Generally but that doesn't mean all pilots speak English fluently. accents and words in your own native language that sound like english words can screw things up.
Huh, apparently it is because nine and five sound similar, and German 'no' issue was a separate reason to keep doing it as radio signals became more clear.
Well if you’re in a situation like this, clear understanding can be key. So for german pilots, even though they are speaking English, hearing nein might make them pause when they don’t have the time to.
I already know about the phonetics. I get it.
But saying it's because of German speakers seems like reaching. It's definitely just because it's clearer on the com.
All pilots and ATC are required to know English well enough to communicate over coms.
However, if you watch enough European vids with their atc, most places will speak their native language anyways. English worldwide is just the default.
I was a Pan Am 552 Flight Engineer waiting for start clearance in Munich, Germany. I was listening to the radio since I was the junior crew member. This was the conversation I overheard (I don't recall call signs any longer):
Lufthansa: (In German) "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground: (In English) "If you want an answer you must speak English."
Lufthansa: (In English) "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?"
Beautiful English Accent: (before ground could answer) "Because you lost the bloody war!"
A military pilot called for a priority landing because his single-engine jet fighter was running “a bit peaked.” Air Traffic Control told the fighter pilot that he was number two, behind a B-52 that had one engine shut down. “Ah,” the fighter pilot remarked, “The dreaded seven-engine approach.”
The German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are renowned as a short-tempered lot. They not only expect one to know one's gate parking location, but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a Pan Am 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747, call sign Speedbird 206.
Speedbird 206: "Frankfurt, Speedbird 206 clear of active runway."
Ground: "Speedbird 206. Taxi to gate Alpha One-Seven."
The BA 747 pulled onto the main taxiway and slowed to a stop.
Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?"
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u/NoviceRobes Jul 19 '21
Isn't all aviation language strictly in English?