Narrative:

We were on downwind abeam runway 8L when atlanta approach called traffic at 11-12 o'clock. My first officer replied he was in sight and we were instructed to maintain visual separation. About seven miles from the threshold of 8L we were instructed to turn to a 180 heading as well as maintain a speed of 180 KTS. Soon after we complied; I realized we were approaching the centerline of 8L without receiving a clearance to turn and intercept the final approach course. I asked my first officer to query approach control for a clearance which he did twice without a response.soon we were passing through the north runway approach courses and did not want to cause any loss of separation with other arriving aircraft. I then turned back towards 8L after clearing the area visually as well as checking TCAS. My first officer was finally able to contact atlanta tower and we were cleared to land on 9R. After we landed; taxied in and parked at our gate I asked my first officer what had happened and why we had lost communication with approach control. He told me he must have selected his audio control panel to VHF 1 accidentally. When he did this during our base leg; he put our company and ramp frequency in comm 1 instead of comm 2 which was his original intent. This was the cause of our loss of communication which resulted in our deviation.after analyzing all of the events which resulted in the deviation; I should have realized the loss of communication and reacted sooner than I did. I also know if that you lose communication; check to make sure each pilot's acp [audio control panel] is set properly and the correct frequency is entered. First and foremost; fly the aircraft and do not wait for instructions if you feel something is out of the ordinary.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: While being vectored for a visual approach to Runway 8L at ATL the flight crew of a B737-700 inadvertently deselected ATC on their audio selector panels. Upon recognizing the loss the Captain turned toward the airport--away from traffic--while the First Officer tuned the Tower frequency. The Local Controller promptly changed their runway and sent them to the appropriate Tower frequency.

Narrative: We were on downwind abeam Runway 8L when Atlanta approach called traffic at 11-12 o'clock. My First Officer replied he was in sight and we were instructed to maintain visual separation. About seven miles from the threshold of 8L we were instructed to turn to a 180 heading as well as maintain a speed of 180 KTS. Soon after we complied; I realized we were approaching the centerline of 8L without receiving a clearance to turn and intercept the final approach course. I asked my First Officer to query Approach Control for a clearance which he did twice without a response.Soon we were passing through the north runway approach courses and did not want to cause any loss of separation with other arriving aircraft. I then turned back towards 8L after clearing the area visually as well as checking TCAS. My First Officer was finally able to contact Atlanta Tower and we were cleared to land on 9R. After we landed; taxied in and parked at our gate I asked my First Officer what had happened and why we had lost communication with Approach Control. He told me he must have selected his audio control panel to VHF 1 accidentally. When he did this during our base leg; he put our Company and Ramp frequency in comm 1 instead of comm 2 which was his original intent. This was the cause of our loss of communication which resulted in our deviation.After analyzing all of the events which resulted in the deviation; I should have realized the loss of communication and reacted sooner than I did. I also know if that you lose communication; check to make sure each pilot's ACP [Audio Control Panel] is set properly and the correct frequency is entered. First and foremost; fly the aircraft and do not wait for instructions if you feel something is out of the ordinary.

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.