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C90 TRACON controller reported an airborne conflict after descending the wrong aircraft due to similar sounding callsign confusion.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1661544 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201907 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | C90.TRACON |
| State Reference | IL |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Final Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Final Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Approach |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 2 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
I had two air carrier X aircraft inbound each going to a different runway. Aircraft X and aircraft Y. I was busy and instructed the wrong aircraft to slow to 250 knots then descend to 7;000 feet. I descended the top aircraft rather than the bottom aircraft. I saw aircraft X slowing from 300 to 250 knots instead of the bottom aircraft. I thought something was wrong and instructed the aircraft to maintain 11;000 feet. They had already started down and got as low as 10;700 feet. Aircraft Y had the other aircraft in sight however a loss had already occurred. Similar sounding call signs and an above average traffic volume lead me to instruct the wrong airplane to start a descent with another aircraft beneath them. Long term fatigue from 6 day weeks and a quick turn definitely contributed to this mistake. The last few weeks have been full of short breaks; high position time; and lots of convective activity.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: C90 TRACON Controller reported an airborne conflict after descending the wrong aircraft due to similar sounding callsign confusion.
Narrative: I had two Air Carrier X aircraft inbound each going to a different runway. Aircraft X and Aircraft Y. I was busy and instructed the wrong Aircraft to slow to 250 knots then descend to 7;000 feet. I descended the top aircraft rather than the bottom aircraft. I saw Aircraft X slowing from 300 to 250 knots instead of the bottom aircraft. I thought something was wrong and instructed the aircraft to maintain 11;000 feet. They had already started down and got as low as 10;700 feet. Aircraft Y had the other aircraft in sight however a LOSS had already occurred. Similar sounding call signs and an above average traffic volume lead me to instruct the wrong airplane to start a descent with another aircraft beneath them. Long term fatigue from 6 day weeks and a quick turn definitely contributed to this mistake. The last few weeks have been full of short breaks; high position time; and lots of convective activity.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.