B757-200
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Workload; Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown; Confusion
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; Flight Crew Executed Go Around / Missed Approach; Flight Crew Became Reoriented; General Declared Emergency
Chart Or Publication; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors; Procedure
Approaching LAS on the TYSSN arrival; we were told to expect vectors for a visual approach Runway 19L. The TYSSN lines up with [runways] 25L & R. Eventually we were cleared to the TYSSN Intersection and given late descent clearance and crossing restriction. Soon thereafter we were told to pull up the GRNPA 1 arrival and find the TRROP Intersection. We were cleared to the TRROP Intersection subsequently and then assigned 210 KTS and eventually 5;200 FT at TRROP. Upon hearing ATC clear aircraft for the 'RNAV Visual 19L'; the First Officer and I discuss and start looking for this procedure as new Commercial Charts came out this day and we may have not seen it. Can't find the procedure but it seems we're getting task saturated. The First Officer is flying and not configuring the aircraft for landing. ATC asks if we see the runway: neither the First Officer nor I see the runway amongst the lights of Las Vegas. As we continue to configure for landing; we both heard the Controller say fly present heading. [The Captain's] headset jack was inoperative and using the speaker probably impaired communication. By the time we heard ATC tell us to fly runway heading; the aircraft was rapidly approaching the downtown area. I exercised my Captain's emergency authority to turn right instead of left on the missed approach in order not to fly within close proximity to the buildings and towers of Las Vegas. We were then cleared to 7;000 FT and vectored for the RNAV GPS 19L and landed. ATC should assign an appropriate STAR for the runway in use. They should always vector aircraft with sufficient distance and time to configure for a normal approach; especially at night in mountainous areas. They should provide clear instructions if runway is not visible to the pilots by a certain point.
A B757-200 flight crew making a night time arrival to LAS was first cleared via the TYSSN RNAV STAR which aligns with Runways 25 and then directed to utilize the GRNPA STAR to locate and fly direct to TRROP and then get vectored to Runway 19L; became disoriented and concerned with respect to proximity to the city and the mountains and initiated a self directed missed approach. They were subsequently vectored for an RNAV (GPS) approach to Runway 19L.