C550 FLC ACCEPT QUESTIONABLE ZDV DELAY AND APCH CLRNCS ENRTE TO RIL ARPT.

Date: 2003-01 · Aircraft: Citation II S2/Bravo (C550) · Phase: approach

Anomalies: deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|inflight-event-encounter-weather-turbulence

Synopsis

C550 FLC ACCEPT QUESTIONABLE ZDV DELAY AND APCH CLRNCS ENRTE TO RIL ARPT.

Narrative

WE WERE HOLDING; WAITING TO GET INTO ASPEN; BUT AFTER SOME TIME; WE WERE TOLD THAT NO ONE WAS GETTING IN AT ASPEN. WE THEN ASKED IF RIFLE WAS OPEN AND IF WE COULD GET IN THERE. WE WERE TOLD YES; AND TOLD TO EXPECT THE ILS RWY 26 AT RIL. NEXT; WE WERE GIVEN VECTORS TOWARDS RIL. A SHORT TIME LATER; WE WERE HANDED OFF AT RIL. THIS CTLR TOLD US TO HEAD TOWARD NOVJO INTXN AND THAT WE MAY HAVE TO DO A '360 DEG TURN'; NOT A HOLD. AS WE ARRIVED AT NOVJO; THE CTLR TOLD US JUST TO DO A 360 DEG TURN OR TWO; WHICH WE DID. A FEW MINS WENT BY AND HE JUST TOLD US TO DO A FEW MORE 360 DEG TURNS. AFTER 15 MINS OR SO; HE TOLD US 'CLRED FOR THE APCH.' WE WERE TOLD AND WERE SET UP FOR THE ILS AND AS WE HEADED FOR THE LOC; HE (THE CTLR) ASKED WHERE WE WERE GOING. HE WANTED US TO DO A VOR APCH; BUT NEVER TOLD US. HE THEN CLRED US FOR THE ILS; AND SAID 'SO LONG.' THIS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE THE PROPER WAY TO WORK TFC IN THE ROCKIES -- ESPECIALLY IF WE LOST COMS WITH ATC. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR WAS CONCERNED THAT HE WAITED TOO LONG TO QUESTION ATC'S CLRNC AND VAGUENESS. RPTR QUESTIONED WHY THE CTLR CONTINUED DELAY; AND WAS ADVISED THAT THE PREVIOUS ACFT ON APCH TO RIL HAD NOT PROVIDED 'LNDG ASSURED/CANCELED IFR;' AND THAT IF HE WANTED TO EXPEDITE HIS LNDG SEQUENCE; HE SHOULD CALL THE FBO TO OBTAIN THE 'LNDG ASSURED;' WHICH HE DID. RPTR ADVISED THAT HE WOULD REACT DIFFERENTLY TODAY BY QUESTIONING ATC TO VERIFY PROPER HOLDING INSTRUCTIONS AND APCH CLRNCS.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.