PRACTICE PAPER #24 – UNUSUAL RADIO OPERATIONS

Standard radio communications have been worked on in PP #10,

PP #24 will therefore focus on unusual radio operations such as loss of communications, radio failure, and emergency communications.

Review the vocabulary here.

2 – listening comprehension

Listen to the live traffic recording below and find the missing words in this article, published in Infopilote in August 2011.

It follows NWA 188 as it flew across several American states without any radio contact with ATC and/or airline dispatchers for more than one hour, eventually overshooting its destination.

3 – reading comprehension

To get some insights on why the incident happened, read these extracts of articles from CNN and The Atlantic, then answer these questions:

a – check the meaning of « snafu » on wikipedia . To whom is the coining of the word attributed?

b – on what subject was the first officer giving instructions to the captain?

c – what raised alarm on the flight deck?

d – again on wikipedia , check the legal meaning of « frolic ». In your opinion, were the pilots engaged in a frolic, a detour, or were they just « disengaged » as the FAA also adds?

If you are interested in more information, here are the 5 pages of the NTSB final report.

4 – general English corner

Today is Good Friday, the first day of the Easter holiday. The general English corner will take you where Brexit and Easter overlap: the Good Friday Agreement.

You’ll find here an introduction to the Agreement, found on the Northern Ireland Assembly educational site, and some extracts from an article by The Atlantic, explaining the impact of Brexit on this delicate balance.

a – Why is the Agreement known as the Good Friday Agreement?

b – What were the leaders of the two main political parties involved in the process awarded?

c – Which party didn’t support the agreement?

d – What is the DUP afraid of today?

5 – word game

Find here a word cloud, and a word search.

In the former, find 15 words that jump out at you, and place them in the latter.

Once you have completed the word search, the unused letters in the first 4 lines will give you a hidden message.

This hidden message will lead you to a mystery word.

Answers

3 – reading comprehension

a – the American or British military during WWII. b – the new crew flight scheduling procedure, following the merger of Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines. c – a call from a flight attendant inquiring about their ETA. d – it’s open for debate, but by adding this specific legal term, the FAA protected the airline if a lawsuit was filed.

4 – general English corner

a – it was signed on Good Friday in 1998. b – the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize. c – the DUP, the party on which Theresa May has to rely on today to have a majority at the House of Commons. d – that being treated differently from the rest of the UK, such as remaining in the EU customs union after Brexit, might mean a United Ireland in the medium to long term.

5 – word game

Solution