Polish jet almost crashed after pilot failed to understand English instructions

A Polish jet weaved across the skies above the outskirts of London because its pilot's spoken English was not good enough to communicate with air traffic control.
The Air Accident Investigations Branch said a Boeing 737 with 95 passengers and crew on board meandered helplessly after the pilot first entered the wrong co-ordinates and was later unable to understand the instructions which he was given by controllers.
At one point the 55-year-old pilot came dangerously close to colliding with another aircraft, investigators said.
The incident took place in June last year when the Lot aircraft set off for Warsaw from Heathrow.
According to the report, the difficulties began when the pilot told air traffic control he was flying east of the Greenwich Meridian, rather than west.
Shortly after take off, the pilot reported that he had encountered 'navigational problems' and was told to turn sharp right.
Within minutes it became clear that the pilot had failed to act on the instruction he had been given by flight controllers.
The exchanges between the control tower and pilot - before the flight was eventually brought back to Heathrow - revealed that there were occasions when neither could understand each other.
According to the investigators' report the situation was worsened as the pilot became more stressed by the situation.
The report noted: "A number of exchanges were misunderstood probably because of language difficulties."
It added: "The commander had difficulty comprehending and communicating with air traffic control."
The incident took place nine months before new international rules came into force making it compulsory for pilots and to speak reasonable English for the first time in aviation history, in a bid to improve safety standards.
Despite being the language used throughout the industry for decades, until now no minimum standards have been set. This was changed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation in March.
It is believed that hundreds of lives have been lost in crashes caused by communication problems, such as when 349 passengers died following a mid-air collision between a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 and an Air Kazakhstan Ilyushin, because they could not understand each other.
It was agreed by ICAO and the industry trade body, the International Air Transport Association, that English would be the standard language at all major airports.
This is considered essential not only to enable pilots to communicate with controllers, but also as they approach airports so they can understand what other pilots are saying in the area.
According to the AAIB report, Poland has yet to confirm a date when all its pilots will meet the maximum level of proficiency required by ICAO

Everyday we read news items which highlight the potential problems associated with language or cultural barriers.

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