Miscommunication in commercial aviation : the role of accent, speech rate, information density, and politeness markers

Objective: This study is specifically designed to examine the effect of accent (native or non-native English sounding), rate of speech, complexity of transmission (information density), and politeness markers on commercial pilot (mis)communication. Background: Aviation accident reports often cite miscommunication as a contributing factor. Anecdotal reports from pilots, along with limited empirical studies on pilot communication, further confirm that miscommunication remains a problem. Method: Approximately 250 ATC-Pilot transmissions from each of four international airports: Kingsford Smith, Sydney, Australia (YSSY); Hong Kong International Airport (VHHH); Los Angeles International Airport, USA (KLAX); and Haneda, Tokyo, Japan (RJTT) were analyzed. Pilot communication errors were compared between the four locations based on pilot and ATC accent alignment, rate of speech, number and order of items in transmission, and politeness markers. Results: Native English-sounding pilots committed more errors than accented pilots. Alignment of pilot and ATC language background reduced communication errors, but not when native English speakers were involved. Longer messages increased the number of communication errors. Politeness markers did not affect communication and pilots committed fewer errors when the readback order was not scrambled. Conclusion: Communication errors still occur in ATC-Pilot radio communication. These errors appear more common with native English sounding pilots than accented pilots. Hence, the origin of the problem appears to stem from proficiency in the lingua franca of Aviation English, rather than with the English language.