Something a little bit different, we have previously following Air Force 1, also heard John Travolta and even Harrison Ford - and now we will listen to the movements of TF-AAK B747 - also known as Ed Force One.  The plane used for flying Iron Maiden around on their current world tour. 

Here's the first stop, Fort Lauderdale. With all the publicity about this plane, there is still some confusion about the callsign. The pilots said "Atlanta 666", controllers said "Iron Maiden 666".

Have a listen to this recording.  We have previously talked about communications with famous people, but do you think the knowledge of communicating with a famous person or plane my deter some ATC professionals in doing their job properly?  Discuss.

ATC Recording - Iron Maiden Ed Force One Tour

An Emirates Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration A6-EMW performing flight EK-521 from Thiruvananthapuram (India) to Dubai (United Arab Emirates) with 282 passengers and 18 crew, was on final approach to Dubai's runway 12L at 12:41L (08:41Z) but attempted to go around from low height. 

The aircraft however did not climb, but after retracting the gear touched down on the runway and burst into flames. All occupants evacuated via slides, 13 passengers received minor injuries, 10 were taken to hospitals, 3 treated at the airport. The aircraft burned down completely. A firefighter attending to the aircraft lost his life.

Have a listen to this recording and note how all the communications were handled and managed.  Any form of accident or incident is a serious issue and has certain levels of stress involved for all parties.  As a student or new ATC recruit, would you have communicated any differently in this situation?

ATC Recording - Emirates B777 emergency landing & fire  at Dubai International (3rd Aug 2016)

In this recording from 2003 Melbourne Centre responds to a Cessna 172 (VH-KWV) in distress over Westernport Bay near Phillip Island in Victoria (Australia). 

The pilot has reported a problem relating to engine icing but has trouble communicating further details via the VHF radio. 

ATC direct another aircraft (Piper VH-DTF) towards the distressed one to maintain a visual watch and to relay communications. 

Have a listen to this recording and not how the communications were managed.  If another aircraft were not available, how would you have handled this situation?

ATC Recording - Cessna 172 emergency over Phillip Island, Victoria (Australia)

Recorded in October 2003, Air Force One checks in with Melbourne Centre over Southern New South Wales en-route to Canberra, Australia. 

Also on frequency are two Royal Australian Air Force F/A 18 Hornets (callsign "Cobra") which were dispatched to intercept and escort AF1 from a location near the town of Wagga Wagga.

Have a listen to this recording.  Do you think the communications with Air Force 1 is or should be the same as communicating with a commercial aircraft?

ATC Recording - Air Force One flying into Canberra (Australia)

An American Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration N106NN performing flight AA-179 from New York JFK,NY to San Francisco,CA (USA), was on final approach to San Francisco's runway 28L at about 14:37L when the crew received a windshear alert and initiated a go-around. 

The crew climbed to 5000 feet and positioned for another approach to runway 28L. The aircraft landed safely on its second approach to runway 28L about 12 minutes after the go-around, the crew maintained routine communication from go around to landing.

The aircraft had received a lightning strike while climbing out after the go-around and was unable to continue its schedule. The aircraft remained on the ground in San Francisco about 25 hours after landing due to undergoing a complete inspection.

Have a listen to this recording and note how the pilot communicated the windshear and the need of the go-around. Also note how the overall incident was handled by all parties.  KSFO airport is a very busy airport, how and what would you have communicated to other aircraft that were also flying within the area?

ATC Recording - American Airbus A-321 suffers lightning strike during go-around (Jan 22 2017)

A Nippon Cargo Airlines Boeing 747-800, registration JA11KZ performing freight flight KZ-192 from Chicago O'Hare,IL (USA) to Frankfurt Hahn (Germany), was in the initial climb out of O'Hare's runway 28R when the crew reported they flew through a flock of large birds.

The report listed about 20-25 birds, at about 1500 feet AGL and 4 or 5 birds hit the windscreen and were all over the windscreen. 

The crew indicated that all systems were working normally and they wanted to carry on. The crew was handed off to departure frequency and was cleared to climb to 15,000 feet when the crew indicated they might return to Chicago to have that mess left by the flock of birds looked after. 

After levelling off at 15,000 feet the crew decided to return to Chicago as a precaution to have the aircraft checked, they were not sure about their weather radar. The aircraft returned to Chicago for a safe landing on O'Hare's runway 28C about 25 minutes after departure.

Have a listen to this recording and take note of the immediate action the crew undertook.  Also listen to the language used when communicating their intentions.  Birds are an ongoing issues for many airports and such occurances are common.  Have you ever encountered a bird strike in your professional duties - if so, how did you react?

ATC Recording - Nippon Cargo Boeing 747-8 strikes a flock of large birds at Chicago (Jan 21 2017)

A Mesa Airlines Canadair CRJ-700 on behalf of United, registration N515MJ performing flight YV-6176/UA-6176 from Washington Dulles,DC to Nashville,TN (USA) with 65 people on board, was descending through about 15,000 feet towards Nashville when the crew observed a rapid loss of fuel and declared emergency. About 3 minutes later the right hand engine's (CF34) fire warning activated, the crew pulled the fire handle and discharged the fire bottles. 

