Krasnoyarsk team: Elena Glios, Margarita Mamontova, Nadezhda Silantyeva, Veronika Sychevskaya, Olga Fedoseenko.
GREAT STARTS
MAKE
GREAT FINISHES
Course Book for Aviation Personnel
ICAO Level 3-4
INTRODUCTION
Great Starts Make Great Finishes is an aviation course book for air traffic controllers of ICAO levels 3-4. The established language syllabus is based on aviation topics that learners actually need at that stage in their language development. The Great Starts Make Great Finishes syllabus intergrates the learning of new vocabulary with speaking and listening skills development in delivering aviation English language. The coursecontents cover the main categories in language skills development and linguistic competence of learners that they need to achieve ICAO Level 4.
The courseis designed to provide a series of skills-based challenging tasks that can help learners to measure their progress in terms of language competence according to ICAO testing system requirements. The coursecontents are fully compatible with ICAO testing system requirements and give learners regular opportunites to get prepared for it and then assessed.
The Great Starts Make Great Finishes course is based on a guided discovery approach to learning: first learners check what they know and realize how much they know, then they are guided to make their passive knowledge active, together with a steady input of new language material. All new language material is regularly recycled and reviewed with a strong focus on speaking and listening throughout the course.
The ultimate aim of most pre-operational learners is to achieve operational level (ICAO Level 4) through the aviation topics presented in course that motivate them to speak, so the key words and phrases necessary for extended speaking are given in fresh and stimulating contexts with numerous opportunites for communicative, personalised speaking practice.
The course consists of Student's Book, Teacher's Book, CD-ROM and DVD-ROM.
The Student's Book provides approximately 150 hours of teaching material for classroom activities, that can be extended with the photocopiable resources in the Teacher's Book. The Student's Book contains the material in the form of tasks for reading, listening, video activities providing and encouraging language skills development and linguistic competence they need to be able to communicate successfully on job-related topics.
The Student's Book provides 10 thematically linked units, each with 2-5 lessons. Each lesson takes approximately 90 minutes depending on a group level competence. A teacher's creative initiative is highly appreciated. The CD-ROM contains all listening material for the Student's Book, including drill recordings, real radio exchange recordings. The DVD contains material for picture description activities and videos. The Teacher's Book includes Teaching Notes for 10 units, teaching tips for each lesson: listening scripts, answers for all the activities in the Student's Book and Photocopiable Materials.
We believe that consolidated efforts of our team can help learners to expand their their knowledge of functional language, i.e. ablity to speak on job-related topics and improve their language competence in terms of ICAO testing system requirements. Krasnoyarsk team would like to thank the people who have contributed to making the course. In particular we would like to thank our co-authors: Marrianna Glagoleva, Elena Isaeva, Evgeniya Kocherova, Alla Nikolaenko for their support and ideas.
Answer the following questions given in the table below.
We are going to watch a video Sky over Britain, what do you think these numbers refer to?
¸
Listening and Speaking Bank.
Round-table talk.
1.What is the best / worst thing about your job?
2.What do you think is the most difficult in your job?
3.Can you give some examples of advantages and disadvantages of being an Air Traffic Controller?
4.Is there anything you dislike about your job?
5. Can you describe your working conditions? Are you satisfied with them?
6.Do ATCOs in different countries have similar working conditions?
7.What would you change to improve working conditions of air traffic controllers?
8.What equipment do you use in your job? Are you satisfied with it?
9.What equipment would you like to have at your working place?
10.Would you like to work at a larger airport?
11.How do you think the job of an ATCO will change in the future?
12.Can you say a few words about ATCO’s training?
13.Does an ATCO need any special education?
14.What special knowledge and skills does the job of an ATCO require?
15.What qualities should you have to make a good air traffic controller?
16.Why is good health important for an ATCO?
17.Do you think it is possible that modern equipment might replace an air traffic controller?
18.Why are you learning English?
19.What is the secret of successful language learning?
20.What do you do to improve your English?
21.In what other areas of life can you use English?
22.How could good English make flights safer?
23.Is motivation important for English learning?
24.What do you find difficult in learning English?
25.What are the ICAO requirements in English language proficiency?
26.Would you learn English if you didn’t need it for your job?
VIDEO # 8
Warm up.
¸ Watch a video and guess what we are going to discuss now.
✈ What is “security”?
✈ What is “airport security”?
