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Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose danger for air travel (CNN)



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 29th, 2007, 07:39 AM posted to rec.travel.asia,rec.travel.air,rec.aviation.piloting
Mxsmanic
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Posts: 5,830
Default Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose danger for air travel (CNN)

CNN's Web page has a video segment from The Situation Room that describes the
serious problems with international pilots who cannot speak English well
enough to communicate with air traffic control. They provide a recording of
communications with Air China flight 981 in April in which the pilot has no
idea what the controller is saying and the controller's frustration continues
to build as his instructions are not followed. (This same recording has been
circulating in aviation forums for months.) Air China says that it was the
controller's fault for not speaking "standard" English, but the recording
makes it clear that the pilots simply couldn't speak or understand at all.

Several Chinese pilots and officials are interviewed; all are provided with
subtitles (even though they are nominally speaking English) because their
English is unintelligible. One pilot who supposedly passed an English test
that will soon become mandatory is asked if he has ever had problems, and his
response, in extremely broken English, is also unintelligible. And he's one
of the pilots who passed?

It's a rather alarming report. Controllers have known about the problem for
years but nothing has ever been done.
  #2  
Old June 29th, 2007, 11:47 AM posted to rec.travel.asia,rec.travel.air,rec.aviation.piloting
Donald Newcomb
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Posts: 246
Default Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose danger for air travel (CNN)

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
One pilot who supposedly passed an English test
that will soon become mandatory is asked if he has ever had problems, and

his
response, in extremely broken English, is also unintelligible. And he's

one
of the pilots who passed?


I wonder if the tests are all written, like in Japan where everyone studies
English but few people can speak it?

--
Donald R. Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net


  #3  
Old June 29th, 2007, 12:08 PM posted to rec.travel.air,rec.aviation.piloting
Matthias van Henk
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Default Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose dangerfor air travel (CNN)

As more and more aviation business is operated from Asia and Chinese is
the most spoken language in the world all communication should be made
in Chinese then. :-)



  #4  
Old June 29th, 2007, 12:22 PM posted to rec.travel.air,rec.aviation.piloting
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
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Posts: 10
Default Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose danger for air travel (CNN)

Matthias van Henk wrote:
As more and more aviation business is operated from Asia and Chinese is
the most spoken language in the world all communication should be made
in Chinese then. :-)



If Won Wing Low had been the Father of Aviation, it could have been!



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com


  #5  
Old June 29th, 2007, 12:39 PM posted to rec.travel.air,rec.aviation.piloting
El Maximo
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Default Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose danger for air travel (CNN)

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com wrote in message
news
Matthias van Henk wrote:
As more and more aviation business is operated from Asia and Chinese is
the most spoken language in the world all communication should be made
in Chinese then. :-)



If Won Wing Low had been the Father of Aviation, it could have been!



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com


Allegedly, a Pan Am 727 flight waiting for start clearance in Munich
overheard the following:
Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in
Germany. Why must I speak English?"
Unknown voice from another plane (in a beautiful British accent): "Because
you lost the bloody war."


  #6  
Old June 29th, 2007, 02:38 PM posted to rec.travel.air,rec.aviation.piloting
Paul Tomblin
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Posts: 7
Default Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose dangerfor air travel (CNN)

In a previous article, Matthias van Henk said:
As more and more aviation business is operated from Asia and Chinese is
the most spoken language in the world all communication should be made
in Chinese then. :-)


There is no such language as "Chinese". There are dozens of mutually
unintelligible languages in China. I know people from different areas of
China who can't even understand each other when they're supposedly both
speaking Mandarin, so they speak English to each other.

--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
"I picked up a Magic 8-Ball the other day and it said 'Outlook not so
good.' I said, 'Sure, but Microsoft still ships it.'" - unk.
  #7  
Old June 29th, 2007, 02:39 PM posted to rec.travel.asia,rec.travel.air,rec.aviation.piloting
Mxsmanic
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Posts: 5,830
Default Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose danger for air travel (CNN)

Donald Newcomb writes:

I wonder if the tests are all written, like in Japan where everyone studies
English but few people can speak it?


According to the news segment on CNN, the new test is verbal. It must be
extremely easy, though, since they interviewed a Chinese pilot who had passed
it and he was incomprehensible--and it was obvious that he had barely
understood the question put to him as well.
  #8  
Old June 29th, 2007, 02:40 PM posted to rec.travel.air,rec.aviation.piloting
Mxsmanic
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Posts: 5,830
Default Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose danger for air travel (CNN)

Matthias van Henk writes:

As more and more aviation business is operated from Asia and Chinese is
the most spoken language in the world all communication should be made
in Chinese then. :-)


Chinese has a very limited geographic distribution. English is the most
widely spoken language, even if it has fewer _native_ speakers.

While I do not doubt that the Chinese influence in the world will continue to
grow, I don't expect this to have much effect on the use of language.
  #9  
Old June 29th, 2007, 04:00 PM posted to rec.travel.air,rec.aviation.piloting
Maxwell
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Posts: 30
Default Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose danger for air travel (CNN)


"El Maximo" wrote in message
...
"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com wrote in message
news

If Won Wing Low had been the Father of Aviation, it could have been!

Allegedly, a Pan Am 727 flight waiting for start clearance in Munich
overheard the following:
Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in
Germany. Why must I speak English?"
Unknown voice from another plane (in a beautiful British accent): "Because
you lost the bloody war."


I think we can all rest assured teach the world to speak understandable
English is not a long term problem. Everything will be going to Spanish in a
few years anyway.


  #10  
Old June 29th, 2007, 04:09 PM posted to rec.travel.air,rec.aviation.piloting
[email protected]
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Posts: 8
Default Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose danger for air travel (CNN)


I think we can all rest assured teach the world to speak understandable
English is not a long term problem. Everything will be going to Spanish in a
few years anyway.


No, it is going to be Esperanto, remember?

 




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