If pilot and tower can’t grasp each other, disaster may lurk
On a flight out of Shanghai, the pilot of a US airline radioed air traffic control seeking a higher altitude. But, said the pilot, Jim Karsh, he could not understand the controller’s reply. “We tried 6, 7, 8 times to have him repeat,” Karsh said, then “we canceled our request.” Airline pilots say that understanding controllers who work in Chinese airspace can often be difficult. “The amount of English they speak is geared solely to controller lingo,” Karsh said. The problem is not confined to China, according to a just-published study for the British CAA. An inability to communicate in English is widespread and a safety threat the industry is not taking seriously enough, the report says. Miscommunication can be as much of a hazard “as an engine fire, a broken landing gear or an avionics failure,” said Barbara Clark, the author of the study. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2017-06-20/general/if-pilot-and-tower-can2019t-grasp-each-other-disaster-may-lurk
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If pilot and tower can’t grasp each other, disaster may lurk
On a flight out of Shanghai, the pilot of a US airline radioed air traffic control seeking a higher altitude. But, said the pilot, Jim Karsh, he could not understand the controller’s reply. “We tried 6, 7, 8 times to have him repeat,” Karsh said, then “we canceled our request.” Airline pilots say that understanding controllers who work in Chinese airspace can often be difficult. “The amount of English they speak is geared solely to controller lingo,” Karsh said. The problem is not confined to China, according to a just-published study for the British CAA. An inability to communicate in English is widespread and a safety threat the industry is not taking seriously enough, the report says. Miscommunication can be as much of a hazard “as an engine fire, a broken landing gear or an avionics failure,” said Barbara Clark, the author of the study. <br/>
