Communication Among Flight Crew Members

Aircrew communication is essential in flight operations. It is the means by which all information is passed and understood. Flight crew performance can be directly measured by the effectiveness of its communication process. Flight crews need to train and understand the effects of technology, human behavior and other communication barriers; and how these constantly changing factors affect their communication process and the safety of their daily flying.

Communication among Flight Crew Members

Webster's dictionary defines communication as "1: an act of transmitting. 2: exchange of information or opinions. 3: message. 4: a means of communicating." (Woolf, 1974). This very vague definition of communication would be better described as the ability to clearly and accurately send and acknowledge information or instructions and provide useful or understanding feedback. "There are four basic types of communication: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Communicating effectively is absolutely critical to your success" (Covey, 1989).

Roles Played in Communication

In aviation, effective communication enables us to pass information to and from each other, maintain situational awareness and conduct successful, mishap free missions. This ability to communicate clearly has a process that includes a sender and a receiver, a speaker and a listener. The sender has several responsibilities that include communicating the information in a clear concise accurate manner. The sender must also request feedback from the receiver. The receiver's responsibilities include acknowledging the communication, clarifying and repeating the information back to the sender.

Barriers in Communication

There are many barriers to communication. These barriers must be understood and overcome in order for communication to be successful. These barriers include environmental barriers, physical barriers, psychological barriers and organizational barriers. Each of these may or may not exist in any given situation, but recognition and the ability to overcome them is key to successful communication.

Physical and environmental barriers in aviation could include aircraft engine noise, pneumatic tool noise and being inside and outside the aircraft. Environmental noise causes a phenomenon known as masking. Where the noise from the environment can "mask" certain syllables or frequencies of words, causing the receiver to misunderstand the sender. "Yet even when the designer has done his best within the various economic and state-of-the-art constraints with which he is faced, we are still likely to have a problem to solve. The use of standard words and phrases is helpful but, in such conditions great caution must be used to avoid misinterpretation of partially masked signals through expectation" (Hawkins, 1998). Other physical barriers include other competing stimuli, physical distance and limitations on physical senses. Whether it is a raised decibel in your voice, or a hand signal on the flight line, your communication needs to be kept standard, clear and concise.

Psychological barriers are not as easily identified and they include cultural and gender differences, including language. It also includes the listener's frame of reference and the listener's behavior. Psychological barriers are anything that causes the receiver to receive an inaccurate or distorted version of the message. "At the root of most communication problems are perception or credibility problems. Our experience-induced perceptions greatly influence our feelings, beliefs, and behavior. Perception and credibility problems may ultimately result in communication breakdowns" (Covey, 1992). Another way to understand perception is to understand that everyone comes from different backgrounds and experiences. People also have a wide range of emotions, desires and beliefs. The effective communicator will take these perceptions into account to be successful.

Organizational barriers result from characteristics that are inherent to the organization. They are the result, or side effect, of decisions that have been made by the organization's leaders. Three organizational barriers that are apparent today are the organization structure and sub-culture. The military has a definite rank structure and results in a positive flow of information, however can severely hinder the free, spontaneous communication between people. The sub-cultures that exist in our society contain languages of their own. In aviation, for example, redundancy and over-familiarization with the standard communications may encourage pilots to "liven-up" their communications. They can be disastrous and embarrassing as the following captain found out: "I called for clearance to St. Louis as follows: "Clearance deliver, company ident (identification), ATIS info, federal aid to St. Louis." "Federal Aid" was meant to mean FAA clearance in a joking fashion. The controller misinterpreted this to mean that we were being hijacked and called the FBI and airport police" (Matchette, 1995). Communication within the aviation community is standard almost to the point of redundancy. If you are confused by the terminology or message that is being conveyed, ask for clarification. Discourage internal desires of wanting to use new or humorous terminology, if your language is misinterpreted, it may not be so humorous.

Conclusion

Overcoming these communication barriers is a never-ending challenge. Understanding the barriers and acknowledging their existence is the first step to managing them. By using active listening techniques, using the appropriate method of communication at the proper decibel, when needed, using standard terminology and requiring feedback can eliminate much of the common barriers that we face in our day to day communication challenges. The resolution to the ever-metamorphosing problem of communicating effectively in an uncooperative environment will never be complete. It is an on-going challenge, and must be met head-on by training our flight crews to communicate and lead effectively. One of the greatest dangers of effective communication is the illusion of it. Effective communication is vital in the flight station and onboard aircraft. Be aware of the communication barriers and attempt to overcome them.

Resources

Covey, S. (1989). Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. (pp. 237). New York,

NY: Simon and Schuster.

Covey, S. (1992). Principle-Centered Leadership. (pp. 109; 118). New York, NY:

Fireside Books.

Hawkins, F. (1998). Human Factors in Flight (2^nd ed.) (pp. 161). Brooksfield, VT:

Ashgate Publishing Company.
Matchette, R. (1995). Nonstandard pharseology incidens. ASRS Directline, Issue 7.

Woolf, H. (Ed.). (1974). The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. New York, NY:

Merriam Co.