Miscommunications can have serious consequences – especially when co-ordinating aircraft flying in a variety of environments and variables. Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) responsible for international flights must have the skills in English to communicate in a very broad sense – much more than talking and repeating standard and learned phrases.…
This FAA report is a compilation of written responses and comments by a group of 48 U.S. pilots of their difficulties in international operations. These pilots met with interviewers to discuss their language experiences flying into countries where English may or may not be the local or national language among…
The use of similar call signs by aircraft operating in the same area on the same RTF frequency often gives rise to potential and actual flight safety incidents. This hazard is usually referred to as “call sign confusion”. This briefing note will introduce you to the key concepts that are…
This Airbus document provides a practical set of recommendations for the use of longrange crewmembers: alertness decrement, sleep, napping,life hygiene. During long-haul rotations, partial or complete compliance with these recommendations should allow pilots to better manage their levels of alertness in flight, limit sleep loss related to night flights, facilitate,…
The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) Approach-and-landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) Task Force designed this guide as part of the FSF ALAR Tool Kit, which is designed to help prevent ALAs, including those involving controlled flight into terrain. This guide should be used to evaluate specific flight operations and to improve crew…
Most of us will go through our entire careers without ever having to declare an emergency. For those who do pull the short straw however, there are some basic considerations that apply, regardless of the specific problem(s). The desired outcome for any emergency situation is a controlled rate of descent onto a prepared…
The MMEL is an Airbus document, developed by the Flight Operations Support and Services Department. Operators use the Airbus MMEL as a reference for creating their own MEL, which is provided to their flight crews, line maintenance personnel, and/or flight operations personnel. It is important to note that an Operator’s MEL cannot be less…
There have been a number of accidents related to take-off in conditions in which snow and/or other forms of freezing precipitation were falling while the aircraft was on the ground preparing for departure. While there is no doubt that air crew have a clear understanding of the legal and airline…
Factors that may contribute to approach-and-landing accidents include flight over hilly terrain, reduced visibility, visual illusions, adverse winds, contaminated runways and/or limited approach aids. Flight crews should be aware of the compounding nature of these hazards during approach and landing. Approach Hazards Awareness PDF file – 57 Kb
Issues in Crew Resource Management (CRM) are discussed, including its definition and primary goals of recognizing and managing threat and error. CRM is a component of an organization’s safety efforts and must be driven by valid data on operational issues. Data requirements for a safety culture include proactive information on…
This article defines discipline and illustrates its importance to safe flight operations. Its objective is to reinforce the importance of discipline as the foundation of airmanship and the need to follow procedures to ensure safe operations. The article also demonstrates that poor discipline is the direct result of attitudes that…
Loss of Control is prioritized as the most important of the significant seven safety issues and the application of effective pilot monitoring is identified as a key safety net in the prevention of and recovery from Loss of Control accidents and incidents. Monitoring is an essential ingredient in achieving synergy…
A variety of reports identify pilots’ failure to obtain clearances prior to landing. Fortunately, most incidents do not result in traffic conflicts or other hazardous consequences. However, the potential for a breach of safety is high. So that the industry can better assess the factors contributing to landing-without-clearance events, this paper analysed a small number (37)…
This Transport Canada document is a crucial tool for managing hazardous interactions between wildlife and aircraft in the vicinity of airports. For example, some land-use activities near airports – such as waste-disposal sites, attract high-risk bird species and, therefore, directly impact aviation safety. Transport Canada strives for the holistic, proactive…
Data from numerous safety studies indicate that approach and landing accidents account for a significant proportion of air transport accidents. The aviation industry is committed to reducing the number of these accidents. One effort has led to the creation of a toolkit containing industry data and recommendations for use by…
Use of antidepressant medications by pilots and air traffic controllers does not increase the risk of aviation accidents or incidents, according to a study of 10 years of aviation safety data from Australia, where aeromedical authorities have allowed the supervised use of antidepressants since 1987. The study, published in Aviation,…
