Plain English please, ATSB

[A37575]

The aircraft departed normally, and at about 800 ft the crew detected and managed the error and continued to Adelaide.

"Detected and Managed the error???"

Please, ATSB. Write normal English and not this awful style with its weasel words.

[Di_Vosh]

"Detected and Managed the error" is pretty much how it's said these days. All part of TEM.

I'd agree with you, though, if that's how it's reported to the general public.

DIVOSH!

[Tinstaafl]

TEM! What a crock. The whole f&*^ing sky is & just about everything in it is a threat. Same for the bloody ground. Next we'll no longer navigate but instead intellectually resolve corporeal geographical position to cognitive representation.

Whatever happened to just 'airmanship'? Jeez...

Best words I ever thought: What could hurt me next, and then after?

[Clare Prop]

I can just imagine my old O Level English teacher's horror if she saw an "and" after a comma followed by another "and" in the same sentence!

Plain English and proper grammar would be a good start.

[Eddie Dean]

I can just imagine my old O Level English teacher's horror if she saw an "and" after a comma, followed by another "and" in the same sentence!

There, fixed it for you

[tipsy2]

I'm afraid plain english is being overtaken by jingoistic Harvard cloned American business speak.

Perhaps because english is not their 1st language.

And I do find the trend irritating

Tipsy

[Arm out the window]

What would your preferred wording be?

'Detecting and managing an error' is about as succinctly as you could put it, isn't it?

Noticed and fixed a stuff-up, perhaps? Saw a f**k-up and took action?

I'm a bit of a pedant about grammar, spelling and punctuation myself, I'll admit, but it seems you're getting a bit het up (sic) about nothing in this case.

[Di_Vosh]

Yawn!

enough to make 10 characters

[morno]

Saw a f**k-up and took action?

Perfect

[Jamair]

POTY!

intellectually resolve corporeal geographical position to cognitive representation

Tinny me old, that right there is one of the funniest and truest things I have ever read. Made my night - thanks!

[FGD135]

The aircraft departed normally, and at about 800 ft the crew detected and managed the error and continued to Adelaide.

Appalling, terrible and disgraceful.


Where do I start?


"Departed normally"? Is it normal to discover an error a few seconds after takeoff? Perhaps it is, given that the aircraft "departed normally". But what does "departed", in this context, mean exactly?


The meaning of "departed" is context dependent so was thus a poor choice of words for this place in the report. Why not just use good old "takeoff"?

... managed the error ...

Especially terrible.


"Managing" is something that takes place over a period of time. It is not something that happens in an instant. The aircraft reaching 800 feet is an instant.


From some reports I have seen in recent years, it appears that writing is no longer considered an important skill at the ATSB.


Without knowing more about this incident/accident, here is how I would have worded that sentence:


Upon reaching a height of about 800 ft, the pilot noticed the error, took corrective action then decided to continue to Adelaide. The take off was otherwise normal.

[Arm out the window]

Appalling, terrible and disgraceful.

No, chopping someone's head off because they don't agree with your ideology would be appalling, terrible and disgraceful. The writing you quoted isn't any of those things.

The sentence is fine. To manage a problem is to diagnose it, decide what to do and take appropriate action. That may happen in a few seconds or over a longer period of time.

took corrective action then decided to continue to Adelaide

The omission of a comma between the words 'action' and 'then' - now that is appalling. Where are the standards these days?