IATA: English to become compulsory for pilots

[Harold Schiffman]

English to become compulsory for pilots
David Millward

Last updated: 5:00 PM GMT 07/03/2008

Pilots and air traffic controllers will now have to speak English for
the first time in aviation history, in a bid to improve safety
standards.
Despite being the language used throughout the industry for decades,
until now no minimum standards have been set. The changes, introduced
by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) last week,
will affect several hundred thousand people worldwide.
ICAO has been working closely with the main aviation industry trade
body, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), on the
programme. It is believed that hundreds of lives have been lost in
crashes caused by communication problems.

"In these circumstances it was felt that there should be at the very
least a minimum standard of English throughout the industry," said
Henry Emery an aviation English consultant and author of a course for
pilots and air traffic controllers. "There is core English, which
relies on basic technical terminology. It is very formulaic and too
limited, but is used by everyone. "It doesn't cover a wide variety of
situations, such as even explaining that a plane is running out of
fuel. The new standards are not expecting perfect English, but the
ability to handle all emergency situations and ensure that pilots and
control towers throughout the world understand each other. So if an
Uzbek pilot ran into trouble over Peru he would be able to make
himself understood as well as being able to follow instructions from
controllers."

According to IATA, English will be the language which all pilots and
controllers will be expected to use at major international airports.
This is because several aircraft can be on the same radio frequency
and it is vital that pilots know what is going on around them
Exemption, however, will be given for smaller air strips where the
potential for linguistic confusion does not arise. Although native
English speakers will not have to prove their competence, they have
also been told by the Civil Aviation Authority to make sure they can
be understood and refrain from "the use of idioms, colloquialisms and
other jargon".

159 people were killed when the crew of an American Airlines Boeing
757 was unable to communicate with air traffic controllers in
Colombia.

349 passengers died following a mid-air collision between a Saudi
Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 and an Air Kazakhstan Ilyushin, because
they could not understand each other.

73 people were killed when an Avianca Boeing 707 crashed in America
because the crew was unable to tell air traffic controllers they had
run out of fuel.

Two people were killed at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris when a
French speaking crew taxied an aircraft to the same holding point as
an aircraft in which the pilot spoke only English.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/761307/English-to-become-compulsory-for-pilots.html


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