Six minutes before touchdown, Eastern Air Lines Flight 212, a McDonnell Douglas DC9 with 78 passengers and four crew members on board, was descending toward runway 36 at Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.A. Because patchy dense fog hid the runway from view, a very high frequency omni- directional radio range (VOR)…
Interruptions and distractions are the main threat facing flight crews. The omission of an action or an inappropriate action is the most frequent causal factor in incidents and accidents. Interruptions ( e.g., due to ATC communications ) and distractions ( e.g., due to a cabin attendant entering the cockpit )…
The Bureau of Air Safety Investigation published a research report titled, Limitations of the See-and-Avoid Principle. This report concluded that “the see-and-avoid principle, In the absence of traffic alerts, is subject to serious limitations”. Unalerted see-and-avoid has a “limited place as a last resort means of traffic separation at low…
Aviation’s worst disaster, the terrible KLM / Pan Am accident at Tenerife, was due in great part to schedule pressure problems experienced by both flight crews. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) conducted an eighteen month, three country investigation of this accident, with an emphasis on the human factors of…
This Flight Operations Briefing Note provides a summary of human factors issues identified in incidents and accidents. This summary may be used either to assess: • The company exposure and develop corresponding prevention strategies; or, • The reader’s individual exposure and develop corresponding personal lines-of-defense. Ultimately, human factors are involved…
This paper considers the embodied nature of discourse for a professional work setting. It examines language in interaction in the airline cockpit, and specifically how shifts in pilots’ eye gaze direction can indicate the action of talk, that is, what talk is doing and its relative contribution to work-in- progress.…
Spoken and written language play essential roles in the operation of commercial airliners. Spoken language appears in conversations among the crew, between the crew and Air Traffic Control (ATC), in aural alerts to the pilots generated by on-board systems, between the crew and a variety of company personnel (dispatchers, mechanics,…
Air Crash Investigation report into the accident of Independent Air 1851 (IDN 1851), a Boeing 707-331B. While in clouds and heavy turbulence and after seven seconds of “whoop whoop, pull up” from its ground- proximity warning system (GPWS), the plane flew into Pico Alto, a mountain on the island of Santa…
Modern large transport aircraft have an increasing amount of automation and crews are placing greater reliance on this automation. Consequently, there is a risk that flight crew no longer have the necessary skills to react appropriately to either failures in automation, programming errors or a loss of situational awareness. Dependence…
What makes a pilot “street smart” about flying? By “street smart” we mean: awareness of the essential aspects of flying; ability to know where and when to find critical information; ability to detect and compensate for the mistakes of others; ability to avoid the subtle traps and pitfalls found in the…
Miscommunication arising from spoken interaction is a fact of life experienced, in one form or another, almost daily. Even two people speaking face-to-face, ostensibly in the same language, with a common background in the subject of the communication, frequently discover that what was meant was not what was understood. In…
To ensure mutual understanding and effective cooperation among crewmembers and with ATC, in-depth takeoff and approach / go-around briefings should be conducted on each flight. A thorough briefing should be conducted regardless of: • How familiar the departure airport / SID or destination airport / approach may be; or, •…
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of your flight crew I would like to welcome you aboard. Our flight time to Paris tonight is . . .” Contemplate this thought: You fly people, not airplanes. You accomplish the task with aircraft. You can take a bad flight with a…
Passengers listening in on radio communications on a domestic flight in the United States a couple of years ago heard the following exchange between the pilot and the Jacksonville (Florida, U.S.) Center controller: Pilot: “Jacksonville Control. United XXX. Can we reduce speed to xxx knots?” Controller: “United XXX. Jacksonville Control.…
English is the international language of aviation. But even when pilots and controllers both speak English fluently, there are pitfalls in the nature of language and the ways that language is heard. Subtle miscues can subvert messages that seem clear to the sender. Pilots and controllers must be aware of,…
An effective crew briefing is an opportunity to transform a group of individuals into a highly effective team. Military aviation has a long history of requiring briefings prior to each sortie. This requirement is standard regardless of aircraft. This policy also has been adopted by most airlines, albeit somewhat modified…
At an airport without an operational control tower, sometimes referred to as an “uncontrolled” airport, communication is one of the key elements in maintaining proper aircraft separation. Use of the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) helps to assure the safe, orderly flow of arrival and departure traffic. FAR 91.113 cites…
Despite lessons drawn from cockpit resource management programs, the language of the flight deck varies by the seat being occupied – and peril can hide in the syntax. We need new rules of speech. You’re no rookie. You have more than 9,000 hours, but with less than If 100 hours…
