EMB ERJ 135 ER/LR
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Confusion; Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance
Human Factors
An E135 came over on the RNAV arrival that puts aircraft on the localizer for Runway 16L. General aviation/air taxi aircraft prefer to land Runway 17 for FBO parking. I instructed the E135 to proceed to one of the fixes on the ILS to Runway 17 and descend him to 120 (the MVA is 118). He cleared the 118 MVA and entered the 110 MVA. I descended him to 110. When he hit the fix he made a 90 degree left turn into the 118 MVA. I immediately climbed him and gave him a low altitude alert. I also turned him back toward lower terrain. I asked him what happened and he said they misspelled the next fix and the autopilot took them the wrong direction. He continued to have trouble inbound with reading back the correct headings; altitudes; clearance etc.
S56 Controller described a descent below MVA; the reporter indicating the flight crew incorrectly spelled an inbound fix causing the aircraft to turn the wrong direction into higher terrain.