HEADING TRACK POS DEV DURING A GROSS NAV ERROR IN A CORPORATE ACFT.

Date: 1996-10 · Aircraft: Commercial Fixed Wing

Anomalies: deviation-track-heading-all-types|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-clearance|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|other-unspecified

Synopsis

HEADING TRACK POS DEV DURING A GROSS NAV ERROR IN A CORPORATE ACFT.

Narrative

THIS SERIES OF INCIDENTS OCCURRED ON OCT XX 1996. THE FIRST WAS WHILE ON ILS FINAL APCH TO RWY 19R AT SANTA ANA; CA. I WAS FLYING WITH A PLT WHO HAD BEEN HIRED BY MY COMPANY TO PERFORM FO DUTIES FOR 1 DAY. WE WERE IN THE NEW MODEL ASTRA SPX. DURING THE COURSE OF CONCLUDING OUR SECOND LEG OF 5 SHORT FLTS PLANNED FOR THE DAY; HE BECAME ARGUMENTATIVE. HE SOON BECAME AGGRESSIVE; AND HIS ATTITUDE ESCALATED TO THE POINT THAT HE INITIATED A VERBAL OUTBURST TOWARD ME. THIS LASTED FOR OVER A MIN AND INCLUDED SEVERAL USES OF PROFANITY AND CALLING ME NAMES; ALL IN A LOUD VOICE. HE SAID THAT I WAS A LOUSY PLT; THAT HE HAD ALWAYS HATED FLYING WITH ME; AND THAT HE WOULD NEVER FLY WITH ME AGAIN. THIS WAS DONE WITH 3 PAX ON BOARD. THE PAX COULD HEAR NORMAL CONVERSATION FROM THE COCKPIT; AS WELL AS THE SHOUTING. THE PAX INCLUDED A REGIONAL SALES MGR FROM MY COMPANY AND 2 REPRESENTATIVES OF ONE OF MY COMPANY'S CUSTOMERS. I SAID FIRMLY; BUT AS CALMLY AS I COULD; 'LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS ON THE GND.' I HAD TO SAY THIS 6 TIMES BEFORE HE FINALLY STOPPED SHOUTING AT ME; AND BEGAN TO FOCUS ON HIS DUTIES AT HAND. AFTER LNDG AND AFTER OUR PAX HAD LEFT THE CABIN; I CLBED OUT THE SEAT AND WAITED FOR HIM I SAID; 'LET'S TALK.' HE SAID HE DIDN'T WANT TO TALK TO ME. I SAID; 'I WANT TO TALK TO YOU.' WE PROCEEDED TO WALK IN FRONT OF THE ACFT 50 FT AND I TRIED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH HIM. HE BEGAN TO SHOUT OBSCENITIES AT ME AGAIN AND TO CALL ME NAMES. I JUST LET HIM GO ON FOR A COUPLE OF MINS. FINALLY I SAID 'I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO ME FOR 60 SECONDS; AND YOU TELL ME WHEN MY 60 SECONDS STARTS.' AFTER ANOTHER OUTBURST HE SAID; 'OKAY;' AND BECAME SILENT. I SAID; 'WHAT YOU JUST DID IN THAT COCKPIT WAS 100 TIMES WORSE THAN ANYTHING THAT YOU THINK I MAY BE WRONG ABOUT.' HE BECAME SILENT; LOOKED AT ME HARD AND WALKED AWAY. HE LATER CAME UP TO ME AND SAID HE WAS SORRY. HE SAID THAT HE WAS JUST TIRED AND GRUMPY. I SAID THAT HE SEEMED TO HAVE SOME UNRESOLVED ISSUES THAT WERE BOTHERING HIM AND THAT I WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO TALK THEM OUT WITH HIM; BUT NOT IN THE COCKPIT. ON A SUBSEQUENT FLT AN HR LATER; HE COPIED OUR CLRNC FROM BURBANK; CA; BACK TO SANTA ANA. AS I COMPLETED PROGRAMMING THE FMS; I ASKED HIM TO REVIEW WHAT WAS IN THE FMS AND DISPLAYED ON THE MULTI-FUNCTION DISPLAY AND TO CONFIRM THAT IT WAS ACCURATE AND COMPLETE. HE SAID THAT IT WAS. AS WE COMPLETED THE ELMOO 5 DEP FROM BURBANK; APCHING THE ELMOO TRANSITION FIX; THE AUTOPLT COMMANDED A R TURN TOWARD SANTA ANA; FOLLOWING THE FMS PROGRAMMING. THE SOCAL APCH CTLR CAME ON THE AIR AND TOLD US TO TURN L TO 50 DEG HDG; AND HE CONTINUED TO GIVE US VECTORS TO ILS FINAL APCH INTO SANTA ANA. THE CTLR ASKED US TO CALL A PHONE NUMBER WHEN ON THE GND. I CALLED THE CTLR AND WAS INFORMED AS TO THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE MISTAKE WHICH HAD OCCURRED. THE R TURN WOULD HAVE PUT US IN DIRECT CONFLICT WITH THE DOWNWIND TFC INTO LAX. I SINCERELY APOLOGIZED FOR THE ERROR; AND TOLD THE CTLR THAT I HAD A COMS PROB WITH THE RENTAL PLT THAT WAS WITH ME THAT DAY. HE SUGGESTED THAT MY COMPANY TAKE IMMEDIATE STEPS TO CORRECT THE PROB. I ASSURED HIM THAT WE WOULD. HE DECLINED TO ISSUE A VIOLATION AGAINST MY LICENSE; THOUGH I SENSED IT WAS A VERY CLOSE CALL FOR HIM. THE RENTAL PLT IN THIS CASE USED TO WORK FOR MY COMPANY. HE WAS SENIOR TO ME WHEN I CAME TO WORK FOR THE COMPANY; 3 MONTHS PRIOR TO HIS DEP. THAT WAS 10 MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT. PERHAPS HE HAD DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING WHAT HIS ROLE WAS IN THIS PARTICULAR SIT; HOWEVER; NOTHING CAN EXCUSE HIS LOSS OF SELF CTL AND COMPOSURE IN THE COCKPIT. THIS WAS MADE EVEN MORE DANGEROUS AND DAMAGING BECAUSE WE WERE ON FINAL INST APCH; IN THE WX; WITH CUSTOMERS ON BOARD. ONE OF THE LESSONS THAT CAN BE GLEANED FROM THIS IS THAT WE PLTS NEED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT OUR ROLE IS FOR A GIVEN DAY; IF WE FIND OURSELVES DEALING WITH AN UNUSUAL SIT. WE MUST INSIST ON GOOD COCKPIT COMS AND COORD; REGARDLESS OF WHO IS THERE WITH US. AND I'M AFRAID WE MUST ALSO CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE PLT THAT WE THINK IS THERE TO HELP US; MAY NOT HAVE THAT OBJECTIVE.

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