SCT CTLR ISSUES CONFLICTING CLRNCS TO DC10 FLC. PIC CALLS FACILITY TO RESOLVE THE SIT.
Synopsis
SCT CTLR ISSUES CONFLICTING CLRNCS TO DC10 FLC. PIC CALLS FACILITY TO RESOLVE THE SIT.
Narrative
I WAS ASSIGNED TO OPERATE A DC10 FROM DEN-LAX. THE FLT WAS PLANNED FROM OVER HECTOR; CIVET; AND THE CIVET 4 ARR TO LAX. APPROX 20 MI E OF CIVET INTXN AT FL230; ZLA INSTRUCTED US TO CONTACT SOCAL APCH. UPON TUNING THE FREQ; WE HEARD THE ATC CTLR STATE ESSENTIALLY; 'OK FOLKS; LET'S ALL LISTEN UP; WE ARE GETTING BUSY SO LET'S TRY AND GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.' IT WAS CLR TO US THAT THIS CTLR WAS FRUSTRATED. WE CHKED IN WITH THE CTLR AND WERE INSTRUCTED TO DSND TO FL180. AFTER A SHORT DELAY WE WERE ISSUED THE CLRNC TO LOS ANGELES VIA THE PDZ 3 ARR. WE ACKNOWLEDGED THE CLRNC AND BEGAN A MAD SCRAMBLE TO PULL OUT THIS ARR; WHICH WE DID NOT ANTICIPATE. AFTER REVIEWING THE PDZ 3 ARR PROC; IT WAS CLR THAT WE NEEDED FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS AS TO WHERE THE CTLR WANTED US TO INTERCEPT THE ARR PROC. DUE TO FREQ CONGESTION; WE WERE NOT ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY QUERY THE CTLR. AS WE PASSED THE CIVET INTXN THE CTLR ISSUED A 'TURN R HDG 340 DEGS; VECTORS FOR TFC AND ARR SEQUENCE.' WE ACKNOWLEDGED; THE CLRNC. WHILE ON THIS HDG; THE CTLR TWICE ISSUED US; TFC AT 11 O'CLOCK AND 3 MI AT 14000 FT'. WE DID NOT SEE ANY TFC VISUALLY OR ON TCASII AND ADVISED THE CTLR OF THIS FACT. THE CTLR SOUNDED QUITE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS POTENTIAL TFC CONFLICT. WE WERE THEN GIVEN A CLRNC TO TURN L HDG 180 DEGS. WE WERE THEN CLRED DIRECT ARNES AND DSCNT VIA THE REMAINDER OF THE CIVET 4 ARR. I RESPONDED WITH 'DIRECT ARNE' AND WE SWITCHED BACK TO THE CIVET 4 ARR. THE CTLR THEN ASKED 'WHAT WAS THAT DEV N OF COURSE ALL ABOUT?' I RESPONDED 'DON'T WORRY; WE WILL TALK ABOUT IT ON THE GND.' WE CONTINUED AND LANDED ON RWY 25L AT LAX. ON THE GND; I PHONED SOCAL APCH AND SPOKE WITH THE SUPVR. HE ADVISED ME THAT HE WOULD REVIEW THE TAPES. I LATER SPOKE WITH THE OPS MGR WHO EXPLAINED THAT THEY HAD REVIEWED THE TAPES AND THE CTLR HAD BEEN COUNSELED ABOUT THIS SIT. MY CONCERN IS THAT THIS CTLR APPARENTLY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THAT HE HAD CLRED US FOR AN ARR WHICH WAS NOT CONSISTENT WITH OUR LOCATION; THEN ISSUED US A HDG THAT DIRECTED US TOWARD HIGH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AND GENERALLY DID NOT APPEAR TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE TFC FLOW. THE GENERAL ADMONISHMENT ISSUED BY THIS CTLR IMMEDIATELY PUT US ON THE DEFENSIVE. INSTEAD WE TOOK EXTRA TIME REVIEWING THE PDZ 3 ARR IN AN EFFORT TO SEE WHAT WE HAD MISSED BECAUSE SURELY THIS CTLR MUST BE CORRECT IN ISSUING SUCH A CLRNC TO US. WHEN A CTLR ALIENATES PLTS BY ISSUING A GENERAL ADMONISHMENT AND THEN LOSES HIS SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF TFC AND TURNS AN ACFT TOWARD MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN; WE HAVE A RECIPE FOR FUTURE DISASTER.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.