Today Tonight and Foreign Pilots

[Chris B.]

Originally Posted by Owen H

Chris B, thats what the AIP says, but does the Australia AIP conform to ICAO?

Thats the next question

It may well do in this case, but many countries have a slight variation on the theme, which usually doesn't cause too many problems.

Owen, seeing as it is an Airservices document it most likely doesn't conform with anything.

What I have found though is that this also used to happen at Bankstown. However due to incorrect readbacks they haven't used this phrase for quite some time due to the number of runway incursions.

Oh and just to agree with what you and Mick have said I too have heard controllers use the identifiers for international flights.

[NickN]

Most of the stuff I hear from YSSY tower is clear. There are some pretty good doozies on YouTube which are quite funny, and a little scary at the same time.

Am yet to hear a controller or aircraft use the phrase "ready to Rock'n'Roll" but I am sure it will come some day!

[Blake Riley]

Good example of asian pilots not understanding english is this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j12L4jQg00M

[Raymond Rowe]

Different ball park with the Malaysian Crews.Chinese crews as well.

[Owen H]

That video is a great example of what I am talking about.

The taxiway system at Kennedy is particulally confusing anyway, and the controller was giving a clearance that while should be simple, needed to be slowed down. He didn't need to be so "Agro" with the MIKE ALPHA - he should have just slowed down and given progressive taxi instructions. Without the guidance of the transcript it is quite hard to understand even for me!

As to the Ramp - the US tends to use a strange system where you have to contact the ramp controller to be allowed in, however the ramp controller doesn't speak to the ground controller. It is a handful at the best of times trying to have the time to change frequencies on the other radio so you can speak to two people at once.

As you see, the ground controller could quite plainly see that the aircraft did not understand what he was saying. However he just keeps repeating the question over and over again... when there is clearly no understanding. You also see a great example of standard phraseology... "HAVE YOU BEEN CLEARED TO THE RAMP" was interpreted as its closest standard phrase... "Clear to the ramp". So, whilst I agree that the pilots should have understood the system better, the controller could have made his, and everybodies, life far far easier by just not asking the question, telling him to hold position, and independantly verifying if he has that clearance.

[Gerald A]

Its on tonight Ch7 Today Tonight, the programe starts at 6:30pm

[Trevor Sinclair]

Today Tonight is reporting issues with non-English speaking pilots.
Is this a TT beat up?
Thoughts from experienced light aircraft pilots and others most welcome.

[NickN]

Not a pilot Trevor, however having spent countless hours monitoring aircraft radio transmissions at Sydney and other airports some of the transmissions broadcast as part of their "special (not so) investigation" were not far removed from some foreign pilots coming and going from our major international aiorports.

They persisted in blanking out words in their transcript that were quite clearly recognizable by me, and I am sure many others. Just another TT beat up and definately not their best work. And lets face it TT rarely produce anything that can be considered decent and sincere.

[Steve Jones]

I have flown 6 TT sectors in the last 2 weeks and every pilot and F/O who made it onto the intercom (and the majority did) had a broad Australian accent...

[Trevor Sinclair]

If you missed it it's online now under "Foreign Pilots" @ http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/