B767-300 FLT CREW ENCOUNTERS LANGUAGE BARRIER PROBS AT SBGR RESULTING IN A POSSIBLE RWY INCURSION INCIDENT.

Date: 2006-03 · Aircraft: B767-300 and 300 ER · Phase: taxi

Anomalies: ground-incursion-runway|other-language-barrier

Synopsis

B767-300 FLT CREW ENCOUNTERS LANGUAGE BARRIER PROBS AT SBGR RESULTING IN A POSSIBLE RWY INCURSION INCIDENT.

Narrative

WHILE HOLDING SHORT FOR TKOF ON RWY 9L; THE TWR INDICATED THAT WE SHOULD EXPECT AN EXPEDITIOUS TKOF CLRNC (BEFORE THE FLT ON FINAL AT APPROX THE FAF). THEY THEN CLRED US ONTO HOLD WHICH I REPEATED 'CLRED ONTO HOLD; LINE UP AND WAIT.' I INTENTIONALLY ADDED THE 'LINE-UP AND WAIT' BECAUSE IT IS COMMON INTL TERMINOLOGY ONLY USED WITH THE INTO POS AND HOLD CLRNC; THUS REAFFIRMING WHAT SHE WANTED US TO DO. AS WE TOOK THE RWY; WE WERE ANTICIPATING AN IMMEDIATE CLRNC FOR TKOF; THEREFORE; WE DID NOT SET THE PARKING BRAKE ONCE INTO POS. HOWEVER; WE CONTINUED HOLDING IN POS FOR WHAT SEEMED TO BE APPROX 1 MIN BEFORE THE CTLR TOLD US TO CLR THE RWY THEN QUICKLY AMENDED THAT AND TOLD US TO HOLD OUR POS. AT THAT TIME; SHE APPEARED TO BE DIRECTING THE ACFT ON FINAL TO GO AROUND (SHE SPOKE TO HIM IN PORTUGUESE). I CONFIRMED WITH HER IN ENGLISH THAT; IN FACT; SHE WAS SENDING HIM AROUND SINCE WE WERE STILL IN POS. IN REVIEWING THIS SITUATION; THE COM DISPARITY POINTS IN 2 DIRECTIONS: EITHER HER INTENTION WAS TO SUBSEQUENTLY CLR US FOR AN IMMEDIATE TKOF AS WE TOOK THE RWY AND IT WAS NEVER XMITTED; OR HER CLRNC WAS TO HOLD SHORT WHICH IS NOT WHAT WE HEARD AND 'NOT' WHAT WE READ BACK.

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