Narrative:

On our descent into nashville I told the first officer I would get the ATIS, if he would listen to the radio -- bna has the new automated ATIS. I listened to the ATIS, 3 or 4 times, and still could not completely understand all of the WX. Finally I decided I could no longer spend the time out of the loop, with other aircraft duties, so I briefed the first officer on what WX I had gotten. I feel this, new ATIS, is a safety hazard for 2 reasons. First, it takes one pilot out of the loop far too long, especially in a 2 man aircraft. As the workload increases on the descent and arrival, and as the stars get more complex, it does not pay to being flying solo. The second safety concern is that even if you have time to listen to the ATIS, 3-4-5 times you still can't understand all the information.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737-200 FLC HAS PROB WITH COMPUTERIZED ATIS INFO BEING UNREADABLE. HAD TO LISTEN 3 TO 4 TIMES AND STILL NOT ABLE TO UNDERSTAND ALL THE WX ASPECTS. ONE OF MANY OF THE COMPUTER VOICE PROBS, REF ACN 368831.

Narrative: ON OUR DSCNT INTO NASHVILLE I TOLD THE FO I WOULD GET THE ATIS, IF HE WOULD LISTEN TO THE RADIO -- BNA HAS THE NEW AUTOMATED ATIS. I LISTENED TO THE ATIS, 3 OR 4 TIMES, AND STILL COULD NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE WX. FINALLY I DECIDED I COULD NO LONGER SPEND THE TIME OUT OF THE LOOP, WITH OTHER ACFT DUTIES, SO I BRIEFED THE FO ON WHAT WX I HAD GOTTEN. I FEEL THIS, NEW ATIS, IS A SAFETY HAZARD FOR 2 REASONS. FIRST, IT TAKES ONE PLT OUT OF THE LOOP FAR TOO LONG, ESPECIALLY IN A 2 MAN ACFT. AS THE WORKLOAD INCREASES ON THE DSCNT AND ARR, AND AS THE STARS GET MORE COMPLEX, IT DOES NOT PAY TO BEING FLYING SOLO. THE SECOND SAFETY CONCERN IS THAT EVEN IF YOU HAVE TIME TO LISTEN TO THE ATIS, 3-4-5 TIMES YOU STILL CAN'T UNDERSTAND ALL THE INFO.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.