Aircraft Operations and Communications
An aircraft
comes in to regular flight operations only once it has been accorded regulatory
approval, the whole purpose of which is aimed at providing an error free
product. However, latent errors can still be present. The recent Boeing 787
battery snafu that led to the world wide fleet being grounded is a case in
point. Even when the approval process ensures an error free aircraft, there are
still chances of errors creeping in during regular flight operations because each
individual aircraft is tended to by a large number of diverse groups. These
errors can be prevented and safety & efficiency can be ensured only if all
these diverse groups work as a team, which can only happen when there is
adequate co-ordination between, and within, the various groups, viz. the flight
crew, cabin crew, dispatch, Air Traffic Control, maintenance personnel, and
others directly or indirectly connected with the safe operation of the flight. Communications
is that vital link that helps in ensuring good co-ordination between all of these
different agencies. Thus understanding communications is important for anyone
connected with aviation, and more importantly for the flight deck crew, they
being aviation’s last line of defence
to prevent any mishap from happening.
Communication is a two
way process, in which a message is sent out from the sender to the receiver;
the receiver gives feedback; and this process continues in a loop until the
same meaning is shared between the sender and the receiver. The message can be
sent either verbally in the form of oral or written communications or
through non verbal means like body language, gestures, postures, face & eye
expressions, touch, etc. Communication is a concept that has been variously
defined in text books. These definitions essentially characterise
communications in terms of two basic issues, which are: -
·
First, communication entails the transfer of
information (facts, opinions, ideas, feelings, instructions,
commands, etc.) from the
sender to the receiver
·
And second, communication entails the transfer of
meaning from the sender to the receiver
Effective Communications
Communications are
useful only when they are effective, in that the transfer of information from the sender to the receiver
should lead to the same meaning being shared by each of them, at the completion of the transaction(s).
This can only happen when the sender and receiver are both active participants
in the process and thus entails a responsibility not only on the sender to
obtain or elicit feedback in order to determine whether or not the
communication was effective but also on the receiver, who is responsible to
provide honest feedback. Or in other words, effective communication is a two
way process, and is only effective when the desired understanding or action
takes place. In the fatal Air India Express accident at Mangalore, the First
Officer had thrice communicated to the Commander to go around, but no go around
action was initiated by the Commander during the approach and touchdown phase.
Would this communication be considered effective? In this paper we would only
focus on effective communication between the flight deck crew.
Communications and Crew Resource Management
Effective communication between flight deck crew members
is an essential tool for achieving technical, procedural, and also crew
resource management objectives. The communication process amongst the flight
deck crew fulfils many important functions. Research shows that these functions
include:
·
The most obvious being the transfer of information in the form of
checklists, logs, R/T, etc.
·
Interpersonal/ team relationships that are crucial in any highly
effective team, primarily because humans are emotional, in addition to being
rational beings
·
Working towards shaping predictable behaviour and expectations from
the other crew members, through the medium of briefings and critiques
·
It helps the crew to develop a shared mental model about the
location, spatial orientation, environment, aircraft systems, time and fuel; thereby enhancing
situational awareness
·
It allows individual crew members to become aware of problems and
to contribute effectively to the problem solving and decision-making process on
the flight deck
·
It helps the efficient and effective management of the flight with
optimum use of available resources, including the crew, through planning,
implementing/ revising & monitoring the tasks; the environment; and the
crew.
These functions are all crucial for safe and
efficient flight operations and underpin the important role of communications
on the flight deck. Research has shown that each message can have
different content, depending on the circumstances. These circumstances could be
whether we communicate face to face, or under high workload conditions, or on
R/T, or through written messages or through gestures.
Face to Face Communications
In this kind of a situation,
the message content is dependent just 7% on the spoken words. The major part of
the message content is conveyed by the tone employed while speaking (38%); and on
the non verbal aspects of communications (55%) like body language, eye & facial
expressions, postures etc. The flight deck crew would encounter this situation
when they come face to face on arrival at the dispatch and also during low
workload periods, as in a long cruise on autopilot. It is important to remember
that in such a situation, words of the sender convey very little meaning to the
receiver, if they are not backed by the right tone and the non verbal cues. The
message communicated during this interaction would be stored and all future
interactions on the flight deck would take place keeping the sense of the stored
communications in mind.
Pre-Flight Brief: Face
to face communications normally include a pre flight brief. A good pre-flight
brief is very important because it effectively touches nearly every function of
communications that are enumerated above. Open questions, like ‘how is this
weather likely to impact our flight? Why do you think so?’ by the Commander can
draw in the other crew members into giving valuable inputs that should be
incorporated in the plan, if feasible. This gives the crew a sense of ownership
and would also send a very positive message, which would lead to a very
effective team that is motivated to optimum individual, as well as team performance.
The Commander has a major role to play in setting the tone, but the crew
members also need to live up to the transactional analysis dictum of ‘I am OK,
you are OK’. This can only happen if the crew members believe/ are made to
believe that they have an important role to play in the safe and efficient
conduct of the flight. This can happen if all crew members are encouraged to
participate in the communication process, and more importantly are listened to,
and treated like trained professionals having a vital role to play during the
flight. Operating from the adult ego state would be desirable but depending on
the experience of the crew it may need to switch between the adult and the
nurturing parent/ natural child ego states too, at times. Crossed and other
damaging ego states should be avoided under all circumstances.
