FAA Airline Transport Pilot (ATM)Human Factors and CRMEasy
An air traffic controller issues a clearance using unfamiliar local phraseology not found in the Pilot/Controller Glossary, causing the flight crew to misinterpret the instruction and read back an incorrect altitude. This event is best classified as a failure due to:
- AA communication barrier from non-standard phraseology
- BNormalization of deviance
- CAutomation complacency
- DSterile cockpit violation
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. A communication barrier from non-standard phraseology
Effective communication relies on standardized, clear phraseology; when non-standard or unfamiliar terms are used, they create a barrier that increases the risk of misunderstanding, as occurred here. This is unrelated to sterile cockpit rules, gradual erosion of standards, or automation trust.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Normalization of deviance involves gradually accepting unsafe shortcuts over time, not a single phrasing issue.
- C. Automation complacency involves over-reliance on automated systems, unrelated to verbal communication.
- D. Sterile cockpit rule concerns non-essential conversation below 10,000 feet, not phraseology clarity.
Communication Barriers
Factors such as non-standard phraseology, jargon, noise, or language differences that impede accurate transmission and understanding of information.
- Standard phraseology reduces ambiguity
- Barriers include noise, accents, jargon, and workload
- Closed-loop communication helps catch resulting errors
Memory trick: Non-standard words are static on the radio — they garble the real message.