ATC: ”B-OX, descend and maintain 3000 feet, QFE 995”
B-OX: ”3000 ft, QFE 995, B-OX”
(Thinking: Hey, QFE? They always give QNH around here… and I have an open mind, so I’ll just correct that without pointing out their obvious mistake, without declaring my own assumption and without interpreting things too literally. Lesse… they want me 3000 feet above AD elevation, and the AD is at 1400 feet. Allright, here we go, level off at 4400 feet. Man I’m on top of things!)
AAIB: ”A Piper PA28 and a B737 collided after a private pilot with an open mind failed to comply with ATC instructions in a non-radar environment. Five crew members and 78 passengers onboard the B737 were killed, along with the open-minded private pilot.”
Literally is how we do things in this industry. It is a method of reaching old age which has been proven time and time again. If something does not make sense taken literally, we question it but do not, repeat, do not go off acting upon our own assumptions.
And if we mess up, we call the tower upon landing on the telephone number they kindly provided, apologize and admit our mistake. After all, we are all human and we all make mistakes. Trying to deny having made a mistake is generally not a good idea, especially if it is on record.