Fisk English School Focus On Final Course

Learning Aeronautical English,

a Chance to Reach Over the Horizon
By Salvador Gomes

Blumenau, march, 2010

Learning Aeronautical English, a Chance to Reach Over the Horizon

Getting start
There are plenty of ways to speak English. Since you have gotten start an English course, youve been learning how to say different things in different situations. However, the last steps in an English course are supposed to give you the capability to be understood without doubt. In the aeronautical word, it is critical. Being misunderstood or getting one wrong can put you in a dangerous situation. You must not only know English, but also be comfortable with the patterns used in the aeronautical language. Because of that, the Brazilian pilot who wants to fly abroad must take a test. The examination has several parts and takes at least two days. The test is given by some English schools. At the end, the pilot gets a mark between one and six, but only pilots who get four or a higher mark can fly abroad. The goal of this work is improve the students English knowledge in order to take the best mark that he or she can take.

Content 1. Pronunciation ........................................................... page 3 The phonetic alphabet. Numbers. The right way to say something. A regional variation case: crash at Tenerife Airport, in 1977. 2. Structure .................................................................. page 5
Sentence patterns. The right way to ask and understand. Case about patterns: crash at Florida Everglades, in 1972.

3. Fluency .................................................................... page 8

Saying what you must say in appropriate time and with clarity. The importance of answering quickly. Hotspot: the delayed dangling phrase.

4. Conclusion .............................................................. page 9

Learning Aeronautical English, a Chance to Reach Over the Horizon

1. Pronunciation
When we are talking on the phone and we are supposed to spell something is common to use a word in order to avoid a misunderstood situation. It seems like: I mean B like ball and D like dad. In the aeronautical speech we use a similar way to make plain what is said. It is called Phonetic Alphabet. Each letter has a name. When you refer something that is known by a letter, you are supposed to use its code. An example: Tower controller: - November, Seven, One, Zero, Alpha. You are cleared to taxi to runway via taxiway Bravo. November, Seven, One, Zero, Alpha (or N710A) is an airplane identification. Taxiway Bravo means Taxiway B.

The Phonetic Alphabet was extensively used in the Second World War and since that had been changed. Nowadays, the Phonetic Alphabet in use is: A B C D E F G H I J K L M Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta Echo Foxtrot Golf Hotel India Juliet Kilo Lima Mike N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z November Oscar Papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango Uniform Victor Whiskey X-Ray Yankee Zulu

This international code is the first thing that pilots learn about aeronautical language. The more it is used the more known it gets. Soon it becomes something natural, even for students. In spite of this facility, it can bring pronunciations difficulties for Portuguese speakers who learned to say the Phonetic Alphabet in their first language. The words that represent each letter are the same, but they have different pronunciations. For example: The letter H, in Portuguese, has no sound when it is the first letter in a word. Then, the speaker starts the speech with the sound of the second letter.

Because of that, we must pay attention to pronunciation since weve started to learn aeronautical English. This precaution might be maintained not only with letters or words but also with numbers. In the aeronautical English there isnt a big deal about the numbers. They are the same used in the traditional grammar. Just one thing is different: they

Learning Aeronautical English, a Chance to Reach Over the Horizon

are always said number by number. If you want to report your altitude, for example, you have to say: two-two thousand feet, in stand of twenty-two thousand feet. It makes the exchange easier, but can also bring some problem. Check this out: Traffic controller: - November, Seven, One, Zero, Alpha. Climb to two thousand feet. The pilot can think that he is supposed to climb at two-two thousand feet.

In order to avoid miscommunications like the example above, there is a safe procedure in aeronautical language called readback. Some information are such important that the pilot is supposed to answer air traffic controller with the same dates given. The goal of this procedure is ensure that all information were understood. Instructions like flight level, altitude, speed, clearance to landing or taking off, and others, are in this group. Lets see this dialogue: Traffic controller: - November, Seven, One, Zero, Alpha. You are cleared to land onto runway zero-seven. Pilot: Cleared to land onto zero-seven, roger. November, Seven, One, Zero, Alpha.

Roger is a code to say I get it. At end, the pilot says the aircraft identification in order to inform who answered the message.

