Language barriers have played role in 10 major plane acciden

[ALM]

By Ken Kaye
Staff Writer - South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 23 2004

Editor's note: This is part of an occasional series exploring the effects of language on society.

He didn't fully understand English, so the pilot of an Air France 747 ignored a New York controller's order to stop short of a runway. The jumbo jet rolled in front of an Icelandair 757, which took off just in time to avoid disaster.

"It was so close, you were waiting to hear the sound of shearing metal," said Barrett Byrnes, a controller in the John F. Kennedy International tower that foggy day in June 1999.

Since the early 1970s, language barriers have played a role in at least 10 major accidents, killing more than 1,500 people and contributing to dozens of close calls.

To prevent more calamity, pilots and air traffic controllers worldwide are being required by the International Civil Aviation Organization to speak English fluently by 2008.

Although English is the universal language of aviation, many foreign pilots and controllers know only key words and phrases, leaving them vulnerable during an emergency, says ICAO, a Montreal based-group that governs global air operations.

"It's a matter of safety," said Marjo Mitsutomi, a language professor at Redlands University in California, who helped ICAO devise new standards. "When something goes wrong, you need to be able to rely on language itself, not memorized phrases."

English is the native tongue of 400 million people worldwide, and 1.6 billion others use it as a second language, resulting in countless dialects, accents and regionalized jargon, she said.

To meet ICAO rules, pilots and controllers will have to demonstrate they can speak English conversationally to obtain a work license, including U.S. pilots and controllers, Mitsutomi said.

The reason: Within the United States, varying dialects can be difficult for foreign pilots to understand. For example, a flight crew from India might not grasp a Southern drawl, she said.

"All of them have to adjust their speech, accent and dialect in order to be understood by the whole community," said Mitsutomi, a private pilot fluent in five languages.

Language cited in 5 crashes:

In the deadliest air disaster , language played a major role. The co-pilot of a KLM 747 radioed the control tower at Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, "We are now at takeoff."

Controllers interpreted that to mean the plane was ready to go, but stopped short of the runway. But the 747 had started its takeoff run and rammed into a Pan Am 747 on the same fog-laden runway, killing 583 on March 27, 1977.

That accident prompted the ICAO to start a campaign to improve English skills.

Last year, after it had thoroughly studied the matter, it decided to mandate aviation communication worldwide be standardized and set 2008 as a realistic deadline for its 188 member nations.

Since 1990, language has been a factor in five major air-carrier accidents.

Among them:

In December 1995, an American Airlines jet that took off from Miami crashed into a mountain near Cali, Colombia, killing 159. Its pilots had difficulty understanding the Colombian controllers' instructions.

In November 1996, the pilot of a Saudi Arabia Airlines Boeing 747 misunderstood a controller's directive to descend and instead climbed, colliding with a Kazakhstan National Airways cargo plane near New Delhi, India, killing 349.

In August 1997, 226 were killed when a Korean Air jet slammed into a ravine while approaching the airport in Guam because its crew was confused over controller instructions.

U.S. pilots say foreign air traffic controllers have improved their English in recent years, but some still struggle. A well-known anecdote among U.S. pilots: As a U.S. airliner approached an unnamed airport in South America, its pilots requested the control tower relay the wind conditions.

The controllers responded, "You're cleared to taxi."

"They were reading from a script and had no idea what they were saying," said Allen Cox, an American Airlines captain from Lighthouse Point who flies to Central America.

Cox said Cuban controllers' English used to be difficult to decipher, but now they speak so well "they even understand some of the slang."

However, he added, they too often speak in Spanish over the airwaves to Latin American pilots, leaving U.S. pilots in the dark about what was said as to a plane's position and altitude.

"It's just something we'd like to know for safety sake," he said.

Did he hear what I said?

U.S. controllers still deal with communications breakdowns, said Byrnes, the JFK controller, who also is president of a National Air Traffic Controller Association chapter.

"[Foreign pilots] don't speak English well enough to keep a safe air traffic control system," he said.

Foreign carrier pilots frequently ask that instructions be repeated, which is the right thing to do, Byrnes said.