✈ Why is the problem of airport security so important nowadays?
✈ Explain the following words and phrases in English.
Baggage handling facilities
-
Metal detector
-
Explosives (noun)
-
Security staff
-
Unlawful interference
-
1. Give the words with the similar meaning:
threat
personnel
item
hazardous
narcotics
to pass through
to monitor
to carry
to blow up
VIDEO # 17
12. Why do you think such situations can happen nowadays?
13. Look through the other statements and guess what they mean and why they are mentioned in the report. Justify your opinion.
Listening and Speaking Bank.
Unit 4B. Exercise 14-15. Read the instructions and do the task.
16. Match the words and phrases to their definitions.
blast
a) a fact or a thing that someone finds out about, when it was not known before
bomb-builder
b) a lot of, having too much of something
casualties
c) a person who can make an explosive mechanism
component
d) during all period of time, from beginning to end
congestion
e) an explosion, or a very strong movement of an air that explosion causes
discovery
f) happening at the exact time and in the exact way
highly skilled
g) invisible, unnoticed by someone or something
inhabitant
h) one of several parts that together form a whole machine or system
lavatory
i) one of the people who live in a particular place
like clock-work
j) restroom, toilet
plenty of
k) someone who has the training and experience that is needed to do something well
saline
l) someone who is hurt or killed in an accident or war
throughout
m) a special (usually medical) mixture of water and salt
to assemble
n) to collect things or people together for a particular purpose
to make an early start
o) to spread over a wide area in an irregular way
to scatter
p) to wake up very early for a particular purpose
undetected
q) too many aircraft in one area; traffic jam
Listening and Speaking Bank.
Unit 5A. Exercise 9-10.
Read the instructions and do the task.
VIDEO # 21
Warm up.
¸ Watch a video and guess what we are going to discuss now.
1. Look through the text and answer the following question:
Q Why are wind speed and direction very important for flight?
WIND IN AVIATION
A pilot needs to know wind direction and speed as wind might affect flight negatively. En route the headwind may delay the arrival of flights and is to be avoided if possible. The tailwind can be of a great advantage as it increases the ground speed and results in reduction of fuel consumption. As for the cross wind it is extremely dangerous for an aircraft, especially on landing. An aircraft loses speed and might not get on the RW. What is more, it can cause a crash of the aircraft. Winds vary with altitude and also from one place to another, so information about wind is very important.
2. Read the text and answer the following questions. You can use your own experience.
a) What types of wind do you know in aviation?
b) Is cross wind dangerous for take off/landing and at flight level?
c) What is cross the wind speed limit for safe flying?
d) Is tail wind good for all stages of flight? Why? Why not?
e) How can head wind affect flying?
f) Do you know any real situation when wind caused an incident or an accident?
3. Look at the table and check if you are right.
Take off
Landing
At flight level
Cross wind
(12-15 mps)
An aircraft loses speed, can drift and cannot get on the RW; lifting power reduces and it might cause crash of the aircraft.
It can cause a deviation from the route.
Tail wind
(more than 5 mps)
It is very dangerous; ground speed increases and the length of the RW might be not enough; (it depends on the RW length) the aircraft might roll off the RW.
It is good because speed increases, the aircraft saves fuel and it can get the destination quicker.
Head wind
( 25 – 30 mps)
It is good because at landing ground speed reduces and the aircraft can stop quicker.
At taking off lifting power increases and the aircraft can take off quicker.
It is not good; fuel consumption increases because the aircraft has to resist the wind. The aircraft might be low on fuel.
4. Look through the text and find the definition of windshear.
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
WINDSHEAR
Windshear is a sudden and unexpected change in wind speed and direction. Windshear itself is a meteorological phenomenon occurring over a very small distance, but it can be associated with line squalls and cold fronts.
Windshear influences greatly aircraft take-offs and landings due to its effects on steering of the aircraft. Low level windshear can affect aircraft airspeed during take off and landing in dangerous ways.
What is more, the additional hazard of turbulence is often associated with windshear.
Windshear is also a danger for an aircraft making steep turns near the ground. The different airspeed experienced by each wing tip can result in an aerodynamic stall on one wing, causing a loss of control.
As the result of the accidents in the 1970s and 1980s, in 1988 the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration mandated that all commercial aircraft had to be equipped with on-board windshear detection systems. Since 1995, the number of major civil aircraft accidents caused by windshear has dropped to approximately one every ten years.
