A B737 flight crew experienced a TCAS RA during night visual approach to Runway 16L at DEN. Crew descended to FAF altitude and other aircraft went around.

2011-03 · NASA ASRS report 939720

Date: 2011-03 · Aircraft: B737-300 · Phase: landing

Anomalies: conflict-airborne-conflict|deviation-altitude-excursion-from-assigned-altitude

Synopsis

A B737 flight crew experienced a TCAS RA during night visual approach to Runway 16L at DEN. Crew descended to FAF altitude and other aircraft went around.

Narrative

Our flight was vectored to ILS final for Runway 16L at DEN. Our aircraft was assigned 8;000 FT when cleared for the visual approach. Another aircraft was straight in for ILS 16R at 10;000 FT when cleared for their visual. The geometry was such that both aircraft ended up line-abreast on final with the other aircraft stacked higher to the west. Both aircraft had each other in sight. We descended to final approach fix altitude and were driving level to intercept glideslope from below at the fix to ensure separation. As the other aircraft intercepted glide path and started to descend; we started getting TCAS traffic warnings. We were around 1;500 FT AGL when we got a descend RA and complied. It was night; no moon; low cultural lighting; now below glideslope; red over red on the VASI; not a very comforting situation. Shortly after; the other aircraft initiated a go-around due to an RA. The landing and taxi in were uneventful. The whole situation was caused by ATC putting both aircraft on close parallel approaches without proper separation.

Second reporter narrative

While being vectored for approach to 16L at DEN at 8;000 FT another aircraft was being vectored for visual to 16R above us. At approximately 7;000 FT we received a descend RA. Both aircraft had each other in sight and we were not yet in the landing configuration so complied with RA and continued the other aircraft initiated a go-around.

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

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