Case Study: Emirates Airline
English Language Proficiency
Prevents Air Disasters
Emirates Airlines Certifies Crews with Test that
Simulates Radiotelephonic Communication
In 1996, 349 passengers and crew were killed when two planes collided mid-air over New Dehli. This accident was attributed in part to language barriers that retarded radiotelephony communication between the flight and ground crew.
According to aviation experts Jason Park and Tyler
Kong, “…the lack of ability for all parties involved to understand crucial directions via common English may have been the most important contributing factor leading to [this tragedy]. Without agreed upon standards for English proficiency and common phraseology, the aviation industry continues to be at risk for future language-related accidents. Air traffic communications often deviate from standard phraseology in emergency situations towards a more conversational style. English proficiency beyond the basic understanding of aviation phraseology may be necessary.” In order to address this threat, the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) passed a resolution that stated, “The air-ground radiotelephony communications shall be conducted in the language normally used by the station on the ground or in the
English language.” Furthermore, “the English language shall be available, on request from any aircraft station, at all stations on the ground serving designated airports and routes used by international air services.”
The ICAO resolution further mandated that effective
March 2008 (now virtually extended to March 2011), pilots cannot be certified to fly unless their English communication skills meet ICAO established criteria.
Air traffic controllers and aeronautical station operators must also demonstrate English proficiency.

Emirates Airlines Seeks Automated Solution to
Test Spoken English Skills
Emirates Airlines