AV8Boy, thanks for the details of the CDG collision (I didn't want to clutter my own answer). If anything, they only serve to prove my point: aircraft accidents are the result of a long chain of events which taken separately, would not have ended up in an accident, but which taken together, made it inevitable.
That much is shown on every aircraft accident investigation - therefore I find it quite strange that a number of posts point fingers at the language issue without seeing the big picture like you.
Priscilla is quite right to underline that switching from one language to another would only displace the problem.
Cheers