✈️Aviation English

2021-09-28 07:30:58 Clogged fuel filters can cause fuel starvation that in its turn will jeopardize safety of the flight.
If a fuel filter is clogged, it means fuel is not delivered to the engine and it will cut off soon. Open / Comment

2021-09-27 07:20:17 Crash axes are usually located in the cockpit and are used by the crew in case of crash landing when the door is blocked and it is necessary to make a puncture hole in the fuselage skin to get out of a plane. Otherwise pilots can be evacuated using escape ropes- they will get out of the cockpit through the windows by means of ropes.

It goes without saying that all planes are equipped with portable fire extinguishers. Crew members have to apply them if there is a visible source of fire in the cabin and it is necessary to put it out immediately.In this case cabin crew can put on fire gloves for preventing burns of the skin and smoke hoods for preventing poisoning with smoke.

Some operators have fire proof blankets onboard which can be used to suffocate fire by cutting off oxygen supply.



The answer to this question has to be like this) Open / Comment

2021-09-27 07:14:17 Why is there a lot of emergency equipment on the board?

The thing is that majority of the flights are smooth nowadays. But nobody is secured from abnormal situations and emergencies.These cases cannot be foreseen but both flight and cabin crew have to be ready to deal with them and that is where emergency equipment is in need.

Actually,all commercial planes are fitted with emergency equipment like fire extinguishers,oxygen masks, crash axes,life vests,emergency slides,escape ropes.

If a flight is carried out over the sea or ocean for a definite time, life vests and rafts are essential.They will be used in case of ditching.Life vests are located under the passenger seats and cabin crew provides the passengers with the instructions how to put them on and inflate in case of necessity.

(to be continued) Open / Comment

2021-09-27 07:11:06 Some days ago I had the first lesson with a new student; it was a preparation for SELCAL(ICAO Aviation English exam in Aeroflot and S7 in Russia)
A peculiarity of SELCAL is that there is a list of questions for the exam.But! It doesn't mean that if you write 3-4 sentences for each question, learn them by heart, you will pass it and will get your cherished 4th level. Alas no.

Firstly, 3 sentences are not enough.(Quite often students say to me: I don't know what else I can say here.)

Secondly, an examinator is sure to hear a rehearsed speech and will definitely interrupt you and will ask additional questions.(I usually do it at the exam.)

Thus,what am I driving at?-Don't try to learn 100 mini-answers for 100 questions of this exam. Try to give extended answers!

Let's consider one of the questions from SELCAL list.
Why is there a lot of emergency equipment on board?
In most cases students enumerate all emergency equipment.It is one sentence.And that's all.They are at a loss for ideas what to say further. Open / Comment

2021-09-25 13:24:00 It is obvious that if pilots and ATCs don't stick to standard phraseology and use plain English, this information may be MISLEADING and it can be misunderstood.

There were a lot of misleading warnings in the cockpit at that moment. Open / Comment

2021-09-23 07:29:05 Sometimes my students are sick and tired of the usage of "it can lead to", "it can result in" because in Aviation English we often speculate on cause and effect. And sometimes I hear such question: "I have too many "it can lead to" phrases in my answer.What can I say instead?"

There are more advanced phrases:
-it can entail
-it can account for
-it can give rise to

Mind that ENTAIL is not followed with any preposition.

Bird ingestion into the engine entailed engine vibration.
His abusive behavior gave rise to a penalty upon arrival. Open / Comment

2021-09-22 07:30:19 If something or someone mitigates a risk, they make the effects of a loss or risk less unpleasant, harmful, or serious.

E.g.

Airport authorities try to MITIGATE THE RISK of bird strikes with the use of bird scaring techniques such as broadcasting of bird distress signals or firing of pyrotechnic bird scaring cartridges. Open / Comment

2021-09-20 09:20:31 Open / Comment

2021-09-19 11:54:35 September 17th, 2021
United Airlines Boeing 737-900ER

Having arrived in Lewiston (Idaho), the aircraft tipped backwards onto its tail/rear fuselage during disembarkation. No injuries have been reported.

Probable cause - disbalance of weight. We can assume that passengers might have disembarked only from the front door of the 737, so the aircraft was increasingly "tail heavy". Offloading of baggage from the cargo hold could have deteriorated the balance between the front and rear of the jet. Open / Comment