5. Read the text again and answer the following questions. You can use your own experience.
1. To what extent is windshear dangerous for aviation?
2. At what stages of flight does windshear affect an aircraft most?
3. What are possible results of windshear?
4. What measures are taken to reduce windshear influence in aviation?
6. Round-table talk.
1. How often do pilots report about windshear at your airport?
2. Where can a pilot obtain information about windshear?
3. Is there any special equipment to forecast windshear at your airport?
4. Do you think people will be able to reduce windshear influence on the flight in the future?
5. Speak about any real situation when windshear caused a serious aviation event.
VIDEO # 22
Warm up.
¸ Watch a video and guess what we are going to discuss now.
1. Read the text and answer the following questions. You can use your own experience.
1. Why is information about visibility important for flights?
2. How does visibility affect flights?
3. What weather phenomena influence visibility?
4. Under what weather conditions is landing prohibited?
Visibility is often reduced by air pollution and high humidity. Various weather stations report these phenomena as haze or mist. Fog and smoke can reduce visibility to near zero, making flights extremely dangerous. Heavy rain causes not only low visibility, but the inability to brake quickly. The international definition of fog is visibility of less than 1 km; mist is visibility of between 1 and 2 km and haze from 2 to 5 km. Visibility of less than 100 meters or 1/16th of a mile is usually reported as zero. Under these conditions, airports might be closed. If visibility or ceiling is below minima a controller doesn’t clear a pilot to descend from transition level and gives instructions to go around. A captain sometimes decides to divert to the alternate.
VISIBILITY
In meteorology, visibility is the distance at which an object or light can be clearly seen. It is important for all forms of traffic, especially for aviation.
Listening and Speaking Bank.
Unit 5C. Exercise 2-3.
Read the instructions and do the task.
¸
VIDEO # 23
5. Read the text and answer the following questions. You can use your own experience.
1. What weather phenomena can influence RW condition?
2. What is bad RW condition?
3. Why is black ice dangerous for an aircraft?
4. Can you describe perfect RW condition?
5. Can you describe any real situation when bad RW condition resulted in a serious accident?
RW CONDITION
There are some hazardous weather phenomena which can seriously affect RW condition. They are heavy precipitation, such as snow, rain and freezing rain and sleet, changeable temperature, ice, etc. Ice and snow can make braking and taxing difficult or impossible if severe enough. Freezing rain might cause icing of an aircraft and RW surface. It reduces braking action and might be the reason for sliding off the RW or undercarriage problem which can lead to a serious incident or accident.
6. Look through the 3 characteristics of a RW and cross the odd out.
Characteristics of a RW:
The RW is
slippery
wet
flooded
sleepy
damp
covered with ...
There is
(freezing) slush
standing water
vehicle broken down
a flock of birds
lightning
a disabled aircraft
compacted snow
drifting snow
black ice
on the RW
NB! Black ice – is very dangerous because it’s invisible but RW is slippery.
There are
water patches
water pools
snow patches
sunlight patches
icy patches/patches of ice
ruts and ridges
big birds
people/workers
on the RW
NB! Some specific information:
*But foreign pilots can also require braking coefficient in case of cross wind and poor braking action.
NB! Other characteristics of a RW:
Rough / broken surface at the beginning of the RW.
Snow banks / drifts on the RW edges.
Snow removal / clearance at the stop-end of the RW.
Snow removal / maintenance work / construction work in progress.
7. Can the runway covered with ice be perfect for landing?
¸
8. Watch a short video. Have you changed your opinion?
VIDEO # 24
9. Answer the following questions using your own experience:
1. Does temperature influence flying?
2. How does low temperature affect flights?
3. How does high temperature affect flights?
4. What are the controller’s actions, if a pilot reports low fuel temperature?
Unit 5C. Exercise 12-13.
Read the instructions and do the task.
Unit 5D. Exercise 3-4.
Read the instructions and do the task.
VIDEO # 26
1.A regular flight from Paris to Toronto takes 8 hours / 8 hours and a half.
2. An autopilot / a co-pilot does most of the work for the captain.
3.Overcast and rainy, with the chance of thunderstorm, temperature is below / in the low 20˚C.
4.The lightning has already forced the airport authorities to declare a Great / Red Alert.
5.The crew entered the holding pattern north-east / east-north of Toronto.
