Originally Posted by
usedtobeATC
When I was a RW controller in Moscow in 70s, some pilots (by mistake ) descent to aerodrome hight by QNH in QFE area. Most often they were pilots from the Middle East.
Some RAF colleagues of mine had a big scare during a non precision helicopter approach to a German military airfield (early 1980s; might have been Buckeburg, not sure) when they came out cloud only just above trees on a ridge. They thought they were flying on QFE but had actually been given the QNH. Bearing in mind that this was forty years ago, I’m glad to say that due to the honesty of the crew and the publicity this was given at the time, I was lucky enough to have learned from someone else’s mistake rather than my own. Hopefully others did too. If in doubt, always cross check.