AIRSPEAK - The Importance of Effective Communication in Flight Safety

Aviation has generally been considered as one of the best models for studying the communication process and its inherent flaws. Nowhere else is indeed the effectiveness of information exchange more important than in flight operations, since it may fatally affect safety.
Starting from a reflection on the basis and on the need for the adoption of a coded and standard aviation language - the so-called “Airspeak” -, easily understandable beyond linguistic and cultural barriers, this paper attempts to examine various Air Traffic Controllers (ATC)-pilots communication problems and failures, especially when they involve the use of English as non-native language.
Moreover, a focus on the impact of linguistic, paralinguistic, cultural, environmental, psychological and hierarchical barriers affecting the communication process in aviation cannot help but point out a great criticality directly linked to the human factor.
A further analysis of the sequence of circumstances that occurred in several sadly well-known air accidents will show concretely how the lack of adequate proficiency in English and of many other communicative skills often led to communication breakdowns and miscommunication that eventually resulted in fatal consequences. Such an insight and an attempt to explain what went wrong and why in those episodes will then develop a reflection on the possible solutions to prevent similar disasters from ever happening again.
Finally, a focus on the Crew Resource Management will demonstrate how the concept of flight safety must necessarily be created starting from accurate training on interpersonal communication, effective teamwork and decision-making processes by the crew.
Only adequate management of crew’s responsibilities, together with a better awareness of importance of a good proficiency in English and the use of proper aviation phraseology will perhaps reduce the potential for disasters due to miscommunication and - at the same time - maximise safety.