6.The aircraft had 7500 kg of fuel in its tanks, more than / it wasn’t enough to get to the alternate.
7.After a short hold Air France 358 with 297 / 289 passengers on board began descent into the storm.
8.Ahead of Air France two aircraft / airbuses have touched down on the same RW that flight 358 was heading for.
9.Facing unpredictable winds and a wet / bad RW the crew prepared for the landing.
10.Emergency workers were able to reach / search the burning jet just 52 seconds after the crash.
11.Remarkably, every single passenger and not all / all the members of the crew have managed to escape the burning plane.
14. Answer the following questions using the information from the video you’ve watched and your own experience:
1. What were the consequences of this aviation event?
2. Why did such an aviation event take place?
3. Was there any chance to prevent the aviation event with flight 358?
4. Who is to blame for this event in your opinion?
15. Round-talk table.
A B
1. to crack
a. to break or make smth. break suddenly into small parts
2. to shatter
b. to take in
3. to damage
c. to break (but not break apart/into pieces)
4. to penetrate
d. animals living in natural habitat
5. to ingest
e. combustion is lost
6. wildlife
f. to terminate
7. to abort
g. a group of birds flying together
8. feathers
h. to make something move in different directions
9. to disperse
i. to enter or move into
10. flame out
j. to cause harm to something
11. flock
k. to meet, usually unexpectedly
12. to encounter
l. light soft things that cover a bird’s body
13. to scare away
m. to frighten away
14. to get sucked (into)
n. a metal covering for an engine
15. to collide with
o. to hit
16. cowl(ing)
p. to get ingested
3. Complete the sentences with the words from the box. Make all necessary changes. Different variants are possible.
to shatter / to penetrate into / to get sucked / to ingest / to abort / to collide with / to strike / to scare away /
1. A bird can _______________ into an engine and cause an engine failure.
2. During the take-off roll, the aircraft _____________sea gulls and the take-off __________________.
3. The copilot was killed after a vulture ___________________ the windshield during cruise.
4. The explosion ________________all the windows.
5. At most airports a special bird patrolis used _______________ flocks of birds_________ from the runways.
6. The pilot attempted to return to the airport but ___________________ trees just south of the airport.
7. One engine began to vibrate because it _____________________a big bird.
Listen and check your answers.
9
11. Listen and complete the table below.
DATE OF INCIDENT
TYPE OF AIRCRAFT
AIRPORT NAME
PHASE OF FLIGHT
BIRD(S)
PART(S) OF AIRCRAFT STRUCK OR DAMAGED
EFFECT ON FLIGHT
AIRCRAFT TIME OUT OF SERVICE
ESTIMATED COST OF REPAIRS OR REPLACEMENT
9
AAR 541.
AUA 52.
AFR 112.
BAW 264.
DLH 710.
KAL 502.
KLM 865.
12. Answer the following questions:
¸
VIDEO # 29
1. Flight 4263, Boeing 767, departing from Manchester airport catches fire during take-off.
2. There are 225 passengers and 8 crew on board the aircraft.
3. The pilot declared Pan Pan due to engine malfunction.
4. There have been two large birds ingested into the left engine and which became the reason for engine failure.
5. The pilots decide to shut down the engine and to come back to Manchester airport.
6. Before landing they request clearance to dump fuel.
7. Thirty five minutes later they land successfully using only one engine.
8. There were only minor injuries to some passengers.
9. The plane is now being checked and the passengers are being boarded on another flight.
Since the birth of flight, aircraft have crashed, often with serious consequences. This is because of the nature of flight, where air supports a mass of aircraft. As soon as this support fails, there is limited opportunity for a positive result. Because of this, aircraft design is aimed at minimizing the chance of failure. Despite this, accidents still occur, though statistically flying is the safest means of transportation. Approximately_________of all aviation accidents occur shortly before, after, or during takeoff or landing, and are often described as resulting from 'human error'; mid-flight disasters are rare. Among other things, the latter have been caused by bombs. An accident survey of ______ aircraft accidents from_______through ________determined the causes to be as follows:
Q _____: Other human error (air traffic controller error, improper loading of aircraft, improper maintenance, fuel contamination, language miscommunication etc.),
Q _____: Other causes.
The survey excluded military, private, and charter aircraft.
Unit 8A. Exercise 8-9
Read the instructions and do the task
VIDEO # 32
Warm up.
¸ Watch a video and guess what we are going to discuss now.
