Originally Posted by
Ushuaia
They were told to turn LEFT, then RIGHT, then STOP THE CLIMB!, then turn LEFT. Thereafter they were told repeatedly turn SOUTHBOUND. Repeatedly.
Sorry but the Key Instruction they were given is "180" and "Southbound". REPEATEDLY. What part of 180 is so difficult to understand?
The 1? The 8? Or the 0?
Turn Left to 180 would have meant a 270° turn to the left towards 180°. What on Earth made them go for a Course 0? I haven't seen any request in that direction.
What is so difficult to understand in "Southbound"?? How many "South's" did they have on their Compass?
Yes, the Controller delivered a less than stellar performance, much less than stellar and surely initiated some confusion.
But the real major
Up was clearly by the Crew.
I absolutely expect an Airline Pilot to be able to distinguish between Course 0 and 180. And I expect him not to mentally fall apart as soon as anything goes a little bit different than expected.