TangoWhiskey
Touchdown! Greaser!
This would make an interesting study... was it just this guy, or could readback errors and transmission clipping be scientifically demonstrated to be indicative of imminent pilot overload? If it could be automatically detected, perhaps it could be used somehow to alert either controllers or the pilot to slow down and pay attention.
NTSB: DEN05FA126
Response delays and readback errors were noted in the pilot's communications. The pilot incorrectly read back an altitude clearance and an altimeter setting provided by Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), and was corrected twice by a controller before reading back the clearance correctly. Later, the pilot failed to respond to a clearance issued by the Denver Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility, when instructed to descend, intercept the Runway 35R localizer, and join the approach. Four seconds after the clearance was issued, the pilot stated, "Say again, sir." The controller repeated the intercept clearance with an adjusted heading. The pilot did not respond, but the airplane did begin to turn in the appropriate direction. After 6 seconds, the controller asked, "November five sierra golf, did you get any of that?" The pilot responded, "ah, give me..." After another 8 seconds, the controller issued a new clearance, which the pilot correctly acknowledged.
Decreased coordination between the pilot's keying of the microphone and the timing of his speech was noted during the arrival and approach phases of the flight. Clipping was evident in 5 of the pilot's last 13 radio transmissions. By comparison, clipping rarely occurred during earlier phases of the flight.