The code was developed by ICAO (The International Civil Aviation Organization) in 1955 after hundreds of thousands of comprehension tests involving over thirty different nationalities. During radio transmissions between the flight crew and the control tower, A is spelled as Alfa, B as Bravo, D as Delta, M as Mike, Z as Zulu. The International Radio-telephony spelling alphabet, also known as NATO phonetic alphabet, uses 26-word codes to name the alphabet letters and numbers. These can be difficult to distinguish, particularly over a limited-bandwidth and noisy communications channel, hence aviation has been looking for a long time for unambiguous substitute names for use in electrical voice communication such as telephone and radio. The names of the letters of the English alphabet are “a”, “bee”, “cee”, “dee”, “e”, etc. The aviation industry also uses a completely different version of the alphabet to avoid confusion, as it happens every day in phone conversation. It is essential information for the overall flight success. In fact, counting is especially critical in aviation because it deals with information on airspeed, altitude, various flight data, directions and frequencies. It is much easier to understand a word consisting of a couple of different syllables than a single syllable word that can often get cut off by the radio com equipment.Ĭhanging pronunciation is important for reducing confusion. So, for example, that’s why four is fower, five becomes fife and nine turns into a niner. This is done because many words in the English language – which is also the official language in aviation – share similar pronunciation, hence it is important to strongly distinguish them to prevent serious incidents and accidents. Have you ever had the chance to listen to chatter between a pilot and an air traffic controller? If you have, you must have noticed some strange pronunciation of numbers, such as niner niner.Īs radio transmissions are often not crystal clear and could be easily confused, pilots spell certain words and numbers to avoid mistakes and misunderstandings during flight communication. So, if you want to learn some nifty phrases and understand why they are used by pilots, let’s get started. ![]() In this article, we will explain why aviation English is distinct and how it contrasts with the language we use everyday. Needless to day, for an aviation outsider, much of the language used between the flight crew in the cockpit and the ATC tower, might sound like complete gibberish. The FAA requires pilots to understand Morse code and to identify aircraft call signs since NDBs and VORs still send their identifying letters via Morse code.Aviation is a heavily regulated industry that has countless procedural and operational standards, a heap of different certifications, and, of course, specific aviation terms and slang. Although originally used in radio telegraphy, Morse code is still widely used in aviation. Many people have learned this using a song. In other words, this alpha code can be referred as the ICAO/ITU/NATO Phonetic Alphabet or International Phonetic Alphabet.Īnother alpha code is Morse code. Also, some call it ITU (International Telecommunication Union) phonetic alphabet. Other names for this alpha code include International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet (IRSA) and the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) phonetic alphabet. The words were chosen to be accessible to French, Spanish, and English speakers. This became the international standard when ICAO and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) accepted it. In 1956, NATO modified the code words used by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). However, after World War II, various organizations and linguists worked on other challenges of radio communications. British, American, and Australian troops used it successfully. They called it the US-UK spelling alphabet. ![]() ![]() military’s Joint Army-Navy alphabet for the three countries. needed to communicate during joint operations. During the Second World War, the armed forces of Australia, the U.S. Radio telephony codes emerged with the evolution of radio communications.
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