALWAYS HAS STATIC AND OFTEN FAILS OR IS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND AND THE POOR ENGLISH SKILLS OF THE CTLRS IN THIS AREA MAKE ROUTINE OPS DIFFICULT. THE RPTR PROMISES TO SEND MORE RPTS TO ASRS.

More incidents for this aircraft family →

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.