Doug E Style

Coming into LHR this morning we heard an aircraft (I won't mention the airline, suffice it to say that the crew had been up all night) take a left turn at Bovingdon instead of turning right to enter the hold. Does this happen very often? I know I did it once during flight training but I would imagine that FMC databases make it almost unheard of these days. Incidentally, the controller spotted it pretty sharpish and sorted it out although we were a bit miffed that the necessary vectoring meant that he jumped ahead of us in the landing sequence. Still, we got a nice swift approach in later in the day off Biggin so we can't complain. Thanks.

BOAC

Only one I have come across was a mainline BA 737-200 at LGW in the early 90's joining a left-hand hold at Timba. Caused a 'bit of a flutter' in the Willo hold where I was.

Poor old Nigel couldn't even blame the computer!

MancBoy

If we ever have to hold at Honiley, not very often fortunately, we have to be careful aircraft go the right way as the Honiley hold changes direction below 195.

So its right hand 200 and above and left hand 190 and below.

I've seen countless aircraft, including british ones, go the wrong way round!!

It can actually be useful sometimes to get an aircraft to go the wrong way round as long as its safe to do so. It can help to get outbounds through the hold, etc.

Del Prado

Does it happen very often? No, but more often than you might think.

How do you know that was the reason he went ahead of you?
Maybe Heathrow were bunching Heavies together for a more efficient landing order and that's why all the delays had disappeared by the time you got to BIG later.

Capt Claret

I've seen several instances with FMC when the hold turn direction has been the wrong way. Edit it to the correct direction when checking the veracity of the data rather than falling into the trap of assuming it'll be correct and executing without checking.

verticalhold

Once did it in the sim during IRR. The examiner was being checked by the CAA examiner. Both thought it was deliberately done so that there was something serious for the debrief! Buggers made me redo the whole test

Doug E Style

Del Prado; I don't know for sure that that was the reason he went in ahead of us. I do know that he was a few minutes behind and 1000' above us going into the Bovingdon hold and from previous experience I've heard the Heathrow Directors usually mention if they are taking someone off the hold above and sequencing them in first. I'm not complaining, if anything I'm expressing appreciation for the way the controller responded to an unusual situation.