About 2 minutes after the fire warning the crew reported the fire warning was still active. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Nashville's runway 31 about 9 minutes after the observed loss of fuel, came to a safe stop on the runway and was evacuated.

The FAA reported the crew observed a loss of fuel, subsequently received a #2 engine fire warning, pulled the fire handle, discharged the fire bottles, the fire warning ceased. Passengers and crew exited the aircraft via stairs onto the runway.

Emergency services reported a hot spot was located at the engine.

Have a listen to this recording and take note of how the communications were handled - and also pay attention as to how the crew worked and communicated professionally while encountering a potentially catastrophic situation.  Airlines have comprehensive training and simulator programs that prepare crew members for such situations - but how do you think you'll react when encountering such an incident while in the air?

ATC Recording - Mesa CRJ7 near Nashville, fuel leak followed by engine fire warning (26 Jan 2017)

A Virgin Australia Boeing 737 departing Melbourne for Brisbane (VOZ319) on RWY27 reportedly struck an eagle carrying a rabbit on takeoff. 

The crew declared a PAN after cockpit indications showed excessive vibration on the number one engine. ATC vectored the aircraft for a RWY16 approach where an uneventful landing was carried out.

Unfortunately the ATC transmissions can't be clearly heard in this recording due to weak reception/distance.

Have a listen to this communication.  Animal hazards (particularly bird strikes) are common at many airports.  Do you think the communications relating to this incident are correct.  How do you think they would differ if the engine had ceased to operate?

ATC Recording - Virgin Australia 737 declares PAN after bird strike (20 Oct 2017)

A Mesa Airlines Canadair CRJ-900 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N932LR performing flight YV-5723/AA-5723 from Birmingham,AL to Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA) with 79 passengers and 4 crew, was climbing out of Birmingham's runway 24 when the crew reported they needed to return immediately due to smoke in the cabin. The aircraft stopped the climb at 7000 feet and was positioning for the approach to runway 24, when the crew updated flight attendants had just reported there was a bag emitting the smoke, they didn't really know what it was, they needed to evacuate after landing. The aircraft landed safely on runway 24 about 15 minutes after departure, after landing the crew decided they were able to taxi to the apron and taxied to the apron with emergency services in trail.

The aircraft remained on the ground for about 4:20 hours, then departed again and reached Dallas with a delay of 4.5 hours.

Have a listen to this recording and note the standard of communications used.  Also note that airport authorities allowed aircraft movements to continue while passengers were on the tarmac.  Do you agree that this is standard practice or not?

ATC Recording - Mesa Airlines CRJ9 returns to Birmingham (AL) with smoke in cabin (24 Oct 2017)

A Qantas Boeing 747-400, registration VH-OEH performing flight QF-73 from Sydney,NS (Australia) to San Francisco,CA (USA), was enroute at FL310 about 230nm northeast of Sydney when the crew decided to turn back and return to Sydney due to a problem with the autopilot. The aircraft dumped fuel and landed safely back on Sydney's runway 16R about 2 hours after departure.

The aircraft remained on the ground for about 2:45 hours, then departed again and is estimated to have reached San Francisco with a delay of about 5 hours.

Passengers reported the climb had been unusually bumpy. Some time later the crew announced they would return to Sydney because the autopilot wasn't working. On the ground maintenance worked on the aircraft, passengers understood a part of the autopilot was replaced, then departed again.

The airline reported a technical issue which was not a safety issue prompted the return of the aircraft.

Have a listen to this recording of the reporting of a fault and the request for turnaround.  Would you expect the passengers to be totally informed of all aspects of this incident?

Please discuss...

ATC Recording - Qantas flight to San Fransisco returned to Sydney due to fault (21 Oct 2017)

An Etihad Boeing 777-300, registration A6-ETR performing flight EY-450 (dep Oct 13th) from Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) to Sydney,NS (Australia) with 349 people on board, was enroute at FL370 about 290nm northnorthwest of Adelaide,SA (Australia) when the crew received a cargo smoke indication and diverted the aircraft to Adelaide. Cabin crew were just serving breakfast when they terminated the service and rapidly prepared the cabin for landing. The aircraft landed on Adelaide's runway 23 about 50 minutes later. The aircraft vacated the runway and stopped on a taxiway, where passengers disembarked via stairs. 

The passengers were rebooked onto other domestic flights from Adelaide to Sydney.

The occurrence aircraft was still on the ground and being checked in Adelaide about 25 hours after landing.  The airline later reported a recirculation fan in the cargo hold caused the smoke indication.

Have a listen to this recording and note the tone of the crew.  Witness the distinct tone of exasperation from the crew when arrangements to evacuate the aircraft aren't being progressed as expeditiously as might be expected in the circumstances.

The audio clip has been edited and covers a period of over 2 hours.

ATC Recording - Etihad B773 near Adelaide, cargo smoke indication (14 Oct 2017)

Aviation English Academy (AEA) is an Australian based school that focuses on the teaching, regulation and research of the specialised language that forms Aviation English.

We are a separate school under one of Australia's most innovative learning centres - Pine View College.  Staffed by qualified professionals who have a strong history and interest in the aviation sector, as well as fully experienced ESL teachers, and finally with the technological expertise and infrastructure of our parent school, you can be assured that the training, information and resources provided by AEA will allow you and your organisation to comfortably comply with the international standards for Aviation English.

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