Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 52; Flight Crew Total 11450; Flight Crew Type 2300
Communication Breakdown; Distraction; Workload; Confusion
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Airspace Structure; Procedure
As we were being vectored for an ILS; TRACON gave us successive headings that turned us toward localizer interception. Then we heard and acknowledged a heading change to 170 degrees; almost 180 degrees from the inbound course. We were still several miles away from the localizer course. I commented that was odd; the PM said they must have had a conflict and wanted us behind another aircraft. A few moments later; TRACON commented that there were two aircraft with similar sounding callsigns; and called Aircraft X (us) to return to 330 degrees heading; our last previous intercept course; and for Aircraft Y to fly heading 170. No mention was made of any conflict. All subsequent radio calls were made with our complete call sign; and active crew concurrence of each transmission. We noted that the other aircraft required repeated contact attempts for Controller instructions. I should have pressed for verifying the instructions when we received the heading that put us on radar downwind after being on a 45 deg heading to intercept final. Had we been aware there was a similar callsign situation; we would have been more wary.
Two aircraft were on TPA TRACON frequency with similar sound call signs; one aircraft took the other aircraft vector which put it nearly 180 out of the intended track. ATC realized the error and became more accurate.