A regional variation case: crash at Tenerife Airport, in 1977

The biggest accident in the aeronautical history took place at Tenerife Airport, in the Canary Islands, in 1977. It wasnt a big airport in the seventies, but at the accident day it had received lots of flights. There was an explosion at La Palma Airport, in the Gran Canary Island, and some flights that were going to there were supposed to be sent to Tenerife. All day long, planes from different places had landed there. A couple hours later, the airport was plenty of planes and passengers that were waiting to departure. As soon as La Palma Airport was cleared to receive flights, some captains decided to take off. Their choosing had been made under a lot of pressure because the weather was getting worse and there were passengers complaining about the wait. When the airplanes started the engines a fog had already came above airstrip. The tower controllers hadnt seen too many planes at Tenerife Airport before and had to work hardly in order to organize the traffic. Without visibility, all people involved on work should have paid attention especially to the

Learning Aeronautical English, a Chance to Reach Over the Horizon

communications. But, there was a series of mistakes that caused the worse accident in the aeronautical history. Two Boeing 747 crashed on the runway. The accident killed more than 580 people, because one of these airplanes was running on the airstrip in order to take off at the moment of the disaster. The other airplane was taxiing onto taking off point in order to departure after the first one. The investigation showed a series of mistakes, but one of them is especially important for this issue. The captain of the airplane that was taking off at the accident was Dutchman. He informed the tower: Captain: - Were now at take off.

The tower controllers received the message and figured out that airplane was holding on for instructions at taking off point. However, for Dutch people, the preposition at followed by a verb is the same grammar structure that verb plus ing. The captain meant: Captain: - We are taking off. In fact, this phrase fits aeronautical pattern.

If the tower controllers had understood the message, they could warn the airplane that was taxiing along runway. Even though the captain had been gotten wrong, he should have never started a take off without receiving the tower clearance.

2. Structure
In the aeronautical communications, one piece of information that always must be clear is who is talking to whom. In the controlled airspaces, all planes are supposed to establish a plain communication with the appropriated air traffic service. In these airspaces, exchanges between airplanes are rare. However, there arent controlled airspaces everywhere. In fact, only the airports that have an intense traffic have an air traffic service. Pilots who fly in other regions must establish a dialogue with each other. In both cases, the language might be suitable, in other words, the aeronautical language. Take a look: Air traffic controller: - Airfrance three-zero-one, traffic at three oclock, two miles. Report when the traffic in sight. Pilot: Will report when the traffic in sight, roger. Airfrance three-zero-one.

Learning Aeronautical English, a Chance to Reach Over the Horizon

A couple minutes later Pilot: We have the traffic in sight. Airfrance three-zero-one.

Air traffic controller: - Roger. Airfrance three-zero-one, descent and maintain five thousand feet. Pilot: New York Approach, here is Airfrance one-zero-one. Please, confirm. Are we cleared to descend to five thousand feet?

Air traffic controller: - Negative, Airfrance one-zero-one. Maintain flight level two-zero-zero. - Airfrance three-zero-one, did you copy? Pilot: Affirmative. Cleared to descent and maintain five thousand feet. Airfrance three-zero-one.

Aifrance three-zero-one and Airfrance one-zero-one are call signs, in other words, how these flights are known. Traffic means others airplanes. Three oclock provides a relative position from cockpit based on locate of the numbers on a clock. So, a traffic three oclock stands for there is other plane in your right, twelve oclock stands for in front of you, six oclock means behind you, etc. Flight level is a kind of altitude measurement.

Not only aeronautical knowledge but also the pattern is important here. Pay attention how critical is to know who is speaking and who is supposed to receive the message. Because of that, pilots are always saying on the radio which airplane they are. However, knowing how to ask something is as important as knowing for whom we are going to ask.

Case about patterns: crash at Everglades, Florida, in 1972

In aeronautical world, crashes are known how a chance to improve safety patterns. One of the most famous accidents that really changed the way of flying took place at Everglades, Florida, in 1972. A commercial airplane was going to land at Miami Airport. The crew was preparing the airplane to land, when they noticed a problem: one of three lights that show the position of landing gears was turned off. This group of lights has a lamp for each landing gear in the plane. When they are up retracted , the lights are red (it means: do not land). When the gears are down and locked in this position, the lights turn on green (that means: you can go ahead). The pilots can only land if all lights in the group are green.

Learning Aeronautical English, a Chance to Reach Over the Horizon

If just one lamp has no indication it probably is a problem with the lamp itself. However, there is a chance of double failure: not only the lamp is broken but also the landing gear is out of order. In order to check, the captain aborted the landing and went back to flight. The tower controller had been warned by the crew and told pilot to wait in flight nearby the airport maintaining two thousand feet. The captain asked your co-pilot to check the lamp by releasing it from dashboard. The co-pilot had tried it several times, but couldnt release the lamp. The captain was getting nervous and decided to attempt it by himself after switching the autopilot on. The autopilots had just been came out in the seventies. At that time, the pilots used to trust a lot in the machines. Nowadays, even the autopilot has been turned on, the pilot is supposed to check its functions all flight long. At that day, all crew were involved in the same problem: release a lamp. The captain was such blind with the problem that forgot flying the airplane. Suddenly, the tower controller called the crew on the radio: Tower controller: - How are things comin along up there? Captain: - Ok.