1. Match the words in column A to the words with the similar meaning in column B.
2. Match the words in column A to their definitions in column B in the table given below.
A
B
1. probable
a) dangerous, important, serious
2. item
b) unfixed
3. strain
c) progress
4. cyclic
d) possible
5. swinging
e) to widen
6. advance
f) thing
7. to extend
g) different
8. numerous
h) many
9. various
i) repeated
10. critical
j) tension
11. to collapse
k) to fall down
A B
1. tensile
a) to be likely affected to something
2. term
b)able to be stretched
3. to tend
c) a crack or broken part in hard substances
4. to be subject to
d) to have a tendency
5. fracture
e)faster than the speed of the sound
6. supersonic speed
f) to make a small hole through which gases, smoke or liquid can escape from the enclosed space or a container
7. debris
g)special word, often scientific
8. to vent
h) remains, fragments
9. to detect
i) to notice or discover something that is not easy to see or hear
10. high-pitched
j) very high
3. Read the text and choose a suitable heading for the paragraph from the list.
Q Metal Fatigue
Q Metal Fatigue Events
Some structural failures are closely connected with metal fatigue. Metal fatigue is a term that we often hear, but seldom fully understand. What is it and when does it occur? Metal fatigue is a fracture mechanism. When things are broken due to metal fatigue, the fracture surface will have certain visible characteristics. Fatigue occurs when a metal or non-metal (plastic or composite) component is subject to swinging or cyclic stress and strain. Material fatigue can also result from pressurization and depressurization of an aircraft during takeoff and landing, or high winds causing the wings to move up and down.
Technological advances and failure analysis have led to numerous ways to minimize the probability of starting fatigue cracks. Various inspection techniques are used looking for any fatigue cracks which might be growing. The idea here is to find and repair or replace the cracked component before the crack reaches a critical size. As with all serious emergencies the first option any crew will want is to get the aircraft safely onto the ground as soon as possible. This problem might also demand slow turns and descents. So the controller must provide immediate diversion to the nearest airfield available.
Listening and Speaking Bank.
Unit 8B. Exercise 4-5.
Read the instructions and do the task.
¸
✈ Watch a video and guess what we are going to discuss now.
VIDEO # 33
Unit 8C. Exercise 2-3.
Read the instructions and do the task.
VIDEO # 35
Warm up.
¸ Watch a video and guess what we are going to discuss now.
1. Look through the text and think of a title. Then read the text and answer the questions.
……………………………………
A review of accidents caused by fuel problems reveals that many power failures were due to use of improper fuel or careless servicing – fuelling aircraft from poorly filtered tanks.
Fuel can be contaminated with water, rust, sand, dust, micro-organisms and certain additives that are not compatible with the fuel, fuel systems materials and engines. The presence of any contamination in aircraft fuel system is dangerous. During freezing temperatures, water may turn to ice, stopping fuel flow; freezing at high altitudes may plug fuel screens. Moreover, the fuel may be contaminated with dust and sand through openings in tanks and from the use of fuel handling equipment that is not clean. What is more, certain oil companies, in developing products to cope with aircraft fuel icing problems use some substances known as additives. Some additives may be harmful to other parts of the engine with which they come in contact. Fuel contamination is considered to be one of the most serious problems nowadays that might lead to engine vibration. In such a case a pilot has to shut down the engine, otherwise it can cause the engine destruction.
additive / to reveal / specification / substances / harmful / to contaminate / compatible /
A B
harmful
a) chemicals
to contaminate
b) to make a place or substance dirty and dangerous by adding something to it
additive
c) causing damage
specification
d) substance which is added to something to improve it
compatible
e)well-matched
substances
f) to make something known which was previously hidden
to reveal
g) certain requirements
A B
1. baggage handler
a) to try extremely hard to achieve smth, though it is very difficult
2. to lock
b) to see smth happen
3. to set to do smth
c) to find out
4. to gain altitude
d) person who loads baggage
5. huge
e) to start doing smth
6. to shatter
f) extremely bad, frightening
7. to bank
g) emergency
8. to be behind schedule
h) to fasten something, usually with a key
9. to struggle
i) event
10. to pitch
j) to break suddenly into pieces
11. to pick up speed
k) to go faster
12. to witness
l) to get somewhere in time
13. horrifying
m) to stop going up and down and continue at the same height
14. to disappear
n) to move up and down in an uncontrolled way with the movement of the air
15. hole
o) to reach height
16. to level out/off
p) not to be ready to depart at the planned time
17. crisis
q) to become impossible to find
18. crippled
r) extremely large in size
19. scene
s) damaged, disabled
20. to discover
t) empty space
21. to make it to
u) to slope to one side when turning
7. Fill in the gaps with suitable phrases from the box given below.
struggles to save / shattered / a huge hole / to level out / a horrifying scene / a little behind schedule / the crippled jet / picking up speed / makes it / to gain altitude /
