POTENTIAL CONFLICT BTWN A DEP; CLBING B-777 AT 7800 FT CLRED THROUGH THE ALT OF INBOUND ACR TFC AT 9000 FT WHILE ON FREQ WITH LONDON CTL; EGTT; FO.

Narrative

AFTER TKOF; WE SWITCHED TO LONDON CTL. LONDON CTL CLRED US TO CLB TO AND MAINTAIN FL110. PASSING THROUGH 7800 FT; CTL CALLED US AND TOLD US TO MAINTAIN FL80. PNF AND THE RELIEF PLT DID NOT HEAR THE CALL. I TOLD PNF TO VERIFY AND I REDUCED RATE OF CLB. AFTER PNF CALLED LONDON CTL; WE HEARD A CLRNC TO CLB TO FL190. RELIEF PLT SAID HE HEARD CLB TO FL90. BY THIS TIME WE SAW TFC ON TCASII. PASSING THROUGH 8500 FT; LONDON CTL CALLED US AND TOLD US TO MAINTAIN FL80. AT THIS POINT; I STARTED AN IMMEDIATE DSCNT TO FL80. BY THIS TIME; I ALSO HAD THE TFC IN SIGHT. DUE TO ACFT MOMENTUM; WE REACHED AN ALT OF 8700 FT BEFORE ACFT STARTED DSNDING. SINCE I HAD TFC IN SIGHT; I USED A FIRM BUT NOT AGGRESSIVE DSCNT. WHILE DSNDING; WE DID GET A DSNDING RA. DSCNT RATE; I WAS USING; WAS SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN COMMANDED BY TCASII RA. DURING DSCNT; LONDON CTL ALSO GAVE US A L TURN TO A HEADING OF 330 DEGS. AFTER CONFLICTING ACFT CLRED US ON R SIDE; WE WERE GIVEN CLRNC TO CLB. CONFLICT IN THIS SIT AROSE DUE TO POOR ATC JUDGEMENT. CTLR SHOULD HAVE RECLRED OUR FLT TO A LOWER ALT SOONER. ALSO; DURING A SIT WHERE A CONFLICT IS LIKELY TO OCCUR; ATC NEEDS TO MAKE IT A PRIORITY TO MAKE SURE THAT ACFT IN CONFLICT CLRLY UNDERSTAND THE CLRNC BEFORE TALKING TO OTHER ACFT. THERE WERE 2 THINGS IN COCKPIT THAT ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO NOT RESOLVING THE CONFUSION CONCERNING CLRNC: 1) DIFFICULTY IN UNDERSTANDING THE CTLR DUE TO HIS ACCENT; AND 2) ATC CTLR GIVING A CLRNC TO ANOTHER ACFT WITHOUT RECEIVING OUR READBACK. THE OTHER ACFT I AM REFERRING TO WAS NOT THE ONE IN POTENTIAL CONFLICT WITH OUR ACFT. THERE WERE NO EXTRANEOUS ACTIVITIES IN THE COCKPIT AND EVERYONE WAS LOOKING OUTSIDE FOR TFC. MY RECOMMENDATION IS TO KEEP GOOD VIGILANCE FOR TFC UNDER 18000 FT FOR ACFT CREWS. MY RECOMMENDATION IS FOR ATC TO ENSURE THAT IN A POTENTIAL CONFLICT; CLRNC HAD BEEN RECEIVED AND UNDERSTOOD BY THE CREW. ATC MUST MAKE IT A PRIORITY BEFORE TALKING TO ANOTHER ACFT. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 560405: WE LEARNED THE CLRNC TO 19000 FT HAD BEEN GIVEN TO ANOTHER ACFT. THE 3 PLTS COMMUNICATED DURING THE EVENT AND I FELT COMFORTABLE IN THAT I HAD TFC IN SIGHT AND ON TCASII AND THE FO WAS FOLLOWING GUIDANCE. THE MANEUVER COULD HAVE BEEN EXECUTED A BIT SWIFTER. HOWEVER; I NEVER FELT WE WERE IN DANGER. PERHAPS THE FACT THAT IT WAS I AM IN THE MORNING FOR OUR BODIES; AND NONE OF US HAD SLEPT WELL; OR LONG; IN LONDON; CONTRIBUTED TO OUR SLOWER THAN NORMAL EVASIVE ACTIONS. I MIGHT ADD THAT THE TFC HAD BEEN GIVEN A TURN AWAY FROM US. IT WAS HELPFUL TO HAVE A THIRD SET OF EYES IN THE COCKPIT.