Narrative:

During approach in to las americas international airport (mdsd) in santo domingo; dominican republic; the flight inadvertently aligned with a different runway (mdsi). No other traffic in the vicinity was affected. The circumstances under which the events to be described below occurred; are the reason why I felt the necessity of filing this report. The intent is to serve as a contribution on the research to reduce the possibility of any reoccurrence particularly at mdsd where this kind of event is common due to the close proximity of the airports and small difference in the runways approach courses according to air traffic control (ATC) there. Crew: captain; (pilot monitoring) with 17 years flying aviation career; with approximately 11;000 hours of flight time; serving as PIC under F.a.right. 121 flights on DC8; DC10 and B-757 aircraft. First officer; (pilot flying); another experienced pilot and company B-757 captain; scheduled as first officer due to crew shortage.the flight was proceeding from the northwest direct to volam; instrument fix for the ILS runway 17. The ILS frequency had been tuned and identified already by the flight crew. Upon reaching the fix; the airplane entered into localizer capture mode; then localizer track mode. During instrument crosscheck; the flight instruments displayed established on the localizer (localizer) and the flight director (FD) roll command bar showed no turns dead center. The only indication that did not correspond was the glideslope (GS). During the short period of time elapsed between localizer capture and ATC call; while trying to identify the abnormality; tracking the localizer inbound and thinking about the possibility of a malfunction of the glideslope signal not NOTAM'ed; the flight crew continued waiting to get a little closer to positively identify the runway environment ahead - ie: runway number and PAPI (both airports have a similar layout from a distance). As we got closer and still unable to see the PAPI on the left nor the runway number; I decided to discontinue the approach; simultaneously ATC called and advised us that we were aligned with the runway at mdsi while we had started a 90 degree left turn. I reported to ATC the fact that at all times we were displaying established on the localizer inbound for runway 17 at mdsd and flight director roll command bar corresponded to that indication. After landing at mdsd; I inquired ATC over the VHF frequency if mdsi had an ILS frequency; presuming that maybe some interference might have occurred; to that the controller on duty replied no. Once at the ramp I took the initiative to contact the control tower over the telephone; because to me; only interference would have explained what just had happened. Controller shift change had occurred and I spoke to mr. X the new ATC controller on duty. After explaining to him what had happened; the indications the crew had on board and inquiring again about the possibility of any interference in the ILS signal if mdsi had an ILS; he said that even though the military there at mdsi do their own thing; he was aware that in fact they were installing and ILS and conducting some ongoing tests. He also stated that it is common for pilots to mistakenly identify mdsi for mdsd which I could see happening on a complete visual approach; but not so on this case. Also; he informed me that training had been conducted at the control tower at mdsd. Since this flight; I have been in direct contact with mr. Y; ATC supervisor on duty at the control tower at the time the flight landed and with mr. Z in charge of the aerial traffic section in las americas center control. As we work close together; on august 2009 mr. Y confirmed via email that indeed the military was installing an ILS and conducting tests at mdsi. He also stated that they were not aware of that at the time of this flight. I have taken some time to work together in case we could have some more usable findings about this event. In such case; I will provide a follow- up. Coincidentally; at the time of this report I have noticed that the following NOTAM has been issued:V0420/09 - [DOD procedural NOTAM] instrument approach procedure not authorized ILS runway 17. 21 aug 17:09 2009 until 31 oct 23:59 2009. Created: 21 aug 17:11 2009

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 Captain reports intercepting false LOC signal at VOLAM while attempting to fly the ILS Runway 17 at MDSD. Aircraft becomes aligned with runway at MDSI before ATC and the crew take notice and corrective action.

Narrative: During approach in to Las Americas International airport (MDSD) in Santo Domingo; Dominican Republic; the flight inadvertently aligned with a different runway (MDSI). No other traffic in the vicinity was affected. The circumstances under which the events to be described below occurred; are the reason why I felt the necessity of filing this report. The intent is to serve as a contribution on the research to reduce the possibility of any reoccurrence particularly at MDSD where this kind of event is common due to the close proximity of the airports and small difference in the runways approach courses according to Air Traffic Control (ATC) there. CREW: Captain; (Pilot Monitoring) With 17 years flying aviation career; with approximately 11;000 hours of flight time; serving as PIC under F.A.R. 121 flights on DC8; DC10 and B-757 aircraft. First Officer; (Pilot Flying); another experienced pilot and Company B-757 Captain; scheduled as First Officer due to crew shortage.The flight was proceeding from the northwest direct to VOLAM; instrument fix for the ILS RWY 17. The ILS frequency had been tuned and identified already by the flight crew. Upon reaching the fix; the airplane entered into localizer capture mode; then localizer track mode. During instrument crosscheck; the flight instruments displayed established on the localizer (LOC) and the flight director (FD) roll command bar showed no turns dead center. The only indication that did not correspond was the glideslope (GS). During the short period of time elapsed between LOC capture and ATC call; while trying to identify the abnormality; tracking the LOC inbound and thinking about the possibility of a malfunction of the glideslope signal not NOTAM'ed; the flight crew continued waiting to get a little closer to positively identify the runway environment ahead - ie: Runway number and PAPI (both airports have a similar layout from a distance). As we got closer and still unable to see the PAPI on the left nor the runway number; I decided to discontinue the approach; simultaneously ATC called and advised us that we were aligned with the runway at MDSI while we had started a 90 degree left turn. I reported to ATC the fact that at all times we were displaying established on the LOC inbound for Runway 17 at MDSD and flight director roll command bar corresponded to that indication. After landing at MDSD; I inquired ATC over the VHF frequency if MDSI had an ILS frequency; presuming that maybe some interference might have occurred; to that the controller on duty replied no. Once at the ramp I took the initiative to contact the control tower over the telephone; because to me; only interference would have explained what just had happened. Controller shift change had occurred and I spoke to Mr. X the new ATC controller on duty. After explaining to him what had happened; the indications the crew had on board and inquiring again about the possibility of any interference in the ILS signal if MDSI had an ILS; he said that even though the military there at MDSI do their own thing; he was aware that in fact they were installing and ILS and conducting some ongoing tests. He also stated that it is common for pilots to mistakenly identify MDSI for MDSD which I could see happening on a complete visual approach; but not so on this case. Also; he informed me that training had been conducted at the control tower at MDSD. Since this flight; I have been in direct contact with Mr. Y; ATC Supervisor on duty at the control tower at the time the flight landed and with Mr. Z in charge of the Aerial Traffic section in Las Americas Center Control. As we work close together; on August 2009 Mr. Y confirmed via email that indeed the military was installing an ILS and conducting tests at MDSI. He also stated that they were not aware of that at the time of this flight. I have taken some time to work together in case we could have some more usable findings about this event. In such case; I will provide a follow- up. Coincidentally; at the time of this report I have noticed that the following NOTAM has been issued:V0420/09 - [DOD PROCEDURAL NOTAM] INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE NOT AUTHORIZED ILS RWY 17. 21 AUG 17:09 2009 UNTIL 31 OCT 23:59 2009. CREATED: 21 AUG 17:11 2009

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.