Ask the Captain: Is air-traffic control hard to understand?

Q: Listening to pilots and air-traffic controllers on the website Liveatc.com, specifically at JFK airport, I am always amazed at how the pilots understand the commands from the controller. They speak so fast, and some of the foreign pilots speak English with heavy accents. How do pilots remember and then repeat all of the instructions from ATC? Is it something they learn from experience, training or both?

— Bob, Long Island, N.Y.

A:  Listening and understanding radio calls from ATC is a learned skill. Pilots fly for many years, working with ATC. The more experienced crews fly into more complex airports. Part of the training process for first officers before upgrading to captain is experiencing many different ATC environments.

Experience is the primary means of learning ATC instructions and radio phraseology, but training provides the foundation.

Q: I am curious about how pilots and air-traffic control communicate with each other,  particularly on international flights. Also, since altitude and airspeed can fall under English or metric measurements, how do international situations handle those?

— Marc St. Paul, Austin

A: On international flights, the critical data are increasingly linked up and down via the Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC). This includes route, altitude, speed and position. Voice communication is always available in English. Aviation uses a mixture of English and metric measurements in many countries.

Q: I've been told that one of the trickier parts of flying has nothing to do with flying, it's navigating runways at major airports.  What does a captain do in a situation where a runway instruction isn't clear?  Do they stay in contact for “progressive taxi” instructions?

— Jeffrey, Canfield, Ohio

A: Taxiing can be the most challenging part of a flight. During inclement weather, ATC can offer help of progressive taxi instruction. Airliners do not use it often, but it is occasionally needed.

As in any ATC instruction, if there is any ambiguity, then clarification is mandatory. There must be agreement by both pilots on the route and location of the runway. If there is a difference of opinion or understanding, then clarification is requested.

Q: Have you had problems with communications between pilot and ATC?

— Jose, Chicago

A: My relationship with ATC has been good over the years. Occasionally, there have been some communication problems caused by a misunderstanding of a frequency, or flying in a location where radio contact was very difficult. Overall, my answer would be that I have had very few communication problems with these professionals.

John Cox is a retired airline captain with US Airways and runs his own aviation safety consulting company, Safety Operating Systems.