"So you say it again," he said. "But sometimes you're so busy you move on to your next transmission. In the back of your head you're wondering, did that guy understand what I said?"

About 10,000 foreign pilots and controllers attend American universities and aeronautical schools each year to hone their English skills. With the ICAO language regulation, that number could double or triple, experts say.

And elsewhere around the world, linguistic specialists likely will develop a cottage industry to help aviation workers pass the test.

Mitsutomi helped devise a six-point English skills scale for ICAO, placing a person who can barely say "hello" at the lowest level and a skillful speaker at the top.

The lion's share of the training will be paid for by the air carriers, which employ pilots, and government authorities, which employ controllers.

Ken Kaye can be reached at kkaye@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7911.

Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

[Lame]

That's something I would love to see happen.

Americans speaking English............. 8O

[AirDupont]

My Japanese captains here refuse to do a briefing in English because their English is not good enough they say.Really comforting in case of a emergency.

Greetz

[L-1011]

My Japanese captains here refuse to do a briefing in English because their English is not good enough they say.Really comforting in case of a emergency.

That's really reassuring in deed 8O, I used to think they had to pass a "high level" english test
At least those flying through the world should be able to. I could understand that for internal flights they talk in their own language if needed, but even then english is bound to be "the" aviation (and also world) language.

That's something I would love to see happen.

Americans speaking English.............

Yes indeed , but Aussies aren't bad at slang either ,

G'day mates,
TriStar

[Captain]

I remember seeing a documentary about air traffic controllers.

They played a sounclip of the Avianca crash near New York in the 1990's.

The Air Traffic Controller had asked the Avianca pilot if it was ok for them to be put in a holding pattern with him and his fuel. Can't remember the exact phrase, but was not actually very clear to somone who's English is not their first language.

I understand it's necessary for all air traffic controllers to speak good English but the same shoud be for Air traffic controllers. Usage of simpler english would be beneficial to all parties involved.

Captain.

[Lame]

ATC in Australia is probably the best in the World.

You should hear some of the things we were told by ATC in Vietnam. 8O

Or even on the way to Moscow, ATC talking to locals in Russian so you don't know what is happening.

For that matter even New Caledonia, where the controller used to switch between English and French.

[Avro]

It's indeed a big issue.

First of all I hope that France, Spain and the others will finally abandon the national language in aviation. I once saw a TV program showing the difficulty for non-french speaking pilots to understand what the Tower, ground etc told to AF planes in french . It's very important for them to be able to know what all the planes surrounding them are doing, and therefore there should be only one language spoken and that's english.

Furthermore, the pilots and ATC controllers should indeed get some advanced lessons in English, and only be able to obtain their licence if they can speak well enough and understand everything. Not that I have something against the French people, but when you hear some french pilots speaking english, you can hardly understand what they are talking about if you don't know the accdent very well .

Greetz
Chris
8)

[744rules]

Very often, there problem is the pronounciation and the accent. I remember a chinese cockpit crew asking me how to pronounce a few waypoints ex BRU (such as Sprimont, the R and the L you know ). I can imagine a western pilot has same troubles in the far east

[A318]

Controllers interpreted that to mean the plane was ready to go, but stopped short of the runway. But the 747 had started its takeoff run and rammed into a Pan Am 747 on the same fog-laden runway, killing 583 on March 27, 1977.

This had nothing to do with a language problem but with a mis communication! That is something totally different and more things were not correct in this accident. Also the Pan Am 747 was not on the correct point when the KLM 747 had a to early TO. The Pan Am 747 should have taken the 1st exit from the runway but missed it. If this Pan Am 747 should have taken this exist nothing would have happened even the capt. from the KLM 747 made a big mistake. I assume that the capt. from the Pan Am 747 could speak pretty good english.

Erwin

[C-117]

A318 - correct! "Roger tower, understand descend to flight level 28..." Confirm and reconfirm if necessary.

[airDD]

A few years back, I flew into CDG from LAX on a UA 777 and was listening to Ch 9 onboard (ATC communications).

