Air carrier inbound to slc initiated s-turns on final without prior coordination with ATC; claiming ...

Attributes
ACN	847740
Time
Date	200908
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	SLC.Airport
State Reference	UT
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Medium Large Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 172
Person 2
Function	Captain Pilot Not Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 254
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Track / Heading All Types

Narrative:

We were on a 10-mile final to slc. We were high due to approach keeping us high on the arrival for departing aircraft. I was in the process of extending the flaps and landing gear. We were approaching a 5-mile final and we were still high. The captain asked me to slow so that we could go to a flaps 40 landing. He then asked me to begin an s-turn. He tried to call to receive clearance for the s-turn; but his transmission was stepped on and approach did not reply. So I did not feel I should perform an s-turn without consent. He then stated that he was taking control of the aircraft and began an immediate; s-turn without approval from approach. I took over the radios and was instructed to switch to tower. Tower then cleared us to land. Preventative measures would be better descent planning; knowing that slc keeps you high during approaches; and better communication with ATC. We should not have executed an s-turn without getting clearance from ATC.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier inbound to SLC initiated s-turns on final without prior coordination with ATC; claiming ATC kept them high on the arrival.

Narrative: We were on a 10-mile final to SLC. We were high due to Approach keeping us high on the arrival for departing aircraft. I was in the process of extending the flaps and landing gear. We were approaching a 5-mile final and we were still high. The Captain asked me to slow so that we could go to a Flaps 40 landing. He then asked me to begin an S-turn. He tried to call to receive clearance for the S-turn; but his transmission was stepped on and Approach did not reply. So I did not feel I should perform an S-turn without consent. He then stated that he was taking control of the aircraft and began an immediate; S-turn without approval from Approach. I took over the radios and was instructed to switch to Tower. Tower then cleared us to land. Preventative measures would be better descent planning; knowing that SLC keeps you high during approaches; and better communication with ATC. We should not have executed an S-turn without getting clearance from ATC.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Air carrier inbound to slc initiated s-turns on final without prior coordination with ATC; claiming ATC kept them high on the arrival.