Russian pilots to speak English
 

"MOSCOW, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Russia says its pilots and air traffic controllers at the country's international airports will conduct all communications in English beginning next May.

The requirement could eventually be extended to domestic flights within Russia, The Moscow Times reported Thursday."

Russian pilots to speak English - UPI.com

Let's see if the French and Hispanics will follow this example.
Definitely an increase in air safety!

Knowing how pragmatic the Russians are, come 1st May, 2010 ALL airports WILL be speaking English. The language actually spoken might sound a bit Russian, but you will not be listening correctly. Box ticked, job done, next?

PM

2 issues are being confused here.

1. Whether all pilots and ATC should possess a certain level of proficiency en ingles as per ICAO. This is supposed to happen by 2011.

2. Whether all radio traffic should be in ingles. This is still TBD

I think this is a good idea and it is about time. In Canada we get a lot of pilots and controllers speaking french and it can lead to problems.

déjà vu?
 

Please tell me to what problems this can lead or how safety is compromised in a dual language ATC airspace. We already had this discussion on the hamster wheel-like ":yuk: French ATC" thread. The safety argument of monoglots upon investigating had very little basis and it turned very ugly on both sides with the usual below the belt and nationalistic arguments.

Thanks mods, for deleting my previous post. :hmm:

If now even the Russians can do it (or at least will try), why can't the French?

I've always thought the Japanese were exceptionally good about this.

You NEVER hear any Japanese on the frequency.

Their discipline has my admiration.
:ok:

I would say loss of situational awareness when some pilots understand the ATC and some don't.

Let's say a guy is reporting windshear in a different language and you are 3 NM beind him or maybe he's turning without ATC's approval and the ATC is trying to call him in french and you are not paying extra attention because you don't understand what is going on.

Or maybe you are on final at around 4 nm and the guy is authorizing another traffic to cross the active runway (happened to me in Spain) and i had to go around since at minimums i just saw the guy in the middle of the runway at the first intersection moving extra slowly.

The list is long and I think speaking the same language IS an increase in air safety.

It IS a déjà vu!
 

Right. So what about multiple tower or ground frequencies? Military colleagues on UHF? I am still waiting for the proof that single-language ATC is safer. What about just looking out and use common sense? Dual-language ATC airspaces have been around for a long time, where is the dreaded danger? This is usually the pet argument of monoglots.

Big deal. Sounds to me you have never been to ORD. Talk to me about situational awareness when you have flown and taxied a few years out of there. :rolleyes:

Presumably will also lead to the demise of the fleets of Follow Me vehicles leading Western carriers at Russian airports.

Until a couple of years ago, at St Petersburg this comprised an old-style Lada with a yellow flashing light stuck askew on the roof, leading Boeing's and Airbus's finest around the airfield.

"....If now even the Russians can do it (or at least will try), why can't the French?"

Quite agree.

Good on the Russians I say, who appear not to be putting national pride before safety concerns any longer. At least they seem to be making an effort. Unlike some others I could mention.

Talk about following a "follow me" at Russian airports, someone smarter than I warned me never taxi though a puddle as you dont know how deep they maybe!! :}

I'm OK with English calendars, it's the Roman religious calendars that I appear to have a problem with. Good spot: one beer owed. Maybe I should have said 2011 (or even left the year out)?

PM

Squawk 7777

You may be correct in your questionable assertion that the use of multiple languages is not in itself unsafe, but one indisputable fact is that does not, in any way, increase situational awareness and can therefore only compromise, and never improve, safety.

Hopefully their English will be better than this :eek::

YouTube - Air Traffic Control: Swiss Airbus Bird Strike

jetset320,
I've heard worse.....

But it does illustrate that, once something goes wrong, and way outside standard procedures and "standard English", we will always have problems.

Not sure that our Swissair friend wouldn't have had the same problems in the UK far North or the US far South....

At least both sides (Swiss and Russian) tried to slow down and articulate.

CJ

I disagree. If there is anything that might affect your aircraft, ATC is required to inform you. Situational awareness is multifaceted, yet too many people get distracted by hearing a foreign language.

That sounds like something my dad told me when he was teaching me how to drive! :E

Yikes! Talk about frustration indeed. It's stressful just listening to it. You sort of want to say "HE NEEDS A TRACTOR FOR GOD'S SAKE! :ugh: THEY CANNOT MOVE BECAUSE THEY SHUT DOWN BOTH ENGINES :{ "

Thank goodness they didn't have an engine out; with the increased workload and the chap in the tower not understanding much of the out-of-standard phraseology that would have been...epic. Sorry, can't think of any other word :eek:

I seem to recall an incident in the last five years when CDG ATC cleared a BA aircraft that had landed on 27R to cross 27L in English, into the path of an Air France that had been cleared for take off on 27L in French. Fortunately the technology in the tower alerted the controllers to the conflict and the AF340 was instructed to abort it's take off. I would suggest that's an indisputable example of dual language compromising safety.

However, you are now intrinsically reliant on someone else for your safety, since the use of dual languages has removed the ability to understand what instructions were issued to another aircraft, whether they conflict with yours or not. That CANNOT be an improvement in safety - or do you disagree?

What is so frustrating is the unwillingness of advocates of dual-language environments to consider this may be a negative safety factor. In every discussion there is some wishy-washy babble about how this is supposedly not really a problem. How much common sense do you need to understand it patently IS.

- GY :confused:

And the shorts tragedy at CDG where a crew member lost his head (English speaking)

A contributing factor was an French speaking aircraft was cleared for t/o in french, while there was a runway entry/incursion on an intersection, on the same runway. This aircraft was not aware the conflicting aircraft was cleared for t/o..

The Dan Air B727 at Tenerife. Spanish speaking was a contributing factor in that tragedy, IMHO.