ATCO: Hold Short of Mike Alpha PILOT: Hold Short of November
You've probably seen this video of Air China 981 at New York's JFK airport - it's extremely popular on YouTube and is often listed under 'Funny ATC conversations' or similar. The exchange is often cited as a reason why non-native speakers need to learn Aviation English.
But I suggest that there is nothing 'funny' about this incident from 2006.
There is no doubt that the Chinese pilot appears to have English which is lower than the ICAO mandated level (Operational Level 4). His pronunciation is problematic and he seems unable to recognize whether something is a statement or a question.
But, there is more to it ...
The US controller tries to adjust his English but with limited success.
Often JFK controllers are criticized for speaking too quickly. But this is not the case here. The controller's rate of speech is fine.
As stated, the pilot's English is limited.
When the controller says "Have you been cleared into the ramp?" the pilot ignores the first 3 words and replies "Ok, cleared to the ramp".
The same happens when the controller says, “Have the ramp people cleared you into the gate?". The pilot latches onto the words 'gate' and 'cleared' and replies, "Roger, to the gate."
The controller tries to resolve the misunderstanding but unfortunately lacks the linguistic skills to do this.
When he says, "They have cleared you into the ramp?" this is a statement which he tries to turn into a question through his rising intonation at the end of the sentence. The pilot fails to pick up on this.
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When the controller says, "Have you been cleared to the ramp?", again the pilot fails to understand. But the controller's choice of grammatical construction here is problematic. Grammar geeks will know that this is the question form of the present perfect passive voice.
According to ICAO Doc. 9835 (Part IV Glossary of Basic and Complex Structures) this is considered a ‘Complex Structure’. The ICAO Descriptors state that “Level 4 speakers will not usually attempt complex structures, and when they do, quite a lot of errors would be expected resulting in less effective communication.”
The controller therefore fails to adjust his use of grammar to accommodate the linguistic needs of this pilot.
Next, becoming more frustrated, the controller (ex military?) resorts to the word 'interrogative'. This is typically considered an advanced word for non-native speakers. Someone who has a Latin-based first language will probably understand (Italian / Spanish = interrogativo, French = interrogatif, etc.) but this does not work with a Chinese speaker.
But how did the Chinese pilot go from "Hold Short of Mike Alpha" to "Hold Short of November"?
This is an example of Expectation Bias (hearing what you expect to hear, rather than what is actually said.)
JFK is different to many airports in that after landing the pilot must contact the RAMP frequency (while still listening out on the GROUND frequency) in order to be cleared to a specific gate. This is not coordinated between RAMP and GROUND at JFK.
No doubt the pilots would have discussed their landing and taxiing procedures on their approach to JFK. It seems they expected and planned for a November entry to Gate 3.
To the controller's credit, he ends the interaction safely by simply clearing China 981 to the ramp.
But I urge you to spend a few seconds trying to put yourself into the mindset of the Chinese pilot.
He's just flown for 13 hours, from Beijing to JFK, one of the busiest airports in the world. His English is really limited. He knows his English is really limited - but it’s better than anyone else’s on the flight deck. He's probably fine with basic Standard Phraseology but he's no doubt praying that he does not involved in any interactions which require additional English. He tries to plan as much as he can ('November, Gate 3') but things don't go his way. It must have been a TERRIFYING experience.
Vorstand PentaF AG
2yI really do not understand why it is seemingly impossible for the outmost of native English speakers in aviation to a) simply stick to standardized phraseology, to b) do this with a proper and clean pronunciation, and to c) use clear and simple language (with simple, but proper grammar, e. g. correct questions etc.) when confronted with one of the rare cases which are not covered by standardized phraseology. Many, many native English seem to not understand that they are not in a casual environment speaking to a buddy - but in a very professional setting in which their language is one most important to tools. Imagine a surgeon using a scalpel at a surgery the way as using a knife when eating a steak in a bar - this seems odd, but this is exactly the way many native speakers are using their "linguistic scalpel" when guiding aircrafts with hundreds of souls on board. It strikes me to be either a blunt ignorance or even worse, a deep-level kind of arrogance - and both represents the opposite of the professionalsm we are so proud about in aviation.
Talent Acquisition Principal | Recruiter at SAIC
2yAs an ATC at LA Center, I worked with many foreign pilots, and most spoke (at least) ‘aviation English’ quite well. However, the Chinese were consistently among the most difficult to understand. On one occasion, I finally had to tell a Dynasty pilot, “Sir, I cannot understand what you are saying.” Within seconds of that statement, another voice came on the radio speaking perfect US English. I was later told that they usually tried to keep at least one crew member on board who was a native speaker of English. This would be a great idea because, considering the number and variety of pilot nationalities controllers encounter on a daily basis in the larger facilities, and the extremely limited time we have with each one, it is unrealistic to think that additional training would help ATC understand the pilots better. And during busy traffic periods, having to take that much extra time with one pilot negatively affects the overall operation and traffic flow, potentially even safety. I never condone rudeness by any controller, but the responsibility in these cases lies squarely on the pilot and operator to ensure someone on the flight deck is proficient in the international language of aviation.
I've talked to a few Kennedy controllers about this incident and their responses range from, "If you're gonna fly to my airport, speak my language!" To, "I don't know enough about this pilot's culture and language skills to work with him in the time I've got." I asked if they'd had any training on working with non-native speakers and they ask which language and/or culture they are supposed to learn - pilots fly there from so many places it would be impossible. I think it's on the aircrews to be as well prepared as possible and just meeting bare-bones Level 4 requirements isn't going to cut it at KJFK.
Aviation Safety and Flight Training Consultant, DAC and GMCL.
2yAlways a good analysis. Thanks Paul !
Advancing Airborne Efficiency, Airbus & Boeing Ops, Defence, SAF/Biofuel Ops, Ancillary Revenues, VR/AR, New Space & Ground-based Revenues, Specialist Nav & Satcom
2yThe lack of coordination between different controlling units, on the same airport, only seems to happen in the USA. Can require one pilot to go off tower freq, waiting to cross the runway. Not good. Catches a lot of unfamiliar pilots unaware.