As ATC was handed over from London to Paris, I was amazed that all communication was in French with AF planes and one Sobelair plane and English with the rest.
I didn't feel very safe as non-French pilots were asking what was communicated in French and ATC answering very rudely in English.
Even when speaking to specific AF planes, WX and landing information was giving in French, depriving other foreign airliners from this information.

It is just an accident waiting to happen, but I doubt it if it will ever change…France and some other countries are still dreaming of world-domination….

airDD

[Lame]

This what I was commenting on before, it is against all International Regulations, but still they do it.

We had the same many years ago on descent into Noumea, the ATC were communicating with us inbound in English, and with an Air Caledonie Caravelle outbound in French. 8O

Our Captain several times asked for the location of the Caravelle, because he could not understand French, and was concerned he may be near us.

The Controller just said, don't worry he is nowhere near you.

Mind you the Russians are as bad, or they were 10 years ago.

When we used to fly Hanoi to Moscow direct, once we were in Russian airspace, ATC would be nattering on in Russian to all the locals, then in English to us and any other International flights.

VERY DANGEROUS.

[PH-WSN]

I once heard of a KLM 747 and a Korean MD-11 who had a near miss because of a problem with chinese ATC... Just as the ATPL licesence is needed to fly a plane, they should issue a something like a atc-certificate...

//slightly off topic//

Once on the Thalys express train from Amsterdam Centraal Station to Paris Gare du Nord, we had a caterer announcing himself to the public who was french and spoke english. He sounded like officer Crabtree from 'Allo 'Allo He also started off by saying:"Gootmurning" and finished with " I wash you a presant doo..."
On the journey from Bern Haubtbanhhof to Utrecht Centraal (The place my ex girlfriend is from) we had a german caterar who spoke dutch. He sounded a bit like prince Bernhard.. The dutch conductor announced (after the caterer was finished) :"Zu ihnenen sprach Prinz Bernhard..." (laughter throughout the train...)

[A318]

A few years back, I flew into CDG from LAX on a UA 777 and was listening to Ch 9 onboard (ATC communications).

As ATC was handed over from London to Paris, I was amazed that all communication was in French with AF planes and one Sobelair plane and English with the rest.
I didn't feel very safe as non-French pilots were asking what was communicated in French and ATC answering very rudely in English.
Even when speaking to specific AF planes, WX and landing information was giving in French, depriving other foreign airliners from this information.

It is just an accident waiting to happen, but I doubt it if it will ever change…France and some other countries are still dreaming of world-domination….

airDD

I can hear that on my scanner here also, the french speak so bad english that very often they have to repeat what they are saying since it is hardly to figure out what they say. Even the germans speak better english but ofcourse with a big accent, but that doesn't matter, you can understand them.
It's getting time the french start to learn english on a proper way to avoid accidents in the future, it is a shame in aviation!

Greetz,

Erwin

[Avro]

It's getting time the french start to learn english on a proper way to avoid accidents in the future, it is a shame in aviation!

You are totally right

[sn26567]

It's getting time the french start to learn english on a proper way to avoid accidents in the future, it is a shame in aviation!

It is also time the Dutch start learning French ...

[A318]

Why because the french want it? Never!
We are talking here about international aviation and everybody knows the language in this industry is english, always was and always will be. So it's time the french put their chauvinistic behaving aside. ps A lot of people in Holland do speak french, also my wife. I will never do since I have no intention to learn it and I don't need it to........... I work in aviation

Greetz,

Erwin

[vliegtuigfreak]

It is also time the Dutch start learning French

And also the opposite!!

Greetingzz
Sonny

[Mig17pilot]

Or even on the way to Moscow, ATC talking to locals in Russian so you don't know what is happening.

hahaha im guilty of this !

[Lame]

Yes, but it is not really funny.

We would be descending over Russia, and approaching Moscow, already the Pilots are not as familiar with the area as they would be here in Australia, or even in Vietnam, when you hear the controller talking to all these other Aircraft in Russian, and we didn't have a clue where these other Aircraft were, or what the other Pilots were saying..............

NOT good for safety.