1998-01 · NASA ASRS report 390437
A B757-200 ACFT DSNDS INTO CLO; COLUMBIA; AND IS INFORMED THEY WERE IN CLOSE PROX TO ANOTHER ACFT ON APCH. FLC WAS NOT INFORMED OF ANY TFC DURING APCH AND CTLR SPOKE TO ANOTHER ACFT ONLY WITH SPANISH LANGUAGE.
I WAS THE FO OF A B757 ON FLT ACR X ENRTE TO SKCL FROM SEQU. ENRTE TO CALI VOR (CLO) VIA UG675 OUR FLT WAS INSTRUCTED TO CONTACT CALI APCH CTL. CALI APCH CLRED ACR X TO CROSS QUILI INTXN AT 11000 FT. WHEN ACR X RPTED QUILI AT 11000 FT; CALI APCH CLRED ACR X TO 9000 FT AND ISSUED A SPD RESTR OF 200 KTS. CALI APCH ADVISED ACR X TO EXPECT A STRAIGHT-IN APCH TO RWY 1. PRIOR TO XING THE CLO VOR; CALI APCH CLRED ACR X FOR 'STRAIGHT-IN ILS; RPT CALI VOR 5000 FT ON FINAL.' WHEN ACR X RPTED OVER CLO VOR WITH RWY IN SIGHT; CALI APCH INSTRUCTED ACR X TO CONTACT CALI TWR. CALI TWR ASKED FOR ACR X ALT AND CLRED US TO LAND. AFTER LNDG WHILE TAXIING TO THE RAMP THE CALI GND CTLR INFORMED ACR X THAT WE HAD COME CLOSE TO AN AIRBUS A300. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME CALI ATC GAVE US ANY TFC INFO. OUR CREW DID NOT HAVE ANY VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE OTHER ACFT DURING APCH OR LNDG. AT NO TIME DID ACR X RECEIVE FROM CALI ATC; HOLDING INSTRUCTIONS; EFC TIME; TFC INFO; OR A LNDG SEQUENCE NUMBER. AT NO TIME DURING THE APCH OR LNDG PHASE WERE WE INFORMED OF ANY ABNORMALITY. CALI APCH AND CALI TWR GAVE NO INDICATION OF CONFLICTING TFC NOR DID OUR CREW DETECT ANY. CALI APCH AND CALI TWR WERE COMMUNICATING WITH THE A300 ACFT IN SPANISH. THE CREW OF THE A300 WERE ALSO COMMUNICATING IN SPANISH AND MADE NO ATTEMPT TO INFORM OUR CREW OF ANY POTENTIAL CONFLICT WITH OUR ACFT. IF EVERYONE INVOLVED HAD BEEN SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE THIS RPT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN NECESSARY. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT CTLR WAS TALKING SPANISH TO ANOTHER ACFT AND THEY RECOGNIZED A WORD IN SOME INSTRUCTIONS WHICH LED THEM TO BELIEVE THE OTHER ACFT WAS DEPARTING N AS THEY WERE APCHING FROM THE S. AT NO TIME WERE THEY INFORMED ABOUT ANY OTHER ACFT IN THEIR VICINITY. THEY SAW NO OTHER ACFT AND VISIBILITY WAS EXCELLENT. HIS ACFT HAD NO TCASII TO OBSERVE OTHER TFC. THE CTLR HAD LIMITED USE OF ENGLISH. DURING APCH FLC INQUIRED AS TO WHY THE RWY WAS RESTR; TWR COULD NOT UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION. THEY SIMPLY CLRED ACFT TO LAND. UPON TAXI IN; THE GND CTLR INFORMED THEM OF THEIR CLOSE PROX TO ANOTHER ACFT BUT MADE NO MENTION OF HOW CLOSE THEY WERE IN FT OR MI. THE CAPT OF THE FLC CALLED THE TWR AND REVIEWED WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE APCH. