Snakecharmer: spot on.
The initial "stop your climb" instruction came at a critical time. The controller issued contrary instructions to AC at first ("stop your climb, AC; correction, expedite yiour climb AC") and then to EVA "stop your climb!". All in a raised, urgent tone as if to say: imminent collision. Picture the EVA flightdeck: trying to correct the left/right thing then suddenly it's "STOP CLIMB NOW!" Any pilot knows what happens then: you will get the nose down ceratainly, probably to the brief detriment of getting onto the heading. They'd task shed. They would be briefly rattled; anyone would be. And THEN it was turn "left onto 29, correction, 270", towards the AC who they are thinking potential conflict with. "WTF?" they think. Pause. Then "what are you doing, turn southbound now". The shortest way being at that point..... a right turn now. No wonder these guys came back with "left..right..?" at one point.
Very confusing controlling. I have flown into LAX and other US airports a lot and this sort of stuff doesn't surprise me at all. Most of the Yank controllers are excellent; they have to be. But a significant number are too culturally insensitve, lack understanding of what goes on in a flight deck and seem to forget we're all on the same team. Trouble is, half the people's attitude over there is "if you don't like it or can't hack it, don't come here!"
Poor language skills by EVA, yes, but this is primarily an ATC problem all of their own making.
P.S. Please: every pro pilot knows a turn onto a heading the "wrong way round", is certainly not unusual. Off 06 or 07 in LAX and a left turn onto 180 deserves some extra confirmation, sure, but its not wrong, as such. I have routinely departed LAX from 24L and made LEFT turns initially before heading out to the north, north-east, to Vegas and beyond. Doesn't seem logical but its all about traffic flow. Now these guys read back the initial "left 180", providing the controller a opportunity to correct either her initial, erroneous instruction or EVA's misunderstanding of the turn direction, and she didn't take it. It all started at that point and went downhill with the poor controlling thereafter. Thank God its really only bruised egos....
Last edited by Ushuaia; 24th Dec 2016 at 02:52.