MD88 ON APCH TO DEN EXPERIENCED TAILWIND AND EXECUTED GAR.

2004-02 · NASA ASRS report 609071

Date: 2004-02 · Aircraft: MD-88

Anomalies: inflight-event-encounter-other-unknown|inflight-event-encounter-weather-turbulence

Synopsis

MD88 ON APCH TO DEN EXPERIENCED TAILWIND AND EXECUTED GAR.

Narrative

ON APCH TO DEN RWY 35L INSIDE OM; LAST RPTED WIND WAS 170 DEGS AT 8 KTS. WE WERE CLRED TO LAND. TWR ALSO CTLING RWY 8 TKOFS AND ISSUING WINDS TO ARRS AND DEPS. APPROX 1000 FT AGL; TWR ISSUED WINDS OF 170 DEGS AT 14 KTS. WE ASKED FOR VERIFICATION AND AFTER SEVERAL CALLS TO TWR WITH NO RESPONSE; GOT REPLY OF 170 DEGS AT 18 KTS. WE WERE THEN OVER THE APCH LIGHTS AND INITIATED A GAR. WE HAD A TAILWIND LIMIT OF 10 KTS FOR THE MD88. WE GOT AN INITIAL EBOUND HDG AND 9000 FT ALT ASSIGNED AND WERE HANDED OVER TO APCH WHO TRIED TO VECTOR US BACK FOR ANOTHER APCH TO RWY 35L. WE DECLINED; AS THIS WAS WHAT CAUSED THE GAR IN THE FIRST PLACE. WE REQUESTED A S RWY. APCH AND TWR WERE VERY RELUCTANT TO ANSWER OUR REQUESTS FOR CURRENT WINDS THROUGHOUT THIS EVENT. WE LANDED ON RWY 16L IN RPTED CALM WINDS. SEVERAL MINS LATER; ON WALKAROUND; DEFINITE S WINDS WERE APPARENT. SUBSEQUENT DEP ATIS CHANGED TO REFLECT WINDS OF 170 DEGS AT 12 KTS GUSTING TO 17 KTS. ATC NEEDS TO BE MORE COGNIZANT OF OUR NEED FOR TIMELY WIND INFO AND NOT RELUCTANT TO GIVE THE WINDS BASED ON A DESIRE NOT TO DISRUPT THE TFC FLOW. MY ONLY GUESS AS TO THE UNUSUALLY DIFFICULT TASK OF PRYING THE WINDS FROM ATC WAS THE WINDS MUST HAVE BEEN FLUCTUATING SOMEWHAT AND THEY FELT IF THEY HELD OFF RPTING FOR A MOMENT; PERHAPS THE WINDS WOULD FALL BACK IN LINE. AS A PLT; I DON'T HAVE THAT LUXURY. WE NEED THAT INFO IN A TIMELY MANNER AS REQUESTED TO MAKE THE SAFETY RELATED DECISION TO CONTINUE OR ABANDON AN APCH.

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

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