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 390604: ACR X: CHKED MER AT XX45 FL200 ESTIMATING CLO AT XY05. ATC: CLRED TO CLO VOR; DSND AND MAINTAIN 15000 FT. ACR X: RPTING LEVEL AT 15000 FT REQUESTING LOWER. ATC: CLRED TO 11000 FT RPT QUILI. ACR X: CHKING QUILI AT THIS TIME AT 11000 FT. ATC: WHAT IS YOUR AIRSPD? ACR X: 250 KTS. ATC: REDUCE TO 200 KTS; PLAN STRAIGHT-IN APCH. ACR X: REDUCING TO 200 KTS. ATC: DSND AND MAINTAIN 9000 FT. ACR X: ROGER DSND TO 9000 FT; SHOULD WE PLAN ON HOLDING? ATC: YES (BUT NO HOLDING CLRNC OR EFC GIVEN). ACR X: 10 DME S OF CLO AT 9000 FT. ATC: CLRED FOR AN ILS APCH TO CALI RPT LEAVING THE CALI VOR AND 5000 FT. (SINCE WE WERE ISSUED AN UNRESTR APCH CLRNC; NOT ADVISED OF ANY OTHER TFC OR GIVEN A LNDG SEQUENCE; AND HAVING THE RWY IN SIGHT; WE PROCEEDED STRAIGHT-IN TO THE RWY.) ACR X: OVER CALI VOR LEAVING 6800 FT; STRAIGHT-IN; RWY IN SIGHT. ATC: REPEAT? ACR X: OVER CALI VOR LEAVING 6800 FT; STRAIGHT-IN; RWY IN SIGHT. ATC: CONTACT CALI TWR 118.1. ACR X: ROGER TWR 118.1. ACR X: CALI TWR ACR X; WE'VE PASSED THE VOR INBOUND; FIELD IN SIGHT. ATC: WHAT IS YOUR ALT? ACR X: LEAVING 1000 FT AGL. ATC: CLRED TO LAND RWY 1. ACR X: ROGER; CLRED TO LAND. AFTER CLRING THE RWY THE GND CTLR SAID WE CAME VERY CLOSE TO AN AIRBUS 300. THEY ALSO ASKED IF WE HAD BEEN ISSUED A LNDG SEQUENCE OR TFC INFO. WE INDICATED THAT WE WERE ISSUED NOTHING BUT AN UNRESTR ILS APCH CLRNC. SINCE ALL OTHER APCH AND TWR COMS WERE CONDUCTED IN SPANISH; I WAS NOT AWARE OF OTHER ACFT POS; ALTS; OR DIRECTIONS OF FLT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THIS CAPT CALLED THE TWR AND THE OTHER ACR INVOLVED AFTER THE FLT LANDED AND PARKED. TWR WAS NOT TOO CONCERNED WITH THE EVENT; BUT TRACON WAS MORE CONCERNED. CAPT FEELS THAT TRACON THOUGHT THEY MIGHT HOLD AS THEY WERE CLOSE TO THE FIELD. CAPT NEVER RECEIVED HOLDING INSTRUCTIONS AND SO MADE A STEEP DSCNT INTO CALI. HIS ACFT HAD THE GEAR EXTENDED AND FLAPS AND SPD BRAKE. CAPT WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE CALI DSCNT. BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE WAS SPEAKING SPANISH; HE HAD NO AWARENESS THAT ANY OTHER ACFT WAS NEAR HIM. HE BELIEVES THE TWR THOUGHT HE WOULD GO INTO A HOLDING PATTERN BECAUSE HE WAS SO HIGH ABOVE THE FIELD. HOWEVER; HE KNEW HE COULD FLY A STEEP DSCNT AND NEVER RECEIVED ANY HOLDING INSTRUCTIONS SO HE FLEW IT STRAIGHT IN. BECAUSE HE FLEW STRAIGHT IN; THE ACFT UNDER HIS LOST SEPARATION. HE NEVER KNEW ANYONE WAS NEAR HIM AS EVERYTHING SPOKEN WAS MOSTLY SPANISH. IN CONVERSING THE OTHER ACFT CAPT; THAT CAPT KNEW WHERE HE WAS AS HE WAS A SOUTH AMERICAN ACR. CAPT WAS UPSET THAT ENGLISH WASN'T USED SO ALL WOULD BE INVOLVED IN TFC SEPARATION.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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