This thread subject comes up every year or so and is always interesting and has a few laughs!
However nobody seems to examine how these problems (if they are so) come about? If you go back to basic flight schools you will find that R/T is one of the few subjects that is not subject to a CASA exam. It is left to the flying school and the CFI to set the standards and provide the instruction etc by whatever method. This brings about what might be considered a lack of standardisation and we see this right thru the industry and have done so for the past 10 or 20 years. Even the C&T Captains at the top end of the market do the same and there is a failure to understand and teach what is correct. Some domestic RPT/Regional pilots are the worst offenders.....
Trouble is they don't know what they don't know and an understanding of ATC/ATS is not in the pilot syllabus. Those that have such an understanding are usually more proficient in their R/T use.
So what is the problem? Yes lets speak ICAO English and abide wherever possible with the AIP. However once again it is the interpretations of what is published that fail to provide the standardisation that is intended.
Whilst the AIP is published by ASA, it is CASA that is the author of the subject matter under discussion.
Why do pilots get it wrong? Instruction and standardisation is top of the list in my book and a failure by CASA to even understand the issues and provide the much needed standardisation....!
My pet hates include:
- Acknowledge and acknowledgment
- Too many readbacks
- Not including location in broadcasts on descent in G (ATC might know, but other pilots don't!)
- Too much "offering" (the practice of establishing coms prior to passing info) They don't do this o/s, so why in Oz? Are pilots and controllers not able to pick something up the first time - they used to be able to!]
Many procedures changed when TAAATS was introduced so as to give the controllers time to get used to the new system. Sadly many of the then temporary procedures (?) are still in place. Do we really need them now?
By world standards, Oz is not really a busy place and for example if our procedures/practices were introduced into the UK or USA the place would come to a standstill. Must be a message there somewhere.
Whilst I have the greatest respect for our controllers, there is a culture within that does not exist in other major aviation countries….. I remember an experienced international pilot saying once;
Why is it that all over the world you are treated by ATC as a professional until you show yourself to be and idiot, but in Oz, on first contact, one is often treated as an idiot until you show you are a professional?
As is shown by the size of this thread, there is much interest in this subject, however everyone looks at it in a different way, and whilst they do, we will continue to have these discussions. As said previously, there is not much that can be done about it now.