Contact: Linda Granell(909) 335-5195Ref. # 02-17
September 27, 2001
LINGUIST PROMOTES AIRLINE SAFETY THROUGH LANGUAGE
Airline travelers today also need to be aware of who is in the cockpit - specifically, can their pilot communicate well enough to avoid disaster?
A University of Redlands professor will receive national recognition for her work to improve airline safety by ensuring pilots and air traffic controllers can communicate using English, the official international aviation language.
Marjo Mitsutomi, assistant professor in education with a doctor of philosophy in applied linguistics, will receive the Federal Aviation Administration's Commitment to Safety Award Thursday, Oct. 4, in Washington, D.C., for her work with The English Project.
"I stumbled onto the problem by having married a flight school owner," said Mitsutomi. After learning about unsafe conditions due to pilots and air traffic controllers having difficulty with the language, including several near runway collisions and near misses, Mitsutomi developed a proposal for English language standards and standardized testing of English proficiency. The Federal Aviation Administration's regulations were too vague, requiring only that pilots be able to "read, speak, write and understand English."
In 1998, Mitsutomi and Kathleen O'Brien, safety program manager in the Long Beach Flight Standards District Office, began briefing aviation groups on the need for testing of English speaking and competency skills for non-native English speaking pilots, as well as air traffic controllers.
"There are no standards, and there is no test," said Mitsutomi. "I don't think it is enough for a pilot to simply learn a list of standard words and repeat the jargon during a any given flight.
"What they need to be able to do is to use the language to be able to negotiate meaning during routine and non-routine situations. But that's not spelled out anywhere.
"Upon initial licensing, now pilots either flunk or pass depending on the inspector."
"The industry has designed standard phrases and standard procedures for standard situations," said Mitsutomi. "If everything in a flight remains standard, then it is okay to communicate with a list of standard phrases. But life happens and not every situation is standard."
The project has quickly gained support. "The issue is so compelling that it tends to draw people," said Mitsutomi. She made a presentation at the FAA's national safety summit last year in Washington, D.C. The group prepared a list of the 10 most important concerns from its summit, and the standardization of air traffic control language was on the list. The FAA's Pilot English Competency Working Group was formed earlier this year, with Mitsutomi onboard. The International Civil Aviation Organization has formed its Proficiency Requirements in Common English group, with Mitsutomi as a member.
"Until now, it has been awareness raising," said Mitsutomi. "From here, the work starts."
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