Improve Communication Skills

Effective communication amongst flight crew members is an essential prerequisite for achieving technical, procedural and crew resource management objectives

A civil aircraft is permitted to commence regular operations only after regulatory approval; the aim being to ensure an error-free product. However, the possibility of latent errors cannot be ignored. The recent episodes of snags with the battery on the Boeing 787 that led to the grounding of the fleet worldwide is a case in point. While regulatory approval aims at error-free aircraft, errors may creep in during routine flight operations on account of large numbers and diverse groups of personnel. Errors can be prevented and safety ensured only if the diverse groups work as a team which is contingent on proper coordination amongst 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 operation of flights. Communications is that vital link that ensures good coordination between the different agencies. Thus understanding communications is important for anyone connected with aviation, more importantly for the flight crew. This is because flight crew are aviation’s last line of defence to prevent a mishap.

Effective Communication

Communication is useful only when it is effective, in that the transfer of information from the sender to the receiver should lead to a common meaning shared by both on completion of the transaction. This can only happen when both the sender and the receiver actively participate in the process. This entails a responsibility not only on the sender to send the appropriate message and obtain or elicit feedback in order to determine whether or not the communication was effective, but also on the part of the receiver to provide honest feedback. Effective communication is a two-way process and is effective only when the desired understanding or action takes place. In the fatal accident at Mangalore involving an Air India Express aircraft, the First Officer had thrice communicated to the Commander to “go around”, but no such action was initiated by the Commander during the approach and touchdown. The communication in this case was ineffective.

Communications and Crew Resource Management

Effective communication amongst flight crew members is an essential prerequisite for achieving technical, proced ural and crew resource management objectives. The communication process amongst the flight crew fulfils many important functions and could include some or all of the following:

• Transfer of information in the form of checklists, logs and real time (R/T).
• Interpersonal/team relationships which are crucial in any highly effective team primarily because humans are emotional, in addition to being rational beings.
• Shaping predictable behaviour and expectations from the other crew members through the medium of briefings and critiques.
• Helps the crew to develop a shared mental model about the location, spatial orientation, environment, aircraft systems, time and fuel, thereby enhancing situational awareness.
• Allows individual crew members to become aware of problems and to contribute effectively to problem-solving and decision-making on the flight deck.
• Helps the efficient and effective management of the flight with optimum use of available resources, including the crew, through planning, implementing/revising and monitoring 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 which could be face-to-face communications under high workload conditions, on R/T, through written messages or through gestures.

Fa ce-to-Fa ce Communication

In this situation, the message content is dependent just seven per cent on the spoken word. The major part of the message content is conveyed by the tone employed while speaking (38 per cent), and non-verbal aspects of communications (55 per cent) such as body language, eye and facial expressions and postures. The flight 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 these interactions would be stored. It is important to understand that all future interactions on the flight deck would take place keeping the sense of this stored communications in mind.

Face-to-face communication normally includes a pre-flight brief. A good pre-flight brief is very important because it effectively touches nearly every function of communications that is enumerated above. Open questions such as “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 positive message leading to a very effective team that is motivated to perform optimally, both at the individual and team levels.

The Commander has a major role to play in setting this tone but the crew members also need to live up to the transactional analysis dictum of “I am okay, you are okay.” This can only happen if the crew members believe or 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 competent professionals having a vital role during the flight. Operating from the adult ego state would be desirable but depending on the experience of the crew it may at times need to switch between the adult and the ‘nurturing parent/natural child’ ego states. Conflicting and other damaging ego states should be avoided under all circumstances.

High Workload Situations

The contents of the message change completely in a high workload situation, like during a take-off, landing or during non-normal situations. Here words convey 55 per cent of the meaning, the tone another 38 per cent and body language just the balance seven per cent. 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. In such situations, leading questions are dangerous and hence, are 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 per cent through the spoken words and the balance 45 per cent through 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 disaster at Tenerife. Choice of words in verbal communications has significant safety implications. In order to minimise potential ambiguities, there are standard rules regarding words, phrases or other elements that need to be used for communicating. As an example, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (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 and runways to be read back by the crew, as also heard back by the air traffic controllers (ATC). This was introduced to enhance safety following many cases where messages were misinterpreted.

Written Communications

Ninety per cent of the meaning is conveyed through words or symbols in written communications, with only the balance ten per cent through the tone of the message. This implies that the choice and use of words and symbols are critical in written communications such as in standard operating procedures (SOPs), checklists and let down charts. This is even more so in the modern-day cockpits with electronic flight instrument system (EFIS); the choice of symbols, colours, updating of the database, 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 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 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, like while marshalling an aircraft. These require that each signal should convey a common understanding to the sender as well as the receiver. Since aviation is an international profession, hand signals have been standardised and should be used to prevent misunderstanding. Non-standard signals should be avoided.

Accent-free English Language for Communications

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 into 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 that language testing should be undertaken to ensure proficiency. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India 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 interaction. Six levels of competency have been identified and the crew have to attain a minimum of Level Four to operate. The aim of this requirement is to make communications possible and effective. The 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 time-shared between all the active 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 under way, for some other task.

Situations, wherein increased workload tends to shorten sentences, as also reduce their numbers increase 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 copy the clearance and then go over 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. 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. Under conditions of excessive workload, one of the first signs of degraded situational awareness is loss of the ability to listen. Since communications consume a part of the already limited mental resources, it is best to restrict communications to only those relevant to the task during the critical phases of flight. This can be ensured by following the ‘sterile cockpit’ procedures. This will ensure that communications are not distracting the crew during periods of anticipated high workload and would thus help the crew maintain improved situational awareness.

Practice Effective Communications

Effective communications are vital to aircraft operations and more so in the flight deck, as flight deck crews are aviation’s last line of defence to prevent mishaps. Flight crew need to understand the basics of communications and should practice effective communications at all stages of their flight operations. It also needs to be internalised that both the sender and the receiver are equally responsible to ensure the effectiveness of the communication. Proficiency in the English language, use of standardised aviation phraseology, understanding the relevance and importance of read back/hear back and following the laid down procedures during flight operations, including sterile cockpit procedures, would all lead to better communications. Lastly, it needs to be internalised that human beings are emotional beings and store feelings too, in addition to the other contents of the communication. These stored feelings have a tendency to unintentionally interfere with communications between individual human beings, including the flight crew.