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Air carrier captain reported difficulty understanding ATC instructions possibly due to the controller wearing a face mask.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1753326 |
| Time | |
| Date | 202007 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.TRACON |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
Descending into ZZZ; the controller was very difficult to understand. It sounded like he was wearing a mask while attempting to communicate. Every instruction we were given I had to verify. Some instructions were more or less difficult to decipher than others. Due to the divisiveness associated with the mask issue; I chose not to remark on the radio about not being able to clearly understand all of the instructions. I simply verified each instruction while clearly annunciating.inability to understand ATC instructions appears to be a safety threat. I have no way of knowing if the controller was wearing a mask or not; but all other transmissions from other aircraft and other controllers were clear. I have heard that controllers may begin to wear them; but that is unverified. In the event that this is the case it presented a clear barrier to communication; which seems to pose a significant safety threat.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Air carrier Captain reported difficulty understanding ATC instructions possibly due to the Controller wearing a face mask.
Narrative: Descending into ZZZ; the Controller was very difficult to understand. It sounded like he was wearing a mask while attempting to communicate. Every instruction we were given I had to verify. Some instructions were more or less difficult to decipher than others. Due to the divisiveness associated with the mask issue; I chose not to remark on the radio about not being able to clearly understand all of the instructions. I simply verified each instruction while clearly annunciating.Inability to understand ATC instructions appears to be a Safety threat. I have no way of knowing if the Controller was wearing a mask or not; but all other transmissions from other aircraft and other Controllers were clear. I have heard that controllers may begin to wear them; but that is unverified. In the event that this is the case it presented a clear barrier to communication; which seems to pose a significant Safety threat.
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.