Kyle Charles

AMT201
02/21/2015
ICAO English Requirements
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) established a set of
requirements for all pilots and air traffic controllers around the world. These requirements
are that of knowing the English language well enough; which is the lingua franca of
aviation. This is especially important for those whom are crew members on international
flights and/or are engaged with international flights as air traffic controllers. The
understanding of the language of English is imperative for all those whom hold a high
role in aviation around the world, and those whom wish to be professionals must have a
general level of comprehension and fluency.
There are many reasons why it is important to have a common language in the
world of aviation. First, it is a pilots and controllers prerogative to be able to understand
each other no matter who they are, where they came from, or what they know. They also
want to be able to have clear communication just in case an emergency arises or if a crisis
is expected. Many mid-air collisions each year are avoided due to the understanding of a
common language throughout throughout the world, however, many mid-airs occur
because of miscommunication between possibly a controller who is a Chinese native and
a pilot who is native from the United States. There can also be incidents where someones
judgment can be impaired or their language could be slurred, where it is imperative that
someone, either ATC or pilot should have a rough knowledge of English in order to
possibly avoid a serious accident or incident.
Some of these accidents occur because of radio problems, miscommunications
even between two native English speakers, and many other things. For example, Barker
(2012) states in his article that there are many accidents that have occurred in the last
couple years due to the many occurrences where there were misunderstandings of

language used over frequency or if the pilot was misinformed about airport NOTAMs or
TFRs. Barker (2012) specifically states that during the Linate Airport disaster of 2001,
miscommunication played a role in a major collision at Linate Airport in Milan, Italy.
The runway was obscured by thick fog, effectively reducing visibility to around 656 feet
(200 meters), which may also have contributed to the tragedy, together with factors such
as high traffic volume. A Cessna Citation CJ2 business jet was given clearance to taxi to
its take-off point on a route that would avoid the main runway. However, due partly to
poor use of radio communications and lack of proper markings and signs, the Cessna
misinterpreted the message and turned in the wrong direction, crossing the main runway.
Its route led it into the path of Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686, a McDonnell Douglas
MD-87 airliner. (10 Deadliest Air Disasters Caused by Miscommunication). A poor
comprehension of instructions and also the lack of awareness from the crew of the
Citation aircraft led to what could have been an avoidable incident with no casualties.
Being informed of the layout of the airport and/or also asking for progressive taxi would
have rendered this day as a normal day of flying and controlling in Linate.
Barker (2012) also stated that because of one misunderstood word that an accident
occurred. It was a normal day when Dan Air Flight 1008 departed from Manchester,
England, on the morning of April 25, 1980, en route to Tenerife, one of Spains Canary
Islands. At 1:21 pm, the plane ploughed into the side of the islands mount La Esperanza,
killing all 146 people on board (Barker, 2012, 10 Deadliest Air Disasters Caused by
Miscommunication). This accident could have been avoided had they not been put in a
very dangerous and illegal holding pattern set by the tower controller at that time. Also, it
did not help that the pilots misunderstood some of their instructions and turned the
wrong way during the pattern, thus they ended up in embers due to the tower controllers
inability to follow the rules and have responsibility and also the lack of comprehension
by the pilot to understand which way to turn during the holding pattern. Both parties are
to blame and had they both communicated clearly the accident would have been avoided.

ATC communications can be affected by other things such as message

length, second language proficiency, and cognitive workload. For example, during
clearances, the controller instructed the pilot to climb maintain flight level two three
zero and the pilot erroneously read back flight level two four zero. The readback error
was classified as a substitution error since none of the numbers in the original altitude
instruction contained the number four, and it was assigned the value = 1 (Prinzo, 2009,
p.6). Simple mistakes are made during readbacks for long clearances, so simple mistakes
are made such as the one stated above. In terms of second language proficiency, Prinzo
(2009) does make mention of the fact that some foreign air carriers make mistakes due to
unfamiliarity with the English language and the different dialects and accents. Second
language proficiency for foreign characters is important in order that there could be an
ease of understanding and that the controller could be less repetitive with his or her
instructions. In terms of cognitive workload, some of the example from above could be
overloading for a pilot or a controller.
For pilots who hold at least a private pilots license and air traffic controllers who
plan to work as a tower controller, there are set requirements for them to reach in their
proficiency. Some of the requirements made by ICAO are: to communicate effectively
in voice-only (telephone/radiotelephone) and in face-to-face situations; on common,
concrete and work-related topics with accuracy and clarity; use appropriate
communicative strategies to exchange messages and to recognize and resolve
misunderstandings (e.g. to check, confirm, or clarify information) in a general or workrelated context; handle successfully and with relative ease the linguistic challenges
presented by a complication or unexpected turn of events that occurs within the context
of a routine work situation or communicative task with which they are otherwise familiar;
and use a dialect or accent which is intelligible to the aeronautical community (English
for Aviation, 2012). These are also some of the efforts they have made in order to
establish a type of commonality between those of different cultures, languages and

tongues.
All in all, English proficiency all around the world is a necessary trait that all that
engage in the aviation industry must be aware and qualified with. ICAO has put forth
websites and many other resources and made examples of many aviation-related
accidents to set forth English requirements. The important fact of the matter is that safer
skies are made by perfect communication between pilots and controllers.

Works Cited
Barker, C. (2012, October 15). 10 Deadliest Air Disasters Caused by
Miscommunication
[Web Log Post]. Retrieved from
http://alizul2.blogspot.com/2012/10/10-deadliest-air-disasters-causedby.html
English for Aviation Ltd (2012). ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements
(LPRs)
for Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers. Retrieved from
http://www.englishforaviation.com/ICAO-requirements.php
Prino, V. (2009, January) The Outcome of ATC Message Length and Complexity
on En Route Pilot Readback Performance. Retrieved from the DTIC
website: www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA494551