WITH SEVERAL SIMILAR CALL SIGNS ON THE FREQ; CTLR LOOSES TRACK OF WHO IS CLRED TO BE AT WHAT ALT NEAR TIST; VI.

Narrative

THE FOLLOWING INCIDENT OCCURRED DURING THE ARR PHASE OF AN IFR FLT FROM FT LAUDERDALE (FLL) TO ST THOMAS; VI (TIST). TFC WAS LNDG TO THE E AT TIME OF OUR ARR. BEECHJET X WAS ISSUED A CLRNC BY ST THOMAS APCH CTL FOR DSCNT TO 3000 FT MSL. CLRNC WAS ACKNOWLEDGED AND DSCNT EXECUTED. NEXT CLRNC RECEIVED WAS FOR TURN TO 090 DEGS. CLRNC ACKNOWLEDGED AND TURN EXECUTED. THERE WAS A SIMILAR CALL SIGN IN THE AREA. THE CTLR REFED THAT ACFT AS ACFT Y; Z AND U. THESE NUMBERS ARE FAMILIAR TO US AS WE HAVE ACFT BEARING Z AND U IN COMPANY FLEET. ACFT Y WAS CLRED TO 5000 FT AT APPROX THE SAME TIME AS ACFT X WAS CLRED TO 3000 FT. UPON REACHING A POINT 20 NM N OF TIST AND STILL ON THE 090 DEG VECTOR WE FELT THAT APCH CTL HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT US. WHEN COPLT REMINDED APCH THAT WE WERE LNDG AT TIST CTLR ASKED OUR ALT. CTLR STATED THAT WE WERE CLRED ONLY TO 5000 FT. (I BELIEVE THE SIMILAR CALL SIGNS HAD THE CTLR CONFUSED.) ACFT X WAS GIVEN SUBSEQUENT VECTORS FOR R-HAND TFC FOR LNDG. NO TCASII OR VISUAL TFC CONFLICTS WERE APPARENT. VIGILANCE TO SIMILAR CALL SIGN NEEDS TO BE STRESSED TO BOTH PLTS AND ATC CTLRS. OUR CLRNCS WERE ACKNOWLEDGED BY FULL CALL SIGN.