BUS303B Section 2

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Hong Kong Shue Yan University

Group Member List Full Name 1 2 3 4 5 Catherine So Hei Man, Sherman Poon Nga In, Katherine Cheung Ka Ming, Ming Alan Student No. 0930 093046 093052 093059 093 093 E-mail catherine_wong9649@hotmail.com so_518@hotmail.com ngain_poon@hotmail.com kaming86hk@hotmail.com bigchicken2me@hotmail.com samuellin007@hotmail.com

6. Samuel Name of Lecturer: Jim Crowe

Course code and title: BUS 303B Business Communication, Section 2 Topic: Analysis on the Aircraft Accident.

BUS303B Section 2

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Analysis on the Aircraft Accident Effective communication is very important in every part of our lives. Communication contains a linear process with sender and receiver. However, noise interrupts effective communication. In the case of air crash of Avianca, the absence of effective communication leaded a serious aircraft accident. Here are the analyses on this accident. Before the air crash, the pilot only had a two-way verbal communication conversation with the copilot. When the plane was preparing to land, the pilot was quite concerned about the fuel amount. However, the navigator only responded to the copilot then only mentioned the flat of the plane and the landing place was ready or not, but didnt report the fuel state. It was due to the belief of the navigator, because he thought the landing was absolutely done so he missed such important information. Therefore, both the pilot and copilot thought that they were going to land on JFK Airport in a short period of time. Nonetheless, their conversation was just checking the airplanes operation. However, due to the bad weather such as violent wind shear, they were forced down to the ground. In order to prevent air crash, the pilot told the copilot to give up landing and just hold the airplane up. This hold consumed more fuel. Therefore, the pilot told the copilot that they were running out of fuel and needed a priority landing at the JFK Airport as it was an emergency. However, due to the noise, fear and anxiety, the copilot only told the air traffic controller 1 that they were running out of fuel and needed priority landing. The copilot did not tell the air traffic controller 1 it was an emergency. In the meantime, air traffic controller 1 wants to take off the responsibilities because he wants to sharp leave. Therefore, Avianca delayed the emergency. Also, due to the language differences between English and Spanish, a request for priority landing can be interpreted as an emergency to Spanish-speaking pilots but not to English-speaking air traffic controllers. This had caused some confusion amongst the pilots when air traffic controller 2 confirmed their priority status. For example, when the air traffic controller 2 said they were out of the landing route, the navigator and copilot didnt tell the pilot they were out of route because of fear, so they just said the air traffic controller 2 was angry and missed the most important information out.

BUS303B Section 2

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Base on the above analysis, the followings are the possible solutions for this aircraft accident. The air crash would not have taken place if the pilot had chosen to talk to the air traffic controller 1 or 2 directly, because he was the one who knew the situation of the plane very clearly. If he had told any one of them that they only had fuel for about ten minutes, one of them would have treated it more seriously and gave them more advice and information about how they could land safely. However, as the pilot was affected by the noise anxiety, when he found out the emergency, he could not send his message clearly to his copilot or even if he had chosen to talk to the air traffic controllers directly. The air traffic controllers and the pilots should put passengers safety as the first priority. Therefore, all of the delays or missed approaches should not be an excuse to let this tragedy happens.