VIDEO # 36
1. Passengers at the back of the plane witness _________________: two rows of the seats have simply disappeared.
2. The crew managed to save _______________________.
3. The passengers are waiting for the flight which is _________________________.
4. Even without its basic controls the plane begins __________________.
5. As soon as the plane departs the airport it starts _________________________.
6. Through _____________________ in the floor they can see the sky over France.
7. The flight from Paris to London never even ___________________ to the English Channel.
8. Just 16 seconds after the start of the crisis the crew ___________________________ the plane.
9. The huge plane ________________ and banks to the left.
10. The plane starts _____________________________.
¸
VIDEO # 37
A B
1. layout
a) knowledge or understanding of a particular subject or a situation
2. to be subject to
b) an official document which permits to do, own, or use smth.
3. to fire
c) not suitable
4. license
d) a type of lock for a door
5. to revoke
e) to be likely to have, suffer or be affected by smth.
6. to screen
f) when someone or something is very much dependant on someone or something else
7. fitness
g) to become better
8. to dive
h) to take medical test to see if someone has an illness
9. latch
i) to force someone to leave their job, to dismiss someone from one’s job
10 over-relianced
j) being very tired
11 awareness
k) conditions, when you are healthy and strong enough to do hard work or sports
12 to improve
l) to cancel a law, license
13. fatigue
m) to make less forceful
14. improper
n) the way in which the parts of something are arranged according to a plan
15. to blunt
o) to go lower quickly
16. manpower
p) the number of people working or available for work
3. Fill in the gaps with appropriate words given in the box below. Make all necessary changes.
awareness / terrain / to dive / fitness / to improve / to revoke / to be subject / major / screen / to fire /
4. Look through the text below and find the answer to the following question:
✈ “Whose mistakes might lead to aviation events?”
1. Special attention should be paid to wind flow when flights are made over hills or mountainous _______________.
2. The trainee’s flying skills __________________________a lot for recent time.
3. There are two ________________cloud groups, stratus and cumulus.
4. Flights _____________________ to delays after the heavy snowfall.
5. The airline _______________him for being drunk before the scheduled flight.
6. His license _________________recently ______________.
7. The company is offering a free health _________________to all air traffic controllers.
8. Being a pilot requires a high level of physical and psychological _________________.
9. The aircraft appeared to ________________ vertically towards the crowd.
10. Situational __________________(having a picture) is central to the job of air traffic controller.
Though the statistics approves that aviation is the safest mode of transport, a lot of people nowadays are afraid of flying. According to all available information, the reason for the majority of incidents and accidents is the human error.
Indeed human factor is currently the most common factor of aviation crashes. It deals with all the human elements of people in man-machine systems. It covers not only the traditional design and layout of equipment and workplaces, but also all aspects of manpower, organization, management, distribution of responsibility, automation, communication, skills, training, health, safety, and the prevention of errors and accidents.
Pilots’ and controllers’ errors and improper communication are often reason for the collision of aircraft. Using inadequate phraseology can cause misunderstanding and result in a disaster, so the language aspect is also important. If pilots fail to monitor the flight instruments properly and if air traffic controllers fail to monitor aircraft tracks on radar screens and provide necessary separation between aircraft properly can have catastrophic consequences.
Rarely, flight crew members are arrested or subject to disciplinary action for being intoxicated on the job. In 2002 two America West pilots were arrested just before they were scheduled to fly from Miami, Florida, to Arizona, because they had been drinking alcohol. The pilots have been fired from America West and the FAA revoked their pilot’s licenses.
Although most air crews are screened for psychological fitness, some may take suicidal actions. In the case of Egypt Air Flight 990 in 1999, it appears that the first officer (co-pilot) deliberately dove his aircraft into the Atlantic Ocean.
