ICAO Aviation Language Proficiency Requirements The Background

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ICAO Aviation Language Proficiency Requirements
The Background

• Captain Daniel Maurino
• Flight Safety and Human Factors, ICAO
• ASPA/ICAO CAR/SAM Regional Seminar
• on Safety Management Systems (SMS)
• Mexico City, 14 to 16 March 2005

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Resolution A32-16 (1998)

• Council Commission strengthen provisions...
  obligating Contracting States to take steps to
  ensure that air traffic controllers and flight
  crews involved in flight operations in airspace
  where the use of the English language is
  required, are proficient in conducting and
  comprehending radiotelephony
• communications in the English language

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Air-Ground Communications

• A long standing safety concern
• Conventional wisdom Two pillars
• standardized phraseology
• development of R/T speech based on simplified
  English
• Moderate success

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Pillar 1 Standardized Phraseology

• Insufficient to deal with the full range of
  situations requiring R/T exchange

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Pillar 2 R/T Based Upon Simplified English

• Annex 1, pre-1998
• ATCOs speak the languages designated for use
  in air traffic control without accent or
  impediment which could adversely affect
  communication
• Pilots nothing

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Air-Ground Communications Revisited

• A32-16 The need for a fresh view
• Development of Standards
• strengthening the use of standard phraseology
• clarifying usage of English in aviation
  operations
• establishing language proficiency requirements
• The Price SG

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Linguistic Research, circa 1998

• Natural languages are most effective form of
  speech
• Natural language is the only form of
  communication sufficiently
• reliable
• comprehensive
• adaptable
• for international aviation operations

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PRICE Study Group Premises

• Make Standards acceptable to the target group(s)?
• Allocate responsibility to airline operators and
  air navigation service providers?
• Optimize interface between Standards and input
  from commercial training testing providers?
• Frame Standards that can be easily integrated
  into State regulatory frame works?

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PRICE SG conclusions (1)

• Standardized phraseology First line of defence
• Plain language Second line of defence for the
  full range of aeronautical R/T communication
• Exchange of critical operational information
  requires
• understanding of the fundamentals of linguistics
• appreciation of the susceptibility of language to
  misapprehension
• commitment to standards of discipline and care

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PRICE SG conclusions (2)

• Universal availability of one means of
  radiotelephony communication important for
  safety and efficiency
• Lack of a language common to flight crew and
  ground stations safety concern
• Need to retain the language used by stations on
  the ground

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PRICE SG conclusions (3)

• Similar proficiency requirements for pilots and
  controllers
• A single minimum standard for the entire target
  group
• Airline operators/ATS providers responsible for
  ensuring target group proficiency requirements

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PRICE SG conclusions (4)

• Heavy impact of the Standards in the aviation
• Do-able if
• extensive guidance material
• education awareness programs worldwide
• staff support activities by operators
• increased compliance with ICAO standardized
  phraseology
• commitment

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Clarifying Usage of Aviation English

• No silver bullet for all R/T communication
  problems
• blocked transmissions
• not all aircraft on frequency
• controllers hand-over blocks of airspace to third
  parties
• crews workload disallows constant monitoring
• Enhances management of the immediate operational
  context
• If everyone is English-proficient
• Over blowing the potential of English boomerang
  effect

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Aviation English

• Does not belong to a particular culture
• A tool for controllers pilots as a matter of
  convenience
• Has no special inherent qualities
• Most accessible of all second languages
• can be successfully integrated into training
  programs in common English

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Language proficiency requirements

• Annex 1 Personnel Licensing
• Annex 6 Operation of Aircraft
• Annex 10 Aeronautical Communications
• Annex 11 Air Traffic Services

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Annex 1
Personnel Licensing

• Demonstrate the ability to speak and understand
  the language used for radiotelephony
  communications
• The Rating Scale and Holistic Descriptors
• The speak and understand ability shall be
  demonstrated to level 4 of the ICAO rating scale

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Annex 1
Implementation Notes

• Language proficiency requirements apply to pilots
  engaged in international flights
• Recurrent testing shall be required for those
  below level 6
• every 3 years for level 4
• every 6 years for level 5
• Grandfather clause for licences issued before 5
  March 2004
• 5 March 2008

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Annex 1
Other Aspects

• Manual on the Implementation of ICAO Language
  Proficiency Requirements (Doc 9835)
• Review of progress in the implementation of the
  Language proficiency Standards in 2006
• Consequences of non-compliance with the language
  proficiency Standards

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Annex 6
Operation of Aircraft, Parts I and III

• Operators shall ensure that flight crews speak
  and understand the language used for
  radiotelephony communications

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Annex 10
Aeronautical Telecommunications

• Plain language shall be used only when
  standardized phraseology cannot serve an intended
  transmission
• Communications shall be conducted in the language
  normally used by the station on the ground or in
  the English language
• English shall be available, on request from any
  aircraft station, at all airports and routes used
  by international air services

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Annex 11
Air Traffic Services

• Air traffic service providers shall ensure that
  air traffic controllers speak and understand the
  language used for radiotelephony communications
• English shall be used for communications between
  air traffic control units except when another
  language is mutually agreed

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ICAO Audits

• The ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit
  Programme
• Language proficiency Standards in Annexes 1, 6,
  10 and 11 starting in 2005

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Language Proficiency The Trail of Wreckage

• Trident/DC-9 mid-air collision, Zagreb -1976
• Double B747 runway collision, Tenerife - 1977
• B707 fuel exhaustation, JFK - 1990
• B757 CFIT, Cali - 1995
• IL-76/B747 mid-air collision, India - 1996
• MD83/Shorts 330 runway collision, Paris/CDG -2000
• MD80/Citation runway collision, Milan - 2001

• The common element English language proficiency

Source ADREP
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From an SMS Perspective A Hazard
Passenger management
ATC
Cabin Crew
Terrain
Weather
Similar call signs
Maintenance
Time pressure
Ground Crew
Flight diversions
Heavy traffic
System malfunctions
Unfamiliar airports
Automation events
Missed approaches