Until controller / pilot data link communication ( CPDLC ) comes into widespread use, air traffic control ( ATC ) will depend upon voice communications that are affected by various factors. Operators and Air Traffic Management providers, like pilots and controllers, are close partners in terms of “productivity”; and operators…
Recorded voice data, such as from CVRs or air traffic control (ATC) tapes, can be an important source of information for accident investigation, as well as for human factors re- search. During accident investigations, the extent of analysis of these recordings depends on the nature and severity of the accident.…
The “Steel Horses.” Born of necessity in the long war in Southeast Asia to fly search and rescue and special operations missions, the US Air Force fleet of 52 HH-53s and 20 CH-53s were subsequently modified with state-of-the-art precision navigation capability under a program called Pave Low and redesignated as…
Provides technical assistance to applicants preparing for private, commercial, or flight instructor pilot certificates with a helicopter or gyroplane class rating. In authoritative and understandable language, here are explanations of general aerodynamics and the aerodynamics of flight, navigation, communication, flight controls, flight maneuvers, emergencies, and more. Rotorcraft Flying Handbook PDF…
This handbook is a valuable reference tool for reviewing the nuts and bolts of general aviation, outlining the rules, regulations, and practical aspects of owning and operating a private aircraft. This full-color manual covers subjects such as aircraft owner responsibilities, buying an aircraft, special flight permits, light-sport aircraft, aircraft maintenance,…
Providing tools to aid pilots in achieving the safest possible flights with the least amount of risk, this comprehensive manual covers subjects such as human behavior, identifying and mitigating risk, aeronautical decision-making, single-pilot resource management, automation, and risk management training. Presenting methods pilots can use to manage the workloads associated…
The main functions in pilot-controller dialogue are varied by nature of their tasks, however even though they are responsible for different tasks, pilots and controllers both need to acknowledge and communicate with each other in a form that is easily understood. This document presents a unified checklist that pilots…
AUG 29 – Over the past decade, the Asia-Pacific region has maintained a steady economic growth rate superior to that of North American and European growth rates. This stable growth has resulted in the ascent of a newly affluent middle class across Asia. An increase in disposable income in the…
Many of our students ask us questions about what is really required to achieve ICAO Level 4. We – Aviation English Academy – use the following presentation in the first lesson of our ICAO Aviation English course as it provides feedback from a pilot who failed his exam. While it…
JAKARTA, Aug. 22 2014 — Indonesia will require over 18,000 pilots in the near future to meet the growing demand at the country’s fast growing aviation industry, an official said here on Thursday. Chairman of Indonesian National Air Carriers Association Emirsyah Satar said that Indonesia would be on of the…
Do you want to fly on a suborbital space plane? What about a rocket launch all they way into orbit? A new commercial spaceflight training company wants to help you develop the right stuff for flying to space. Waypoint 2 Space — a Houston-based company aimed at helping commercial astronauts…
This paper investigates the emergence of occupational identity from voluntarily-submitted safety reports written by flight attendants to a US government aviation safety regulatory agency. Using an analytic framework informed by ethnography of communication and interactional sociolinguistics paradigms, this paper argues that the report discourse reflects aviation institutional, hierarchical, and occupational…
This paper, a preliminary study of Flight Attendant identity construction and attitudes toward inter-crew communication, examines the factors which may affect talk between the cabin crew, also known as flight attendants, and flight crew, also known as pilots onboard a commercial aircraft. The analysis and arguments are based on data…
The discourse of commercial aviation flight attendants has historically received no sociolinguistic attention. To address this gap, this thesis explores how flight attendants use language in workplace-related contexts to construct their professional identity and community. This thesis draws on interactional sociolinguistics and sociological research to address how flight attendants use…
The Visual Flight Rules Guide aims to help VFR pilots fly safely anywhere in Australia. The information contained in the Guide has been carefully collected and presented in an easy to understand and use format. The information contained in this guide is correct at the time of upload to the…
What is a TAF? A Terminal Area Forecast (TAF) is a statement of meteorological conditions expected for a specified period in the airspace within a radius of 5 NM of the aerodrome reference point. At most major airports a Trend Type Forecast (TTF) is available with the METAR. This is…
Aer Lingus EIN485 – Aggressive pax, restrained, later dies. (Oct 18 2015)
FAA Aviation Career Promo
Challenges of Teaching Aviation Vocabulary and Radio Phraseology at High School Level
