Bilingual Air Traffic Control in Canada

Abstract

Simulation exercises with bilingual controllers from Montreal Center were conducted in order to develop procedures for the safe implementation of bilingual communications for aircraft operating under instrument flight rules in the Province of Quebec. Representative pilots from professional and general aviation associations flew aircraft simulators linked to the Air Traffic Control simulator in order to evaluate the proposed bilingual system and to generate data on the party-line aspect of the listening watch in air-ground communications. The effects of language, type of sector, traffic characteristics, and exceptional conditions on communication characteristics and controller performance were observed in four different studies. In addition, data on controllers' communications in actual operations and on reported incidents involving the listening watch were obtained. Information from both the simulations and the real-world operations were then analyzed to determine the implications for control procedures and to assess the general impact of bilingual control on system safety.

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