![]() This is done by means of a proficiency test with a minimum requirement of level 4 out of 6 needed to hold a valid license. A mix-up in the altitude they were cleared to descend to resulted in the deaths of 349 people.Īs a result of these fatal, and many other non-fatal incidents, in 2003, ICAO made amendments to the Chicago Convention requiring that pilots involved in international operations demonstrate a proficient level of spoken English. They were relying on the English of their flight engineer who did not have access to the flight instruments. The mid-air collision over India between a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76TD and a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 was partly blamed on the poor language skills of the Kazak pilots. The 1990 crash of an Avianca Boeing 707 in New York was attributed to the Colombian pilot's inability to communicate the severity of their low fuel situation in plain language with ATC. Whilst the Tenerife accident was the most deadly, it wasn't the only incident to be attributed to a breakdown in communication between pilots and ATC. We now only use the word "departure" for general topics for instance, "ready for departure" or "after departure fly heading 100 degrees" and only use "takeoff" when used in an actual takeoff clearance. One of the many learning points from this accident changed the phraseology we use with ATC. A total of 583 people tragically lost their lives that day. As they appeared out of the fog, the KLM crew tried to avoid them but it was too late. They attempted to alert the controller that they were still on the runway, but their transmission was blocked by another radio call - one of the major downsides of radio communications.Īcutely aware of what was about to happen, the Pan Am crew did their best to exit the runway as soon as they could, but to no avail. Being native English speakers, they were able to understand the rapidly developing situation. Tragically, several hundred feet down the fog-shrouded runway, a Pan Am 747 was still taxiing, trying to find its exit point. (Photo by Morse Collection/Gado/Getty Images) "Clipper Victor", the Pan American World Airways 747 which was destroyed in the Tenerife airport disaster of March 27, 1977, the deadliest accident in aviation history. Read more: How fast are we going? How pilots deal with a loss of airspeed indications However, these instructions included the words "takeoff" which the KLM crew interpreted as their clearance to begin the takeoff run. When holding in position for takeoff, the controller gave the KLM crew instructions to follow after departure. Operating in thick fog on a single runway, the Dutch crew of a KLM 747 misunderstood the instructions, in English, from the Spanish controller. The accident at Tenerife, Spain, on March 27, 1977, is still the deadliest accident in aviation history. However, a number of high-profile accidents where a breakdown in communications due to language issues could not be ignored. Understandably, trying to communicate effectively with another person, when English is neither of your first languages, must be incredibly difficult. So, since 1951, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommended that English be used as the international language of aviation communications.Įven though this recommendation was widely followed, the standard of English used by both pilots and ATC varied significantly around the world. It would be crazy to suggest that pilots learn all the languages of countries whose airspace they fly through across the world. A flight across Europe could cover a dozen different languages. However, as we cross from country to country, the language used by each one changes rapidly. English, the international language of ATCĬommunication between aircraft and Air Traffic Control (ATC) is critical to flight safety. As a result, knowing how to use this medium is essential to get our message across and ensuring the safety of the flight. Pilots use radios as part of our everyday communications with ATC, engineers and, if you think about it, passengers via the PA system. So how do we communicate effectively when we are unable to see the person we are talking to, who may, in fact, be hundreds of miles away at the end of a crackly radio frequency? ![]() Clear communication is key in everything we do, and body language and non-verbal communication make up a large proportion of this.
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