But human factors are not limited to errors made by the pilots and the air traffic controllers. The people concerned are those associated with the total system: designers, equipment suppliers, maintainers, support personnel, instructors and so on.
The failure to close a cargo door properly on Turkish Airlines Flight 981 in 1974 resulted in the loss of the aircraft – however, the design of the cargo door latch was also a major factor in the incident. In case of Japan Airlines Flight 123, improper maintenance resulted in the loss of the vertical stabilizer.
Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) is a class of accident in which an undamaged aircraft is flown, under control, into terrain. These accidents typically are a result of pilot error or navigational system error. Some pilots, over-relianced on advanced electronic navigational systems such as GPS, INS, Flight Management System computers, are partially responsible for these accidents. Crew awareness and careful monitoring of navigational systems can prevent CFIT accidents.
Other technical aids can be used to help pilots maintain situational awareness. A ground-collision warning system is an on-board system that will alert a pilot if the aircraft is about to fly into the ground. Another on-board system, the TCAS computer, scans the airspace around the aircraft and in case an intruder aircraft is detected, it determines if evasive action is necessary, and if so what kind of evasive actions has to be taken.
Flight incidents seldom happen because of deliberate non-observance of the established rules. Usually aviation events occur in circumstances which appear to be above opportunities of the person. Thus, while analyzing actions of the person during aviation incident or accident, his decision and acts it is necessary to take into account the level of working capacity of the person which depends on a limit of his physical and psychological opportunities, knowledge, qualification, skills, experience. The person is subject to such a big number of variable factors, various situations and circumstances that to predict all of them is very difficult. Therefore much attention should be given to all factors which can influence the particular person. In other words, it is necessary to analyze not only mistakes of a person, but also the reason for which they have occurred.
5. Read the text again. Find the information which could help prove the following statement:
Q “Self-calmness, self-assurance, absence of self-discipline can blunt feeling of danger and can lead to a bad end”
VIDEO # 39
Unit 9C. Exercise 5.
6. Report the situation using as many details as possible.
¸
VIDEO # 40
Events
Reasons for events
Hanging by a thread
A few rivets caused a tail to blow away
Blow out
An aircraft appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time and was shot by mistake
Flying blind
Being in the cockpit a child pressed some buttons and caused aircraft to crash
Out of control
Piece of tape with glue covered static ports that had to provide data on altitude and speed (static ports should be covered during cleaning, but then any piece of tape should be removed)
Kid in the cockpit
Tiny fatigue crack caused a roof to blow away
Attack over Baghdad
Wrong sized bolts caused a windscreen to blow away and a pilot to suck out
A B
1. fascinating
a) being controlled by computers and designed to react in a suitable way depending on the situation
2. mystery
b) not happening very often; unusual
3. smart
c) very interesting
4. to be faced with smth
d) to deal with difficulties or a difficult situation
5. rare
e) to do something, especially task/duty
6. to perform
f) an event that people don’t understand or can’t explain
7. useful
g) helpful, something that can help one do something
VIDEO # 41
Q Why is traveling by plane so popular nowadays?
Q What factors can affect safe flying?
Q Are modern aircraft reliable enough?
Q Have accidents reduced in number nowadays? Why? Why not?
A B
1. mysteriously
a) district
2. neighborhood
b) to find out
3. to mobilise
c) combined material
4. to determine
d) to be similar to
5. to assume
e) discovery
6. clue
f) to hurry when it is not necessary, to make false start
Can you describe your working conditions? Are you satisfied with them?
VIDEO # 8
Explain the following words and phrases in English. 
Listening and Speaking Bank.
Unit 4B. Exercise 14-15. Read the instructions and do the task.
16. Match the words and phrases to their definitions.
A pilot needs to know wind direction and speed as wind might affect flight negatively. En route the headwind may delay the arrival of flights and is to be avoided if possible. The tailwind can be of a great advantage as it increases the ground speed and results in reduction of fuel consumption. As for the cross wind it is extremely dangerous for an aircraft, especially on landing. An aircraft loses speed and might not get on the RW. What is more, it can cause a crash of the aircraft. Winds vary with altitude and also from one place to another, so information about wind is very important.
Windshear is also a danger for an aircraft making steep turns near the ground. The different airspeed experienced by each wing tip can result in an aerodynamic stall on one wing, causing a loss of control.
As the result of the accidents in the 1970s and 1980s, in 1988 the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration mandated that all commercial aircraft had to be equipped with on-board windshear detection systems. Since 1995, the number of major civil aircraft accidents caused by windshear has dropped to approximately one every ten years.