The tower controller didnt use the pattern communication. If he had used, maybe he could avoid a disaster. The controller was asking about a problem that he had noticed on the radar screen: the airplane was going down. In spite of his instructions, the plane went under two thousand feet and was getting close to the ground. The captain had thought that controller was talking about the lamp and answered as generically as the question was. There wasnt other dialogue between the controller and the crew. In fact, the airplane was flying over a swamp. It was a dark night and it became hardly to recognize the ground, even the captain or other member of crew would have paid attention to landscape. However, all crew the captain, the co-pilot and a flying engineer had been busy with the same problem: a simple lamp. Suddenly, the captain noticed that plane was too low by seeing the instruments in front of him, but it was late. The aircraft reached the swamp and blew up. More than 100 people died. Since this accident, the autopilot device has an alarm that sounds when it is turned off. It was what happened in the accident. The captain switched it off accidentally. But the most important change in the aeronautical history was the creating of idea called Crew Resource Management (CRM). It is the correct sharing of tasks in the cockpit in order to make all functions clear and avoid losing flight control.

Learning Aeronautical English, a Chance to Reach Over the Horizon

3. Fluency
The airplanes are the fastest mean of transportation in the world. They are, at least, five times faster than others vehicles. Even though the sky is a big place for them, some decisions are supposed to make quickly. Because of that, the communication between air traffic controllers and pilots must be fast and clear too. However, it mustnt be an excuse to get one wrong. For further information, lets see how communication on the radio works. Rules about how to use the radio All planes that are flying in a certain airspace must set their radios on a specific frequency for that airspace Just a person can talk at every turn All people receive the messages sent at same time The pilots and the air traffic controller must push a button to talk. But, they dont need pushing it to receive the messages If two or more people push the button together, their messages wont be intelligible. All people will listen to a noise

Because of these features, each pilot is supposed to be fast in his exchange in order to give chance to other pilots who need asking or receiving a clearance. It is critical, especially in crowed airspaces. Additionally, the air traffic controller must be sure that the pilot understood the massage as soon as it is delivered. If the pilot doesnt answer an air traffic controller request, he will ask: Air traffic controller: - Airfrance zero-one-one, did you copy my last transmission?

Hot spot: The delayed dangling phrase

Not only in aeronautical communication but also in a simple dialogue the pauses can have different meanings. For pilots and air traffic controllers, blanks along a speech can really change the way of getting the message. William Monan, a captain who studied the aeronautical communication problems, called the pieces of information put on at the end of the message by delayed dangling phrase. There are two problems about this phrase: changing the meaning and giving the chance to other pilot to say something at the same time and messing all communication. An example: Air traffic controller: - November, Seven, One, Zero, Alpha. Turn left to one-zero-zero. Pilot: Turning left to one-zero-zero (pause) as said in instructions. November, Seven, One, Zero, Alpha.

Learning Aeronautical English, a Chance to Reach Over the Horizon

Air traffic controller: - turn right to one-two-zero. Pilot: Roger, turning right to one-two-zero. November, Seven, One, Zero, Alpha.

Air traffic controller: - November, Seven, One, Zero, Alpha. Where are you going? Turn back to one-zero-zero. One-zero-zero and one-two-zero are directions. The numbers mean angles formed clockwise from the North to the direction. In the example above, a delayed dangling phrase (as said in instructions) was included needless. The phrase covered part of a message to other airplane in fact, the part where the airplane identification is said. The pilot who was talking to air traffic controller thought the instruction was for him. However, the air traffic controller was already talking to other pilot. In spite it can seem a rare situation, sometimes a pilot can include a delayed dangling phrase in his communication by accident. Not only naive pilots make this mistake, but also the pilots who consider themselves aces. The problem with experienced airmen is that some of them leave the pattern language little by little. Even though they have a large experience, they sometimes go away from the pattern when they have been noticing some informal procedures dont cause an accident. However, a group of these behaviors, brought together by chance, can put a crew in a dangerous situation.

4. Conclusion
No matter what walk of life you have: getting the message and being able to talk clarity are basic things. However, in some activities, these capabilities are critical. In aeronautical world, no one can fly an airplane without knowing how to talk on the radio. So, for students of flying, the aeronautical language is a subject that is always supposed to be in their schedules of learning. Improving this knowledge is also important and knowing aeronautical English is becoming a basic skill for Brazilian pilots. Not only because the companies are hiring airmen who are able to speak English, but also because if you speak English you can reach over the horizon.