Floating around the Hong Kong cyberspace this morning, a YouTube clip of Hong Kong Cable TV's New Channel report about the trouble Air China is encountering flying into New York.
- The news report plays a taped conversation between an Air China pilot and an American air traffic operator.
- The Chinese pilot speaks gibberish, starting off with an English word but then mumbling sounds for the rest of the sentence.
- The air traffic controllers say this happens regularly and poses danger.
- An Air China rep is interviewed. He says that it's the air traffic controller's fault for not using standardized language.
- By March next year, the report continues, every pilot will have taken English classes.
- Then they show an exchange between an Air China pilot who passed the English proficiency exam and an English interviewer. It's pretty ugly, but at least he's using his words.
- The report ends by saying that thousands of pilots haven't even passed this test, but are continuing to pilot planes.
As much as this report shows how much Mainland China needs to ramp up its English as a Second Language efforts, it also shows a problem in design: If non-English speaking pilots have trouble communicating with English air traffic controllers "regularly," shouldn't they have an alternate non-verbal channel of communication?
At least then they could both agree to "hold" without all that fuss.
I don't agree that they should have a non-verbal way of communication. These pilots really must speak English, otherwise, they shouldn't be flying outside of China.
Posted by: Mike | October 10, 2007 at 12:31 AM
I wasn't trying to say that they shouldn't learn English, but given that learning a language is not something that can be achieved overnight, I think it'd be safer if they had non-verbal backups or workarounds, at least for now.
Posted by: Jason | October 10, 2007 at 12:35 AM
So much for WSJ's article about the incredible leap that China has made in aviation safety.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119198005864354292.html?mod=hps_asia_pageone
Posted by: TheChinaPerspective.com | October 11, 2007 at 10:45 AM
Isn't Air China a Taiwanese company? Shouldn't that make it all the more surprising?
It does to me.
Posted by: Robert | October 12, 2007 at 08:41 PM
Robert, it's "Air China," not the confusingly-named (and equally frightening) "China Airlines."
Tim Maddog
Posted by: Tim Maddog | October 13, 2007 at 05:01 AM
Oh. Thanks Tim.
That is confusing.
Posted by: Robert | October 17, 2007 at 08:50 AM
Because they train at RMIT flight training in australia, the air china management know that no quality and most instructor in RMIT flight training doesn't even hold an instrument rating so...
Posted by: Tom | January 22, 2008 at 01:31 AM
It's really fascinating that The Chinese pilot speaks gibberish, starting off with an English word but then mumbling sounds for the rest of the sentence.
Posted by: College Term Papers | February 23, 2010 at 09:17 PM