Medium Large Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Confusion
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; Flight Crew Returned To Clearance
Airspace Structure; Human Factors
Enroute to LEX during the cruise phase of flight. ATC issued us direct UNCKL; direct the airport; we entered it into the FMS as UNCLE. The confusion; and why we didn't catch it sooner was that UNCLE happened to be right along the route. Approximately three controllers later ATC asked us to verify we were direct UNCKL. We inquired and realized we had the wrong fix in the FMS; we changed to direct UNCKL; direct the airport and there were no issues.
A flight crew flew to an incorrect fix after they were cleared to UNCKL. They mistakenly typed in UNCLE and the error was not detected until about three controllers later. They inquired of ATC about the correct fix and then proceeded to UNCKL.