Speak about any real situation when windshear caused a serious aviation event.
What weather phenomena influence visibility?
4. Under what weather conditions is landing prohibited?
Listening and Speaking Bank.
Unit 5C. Exercise 2-3.
Read the instructions and do the task.
What weather phenomena can influence RW condition?
2. What is bad RW condition?
3. Why is black ice dangerous for an aircraft?
4. Can you describe perfect RW condition?
5. Can you describe any real situation when bad RW condition resulted in a serious accident?
There are some hazardous weather phenomena which can seriously affect RW condition. They are heavy precipitation, such as snow, rain and freezing rain and sleet, changeable temperature, ice, etc. Ice and snow can make braking and taxing difficult or impossible if severe enough. Freezing rain might cause icing of an aircraft and RW surface. It reduces braking action and might be the reason for sliding off the RW or undercarriage problem which can lead to a serious incident or accident.
Look through the 3 characteristics of a RW and cross the odd out.
Does temperature influence flying?
15. Round-talk table.
3. The copilot was killed after a vulture ___________________ the windshield during cruise.
4. The explosion ________________all the windows.
5. At most airports a special bird patrolis used _______________ flocks of birds_________ from the runways.
6. The pilot attempted to return to the airport but ___________________ trees just south of the airport.
7. One engine began to vibrate because it _____________________a big bird.
Answer the following questions:
accidents occur shortly before, after, or during takeoff or landing, and are often described as resulting from 'human error'; mid-flight disasters are rare. Among other things, the latter have been caused by bombs. An accident survey of ______ aircraft accidents from_______through ________determined the causes to be as follows:
2. Match the words in column A to their definitions in column B in the table given below.
Some structural failures are closely connected with metal fatigue. Metal fatigue is a term that we often hear, but seldom fully understand. What is it and when does it occur? Metal fatigue is a fracture mechanism. When things are broken due to metal fatigue, the fracture surface will have certain visible characteristics. Fatigue occurs when a metal or non-metal (plastic or composite) component is subject to swinging or cyclic stress and strain. Material fatigue can also result from pressurization and depressurization of an aircraft during takeoff and landing, or high winds causing the wings to move up and down.
Technological advances and failure analysis have led to numerous ways to minimize the probability of starting fatigue cracks. Various inspection techniques are used looking for any fatigue cracks which might be growing. The idea here is to find and repair or replace the cracked component before the crack reaches a critical size. As with all serious emergencies the first option any crew will want is to get the aircraft safely onto the ground as soon as possible. This problem might also demand slow turns and descents. So the controller must provide immediate diversion to the nearest airfield available.
Look through the text and think of a title. Then read the text and answer the questions.
A review of accidents caused by fuel problems reveals that many power failures were due to use of improper fuel or careless servicing – fuelling aircraft from poorly filtered tanks.
Indeed human factor is currently the most common factor of aviation crashes. It deals with all the human elements of people in man-machine systems. It covers not only the traditional design and layout of equipment and workplaces, but also all aspects of manpower, organization, management, distribution of responsibility, automation, communication, skills, training, health, safety, and the prevention of errors and accidents.
But human factors are not limited to errors made by the pilots and the air traffic controllers. The people concerned are those associated with the total system: designers, equipment suppliers, maintainers, support personnel, instructors and so on.
Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) is a class of accident in which an undamaged aircraft is flown, under control, into terrain. These accidents typically are a result of pilot error or navigational system error. Some pilots, over-relianced on advanced electronic navigational systems such as GPS, INS, Flight Management System computers, are partially responsible for these accidents. Crew awareness and careful monitoring of navigational systems can prevent CFIT accidents.
Flight incidents seldom happen because of deliberate non-observance of the established rules. Usually aviation events occur in circumstances which appear to be above opportunities of the person. Thus, while analyzing actions of the person during aviation incident or accident, his decision and acts it is necessary to take into account the level of working capacity of the person which depends on a limit of his physical and psychological opportunities, knowledge, qualification, skills, experience. The person is subject to such a big number of variable factors, various situations and circumstances that to predict all of them is very difficult. Therefore much attention should be given to all factors which can influence the particular person. In other words, it is necessary to analyze not only mistakes of a person, but also the reason for which they have occurred.
Unit 1E, exercise 9.