High workload situations
The contents of the message
change completely in a high work load situation, like during a take-off,
landing or during non normal situations. Here words convey 55% of the meaning;
the tone of the words spoken another 38%, and body language just the balance
7%. This tells us that it is most important to use standard phraseology with
the correct intonation and sense of urgency during these situations. Standard
phraseology has the advantage of brevity with accuracy, as both the sender and
receiver are on the same page instantly. This however, does not rule out the
need to give feedback, read back and hear back, as appropriate. High workload
situations are most prone to the use of leading questions, wherein the need for
quick answers overrides all else, but these are also the situations when these
are most dangerous. Leading questions under such situations are thus best
avoided. The analysis of a number of aircraft accidents indicate an increasing
number of leading questions leading up to the accident. Leading questions
generally are an indicator of a loss of situational awareness.
Communications on R/T, Intercom or Telephone
In such a situation the content
of the message is conveyed 55% through the spoken words and the balance 45%
through the intonation, speed and clarity of the spoken words. Standard
phraseology is vital in this situation along with feedback, read back and hear
back. In case of any disruptions in any of the messages, it is important to retransmit/
seek a clarification instead of assuming, as was the case in the tragic
Tenerife accident. Choice of words in verbal communications has significant
safety implications. In order to minimise potential ambiguities and other
variances in aviation, there are certain standard rules regarding which words,
phrases or other elements need to be used for communicating. As an example, ICAO
phraseology requires that the word ‘departure’ is used instead of ‘take-off’ in
all cases, except for the actual take-off itself. It also requires all clearances,
heading, altitudes, runways etc. to be read-back by the crew, as also hear back
by the ATC. This was introduced to enhance safety following many cases where
messages were misinterpreted/ read back incorrectly.
Written communications
90% of the meaning is conveyed
through words or symbols in written communications, with only the balance 10%
through the tone of the message. This implies that the choice and use of words
and symbols are critical in written communications, like in SOPs, checklists,
let down charts, etc. This is even more so in the modern day cockpits with
EFIS; the choice of symbols, colours, updating of the databases, etc. become
even more critical as there is no dynamic feedback available in the cockpit
that can prevent misconceptions/ misrepresentations from leading to an untoward
incident. Updation date of the database should be checked before every flight
by the crew to ensure that the database is current. The initiator of the
written communications should be able to unambiguously create the message in such
a way that clearly conveys the intended meaning. It is the responsibility of
the crew also to clarify every written communication and get it rectified in
case the words and symbols, etc. are perceived differently from what they are
intended to convey. Latent errors in written communications are possible and
should be eliminated for safe operations.
Gestures
This form of communication is
routinely used in aviation while marshalling an aircraft, and demands that each
signal should convey a common understanding to the sender as well as the
receiver. Since aviation is an international profession, all the hand signals
have been standardised and should be used to prevent chances of
misunderstanding. Non standard signals should be avoided.
Accent free English Language for Communications
As discussed above, words are
important in almost all forms of communications barring gestures, but even more
so on R/T, intercom or telephone and also during high workload situations. The
message conveyed is affected by the language employed, the individual accents, pronunciation,
vocabulary and grammatical styles. Investigations in to a number of accidents
brought home the requirement for a common language for the flight crew in which
they should be reasonably proficient to ensure effective communications. ICAO thus
recommended through SARPs that language testing should be undertaken to ensure
proficiency. Indian DGCA has implemented
this recommendation vide a CAR in Section 7 titled, “English for Aviation
Language - Training, Assessment, Test and Certification”. This
CAR lays down the six skill areas in which the crew need to be proficient, and
tested. These areas include pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency,
comprehension and interactions. Six levels of competency have been identified,
and crew have to attain a minimum of Level 4 to operate. The aim of this
requirement is to make communications possible, and effective. Crew would still
come across individual variations, and should be sensitive to this fact and
thus ensure that these variations do not hinder effective communications.
Communications, Workload and Situational
Awareness
It is a known fact that human cognitive resources
are limited and are shared between current reasoning processes and actions. Communications
also consume mental resources. This fact needs to be clearly understood and
internalised to ensure that one is sensitive to the workload on the flight deck
before initiating/ responding to communications or before interrupting
communications already underway, for some other task. We have all experienced
situations wherein an increased workload tended to shorten our sentences, as
also reduce their numbers, thus increasing the chances of communication errors.
The most relevant example is the execution of the ‘Before take-off checklist’.
Invariably this gets interrupted by the ATC that is ready to give out the
departure clearance. It is best to ask the ATC to standby and complete the
checklist before taking down the clearance or take down the clearance and then
re-initiate the checklist from the beginning to ensure that both of these
crucial tasks are not interrupted, thus making them prone to errors.
Similarly, a person absorbed in a difficult or
unfamiliar task like in an emergency situation is less likely to understand
what someone is saying to them. It is always best to wait until the task is
completed, or stabilised before interrupting them. It is difficult to continue
with a demanding task while at the same time communicating effectively. Leading
questions at such times can be disastrous, as the person may respond verbally
without paying attention, due to lack of mental resources available at his/ her
disposal. Please be aware that under conditions of excessive workload, one of
the first signs of degraded situational awareness is a loss of the ability to
listen in. Since communications consume limited mental resources, to conserve
on these, communications should be restricted to task oriented only during the
critical phases of flight when sterile cockpit is called for. This ensures that
communications are not distracting the crew during periods of anticipated high
workload and helps the crew maintain situational awareness.
