Large Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Total 12900
Communication Breakdown; Confusion
ATC Issue All Types; Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Aircraft; Chart Or Publication; Human Factors
During our arrival into Belize there was confusion on the clearance received from approach control. The radar at the airport was down and causing problems with the arrivals for the approach controller. We were initially told to report TANDA inbound and subsequently ten miles from the BZE VOR. Approach control assigned us the VOR/ILS/DME Rwy 07 sometime on the arrival; I am not quite sure when. Both pilots looked for this approach in Jepp FD-Pro and were unable to find it. Confusion grows and I ask the controller once more for the exact approach. He issues the same clearance. The only approaches we see are an ILS DME 07 and an ILS Z Rwy 07. The controller then tells us to report the 282 radial outbound which makes no sense to us as it is not part of any published approach we have. By this time we are at the VOR and turning outbound to the 257 radial assuming we are doing the turn reversal for the ILS DME 07. We report tracking this radial and are told to turn right and join the 282 radial outbound. At this time we are VFR and are tracking the 282 outbound when the controller tells us to report the Localizer inbound. We start a left hand turn and join the localizer and land uneventfully.There are multiple problems here for us as a crew. First is a language barrier. Second is being issued approaches that we don't carry and cannot use. Third is we as a crew waiting too long to verify what we were expected to fly and or refusing the clearance we could not fly. We went through the approaches in the FMS once we were on the ground and the approach the controller wanted us to fly was in the box. We used to fly the approach routinely but for some reason we now no longer carry charts for it in our FD-Pro on the iPad. So I guess answers are needed. If we are expected to fly the VOR/ILS/DME 07 approaches please put them back in FD-Pro. And on our part we should have been more proactive sooner to minimize confusion.
On approach to MZBZ we were cleared to the BZE VOR then cleared the ILS VOR DME Runway 7 Approach. We did not have the approach in our FD Pro even though both iPads had current charts. There was an ILS DME Approach to Runway 7 so upon crossing the VOR we began to execute that approach. The controller then asked us if we were on the 282 degree radial which at that time we realized that he was wanting us to execute an approach we did not have in our charts. The controller then gave us instruction and we completed the rest of the approach in VMC conditions. The aircraft made a safe landing and no other issues were noted. It was apparent to us that either the approach control wanted us to fly an approach that was no longer published or the current update to our Jeppesen FD Pro left that approach out. Please make crews aware that are going into BZE to not accept the ILS VOR DME approach to Runway 7 upon arrival because it is not in the current FD Pro update.
A319 flight crew reported they were confused when MZBZ ATC assigned an approach that was not in their EFB.