Description

According to the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) Approach-and-landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) Briefing Note 2.1 — Human Factors, "Effective communication is achieved when our intellectual process for interpreting the information contained in a message accommodates the message being received."

The briefing note summarises the process as follows:

• How do we perceive the message?
• How do we reconstruct the information contained in the message?
• How do we link the information to an objective or to an expectation?
• What amount of bias or error is introduced in the process?

and points out that the "following factors may affect adversely the understanding of communications:

• High workload;
• Fatigue;
• Nonadherence to the "sterile cockpit rule";
• Interruptions;
• Distractions; and/or,
• Conflicts and pressures.

"The result may include:

• Incomplete communication;
• Omission of the aircraft call sign or use of an incorrect call sign;
• Use of nonstandard phraseology; and,
• Failure to listen of respond."

Further Reading

• ALLCLEAR? Toolkit

Flight Safety Foundation

• ALAR Briefing Note 2.1 — Human Factors

The Flight Safety Foundation ALAR Toolkit provides useful training information and guides to best practice. Copies of the FSF ALAR Toolkit may be ordered from the Flight Safety Foundation ALAR website

EUROCONTROL

• Human Factors Module: Interpersonal Communication

Other Sources

• Language Quality Based Heuristic effects in ATC radio communication - a paper presented at the EAAP 28° conference in Valencia in October 2008