ICAO Level 4 testing standards
Thoughts on ICAO Level 4 language testing
after almost 40 years experience in Aviation (ground not flight) Having basically retired to the Bulgarian Capital Sofia became bored and started consulting and training in the regulatory environment.
Saw an opportunity as a aviation savvy English speaker to set up a testing facility for ICAO level 4 Eastern Europe I am shocked with so many different elements of the whole story
Also bearing in mind the importance of effective communication I was on night shift at Gatwick back in the mid 70's when news of the tenerife disaster broke ! that it keeps on and will keep on happening is something we have the power to deal with (the Human Factor / CRM story)
but airlines which bend the rules are doing them selves a dis service and unfortunately there are too many examples
First ICAO is weak and has no real mandate no carrot and no stick
second EASA has not mandated any regulatory framework and is unlikely to do so for maybe 4 years
third the Competent Authorities are part of the problem and not the solution
I hear today that Hungary is considering a waiver for all its flight crews to remove the need for formal testing I am shocked. A couple of recent events the LOT 737 lost over London and unable to effectively communicate with ATC due to poor language
a French pilot who tried to get a job with Ryan and was told he needed to exchange his license for an Irish one, He was told that his problem was not Aviation English it was English !! It was so poor no one could believe he had been awarded or provided with a level 6 rating by AF (merci beaucoup)
So what is the answer
The evidence before me shows we have not learnt our lessons that the possibility of yet one more tragic accident and unnecessary event
A simple fix
There is one which could be very easily brought to bear in Europe for those familiar with the dreaded SAFA inspection
to include a simple communication with the pilots (both) and if they can not provide effective responses then to ground the aircraft until a replacement pilot is found
but this is back to the weakness of EASA unfortunately and one more manifestation
not even to mention Safety Management systems where the whole of europe is out of compliance with ICAO annex 6 requirements
any thoughts ?