ACR ABC TAKES POS AND HOLD; AND TAKEOFF CLRNC INTENDED FOR ACR ABD. CTLR DID NOT CATCH ERROR IN READBACK. NO ACTUAL CONFLICT OCCURRED.
Synopsis
ACR ABC TAKES POS AND HOLD; AND TAKEOFF CLRNC INTENDED FOR ACR ABD. CTLR DID NOT CATCH ERROR IN READBACK. NO ACTUAL CONFLICT OCCURRED.
Narrative
WHILE HOLDING SHORT OF RWY 30L AT INTERSECTION ROMEO AT STL I HEARD A CLRNC TO TAXI INTO POS AND HOLD RWY 30L AT ROMEO. I READBACK THE CLRNC AND WE PROCEEDED TO TAXI ONTO THE RWY. I THEN HEARD A CLRNC TO TAKEOFF AND READBACK THAT CLRNC BEFORE WE DEPARTED. THERE WAS AN ACR (ABD) JETSTREAM 41 BEHIND US AT INTERSECTION ROMEO HOLDING SHORT. ATC STATES THAT HE CLRED ON ACR Z INTO POS AND HOLD ON RWY 30L; BUT NEVER CLRED US; ACR (ABC) INTO POS. TWR STATED ON THE PHONE THAT THE CTLR LOOKED DOWN AND SAW US ON THE RWY AND THOUGHT IT WAS ACR (ABD). HE THEN STATES THAT HE CLRED ACR (ABD) FOR TAKEOFF FROM RWY 30L AT ROMEO AND THAT HE THOUGHT WE ACR (ABC) WERE STILL HOLDING SHORT. HE THEN STATED THAT HE DID NOT KNOW WHO HAD JUST DEPARTED UNTIL OUR TAG CAME UP ON RADAR. I AM CERTAIN THAT I READBACK ALL CLRNCS AND READBACK OUR FIRST TURN TO A 180 DEG HEADING TWICE. IT HAS BEEN DISCOVERED THAT THE ACFT I WAS IN MAY HAVE SOME TYPE OF RADIO PROB AS ATC DESCRIBED IT AS 3 OUT OF 5 AND BROKEN ON A SUBSEQUENT FLT ON THE SAME DAY. I BELIEVE THE VOLUME OF TFC RUNNING INTO AND OUT OF STL IS DEFINITELY A FACTOR DUE TO RADIO CHATTER. I ALSO QUESTION ATC'S PROCS AS THEY SEEMED NOT TO KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING. THEY SEEMED WILLING; HOWEVER; TO CLR WHOEVER WAS ON THE RWY FOR TAKEOFF. TWR WAS AWARE OF WHERE I WAS BECAUSE I REQUESTED THE INTERSECTION TKOF; AND HAD TO WAVE THE WAKE TURB DELAY. HE THEN ASKED ACR (ABD) IF THEY COULD ACCEPT A ROMEO DEP AND THEY ACCEPTED AND HE TOLD THEN TO TAXI AND HOLD SHORT BEHIND THE JETSTREAM. THIS INDICATES THAT THE TWR CONTROLLER KNEW WHO WAS NUMBER 1 AND WHO WAS NUMBER 2. THERE WAS NEVER ANY OBJECTION FORM ATC ON EITHER OF MY READBACKS. I BELIEVE THAT IF ATC DID NOT WANT AN ACFT ON RWY 30L AT R0MEO THEY SHOULD HAVE CALLED AND CORRECTED THE MISTAKE INSTEAD OF GIVING (AS THEY SAY) A CLRNC FOR TKOF TO AN ACFT THAT WAS HOLDING SHORT AT AN INTERSECTION BEHIND THE ACFT ON THE RWY. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR ADVISED THAT HE DID NOT LEARN OF THE RWY INCURSION UNTIL THE FOLLOWING DAY WHEN HE RECEIVED A NOTE AT COMPANY DISPATCH REQUESTING A CALL TO THE STL TWR SUPVR. THE TWR SUPVR ALLEGEDLY SAID THAT TAPES INDICATED THAT HE HAD TAKEN A CLRNC FOR ANOTHER ACFT; BUT THAT THE ERROR WAS NOT CAUGHT IN READBACK BY THE CTLR. THE SUPVR ALSO NOTED THAT TRAINING WAS IN PROGRESS IN THE TWR AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT RPTR ALSO ADMITS THAT DISTRACTION FROM LISTENING TO COMPANY FREQ CONTRIBUTED TO A LOSS OF SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.