Flight Deck Communication

Flight deck communication is how a crew turns two people's knowledge into one shared picture of the flight. Every briefing, callout, readback, question and challenge is a message that has to be sent, received and understood as intended. When it works, the pilot monitoring's doubt reaches the pilot flying in time to matter; when it fails, a serviceable aircraft can be flown into the ground by crews who, between them, knew what was wrong.

Communication is one of the core non-technical skills of crew resource management, a competency assessed in evidence-based training and a topic in the EASA Human Performance and Limitations (040) syllabus. Communication errors are also one of the three error types of threat and error management. This article covers the theory examiners ask about and the practical techniques crews use; radio procedure is covered in radiotelephony phraseology.

Communication models

Human performance texts define communication as the effective transmission of a message. Transmission alone is not enough: information has passed only when the receiver's uncertainty has been reduced. Information theory measures this in bits, one bit being the quantity of information that reduces the receiver's uncertainty by half.

Berlo's communication model describes interpersonal communication in six components. The source has a purpose; the encoder turns it into a code, using the voice, the hands or posture; the message is the result in physical form; the channel carries it, as speech, gesture or writing; the decoder translates it back into usable form; and the receiver is its target. Asked for only the four basic components, the answer is source, message, channel and receiver.

On the flight deck, a captain who wants the flaps extended (source and purpose) says "flaps 1" (encoded message) over the intercom (channel), and the first officer decodes it and acts (receiver). Every stage can fail: a slip of the tongue, a noisy channel, or a receiver who decodes what they expected to hear. That is why effective communication must be two-way, giving the receiver the chance to clarify the sender's intention.

Watzlawick's first axiom of communication states that "one cannot not communicate". Activity and inactivity, words and silence, all carry a message. A passenger who closes his eyes signals that he does not want to talk; a pilot monitoring who stays silent as the speed decays may be taken to agree that all is well.

Verbal and non-verbal channels

Verbal communication carries more than the words. The way they are spoken gives them meaning: a rising voice with rapid speech portrays anxiety, short clipped speech urgency, and rambling speech uncertainty. A dropping voice at the end of a sentence, with eye contact or a gesture, tells the listener it is their turn to speak.

Body language is non-verbal communication: eye contact, facial expression, body orientation, hand and head movements, posture and physical separation. Human performance texts state that over 80 per cent of communication is achieved by factors other than the words themselves.

Pilots lose most of that channel. Seated side by side and facing forward, they see little of each other's face and gestures, and on the radio only the voice remains. The words must therefore work harder. The techniques taught are greater care over the choice of words, shorter sentences, simple and unambiguous phrases, one subject at a time, clear and slightly slower speech, and a response expected every time. A concern has to be carried by the words and by an assertive style, not by a frown the other pilot will probably miss.

Personal space also shapes behaviour. In Western cultures people guard it closely and feel unsettled when non-intimates come too close. Side-by-side seating, often with a central pedestal between the seats, gives each pilot a defined space of their own.

Metacommunication and implicit meaning

Metacommunication is the part of communication that is about the message rather than in it: tone and pitch of voice, expression and body language. The same words can sound like an attack or an invitation depending on how they are said. When a forceful point has to be made, a tactful, non-aggressive tone makes it easier to accept, which is why metacommunication is also a conflict-resolution tool.

Hypertext (communication) is the set of implicit information a written or spoken message carries. "I would like to find a pub" may imply hunger, thirst, shelter from the rain or a telephone, depending on the situation. On the flight deck, "we're getting a bit low on fuel" may be meant as an urgent warning and heard as a passing remark. Implicit meaning is decoded from context, and two pilots do not always share the same context, so safety-critical messages must be explicit: state the fact, what it means and what you propose.

Barriers to communication

Barriers to communication are whatever stops a message being sent, received or understood as intended.

Expectation is especially insidious because it can survive the readback. A pilot who expects a clearance to 3,000 ft can hear, and read back with complete confidence, 3,000 when the controller said 5,000, and the error is then caught only if the controller's hearback works. At Tenerife in 1977 a crew expecting its take-off clearance took an unclear exchange as that clearance; the lesson is taken up in human factors accident case studies.

Listening skills

Hearing vs listening: hearing is the physical collection of sound; listening is the active process of understanding it, and it takes concentration. Active listening means:

• concentrating on what is being said, not on something else;
• not planning your reply while the other person is still speaking, since the vital fact may come at the end;
• being prepared to change your view;
• signalling that you are listening, verbally or with a nod or eye contact;
• summarising a long input: "So you're saying the left engine is running hot and you want to reduce thrust?"

The sender helps by keeping transmissions short, since attention falls off with time, by passing a large amount of information in parts with a chance to ask questions, and by checking that the receiver's attention is not elsewhere. The receiver's rule is simple: when unsure, ask. Simulator studies found that the crews who coped best systematically confirmed messages from ATC and from each other; failure to confirm can gradually erode situational awareness. The aim is a shared mental model, because it is unlikely that two pilots will hold the same incorrect one.

Questioning techniques

Human performance texts describe three types of question.

• A closed question (explicit) contains all the information needed and limits the answer to yes, no or a word or two: "Is the gear down?" It is quick, its meaning is usually clear, and misunderstandings show up at once, which suits high workload. Its weaknesses are that important factors may be overlooked and that constant use stifles open discussion.
• An open question (implicit) needs the responder to make deductions: "How do you see the fuel situation?" It brings a second opinion, surfaces factors a closed question would miss, checks the questioner's own reasoning and builds teamwork. For resolving a query in flight, tactful open questions are recommended as the route to the speediest clarification, although they may be too slow when time is very short.
• A leading question carries its answer: "That's Witney down there, isn't it?" It seeks confirmation rather than an independent assessment, and normally indicates that the questioner's mental model is wavering.

Closed-loop communication

Closed-loop communication has three elements: a clear message from the sender, a readback or acknowledgement by the receiver, and the sender's confirmation that the reply is correct. On the flight deck it runs through commands and callouts: the pilot flying calls "gear down", the pilot monitoring selects it and replies "gear down, three green", and the pilot flying checks the indication. With ATC, the pilot's readback and the controller's hearback close the same loop.

Standard operating procedures support it with standard callouts, defined words for each action, and feedback that is both obtained, to confirm that the message was understood, and volunteered whenever a misunderstanding is possible. Briefings follow the same logic. An effective briefing is short, with fewer than ten ideas or split into sections; individual, prepared for this flight; and understood by the whole crew, since a simple plan everyone supports beats a brilliant one that is misunderstood.

Phraseology has also been changed to remove ambiguity. One of the lessons of Tenerife was to reserve the word TAKE-OFF for the take-off clearance and its cancellation; at all other times pilots and controllers say DEPARTURE or AIRBORNE.

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Communication styles

Communication styles (supportive, assertive, aggressive, submissive) describe how a message is delivered.

An assertive statement names the concern, gives the reason and proposes a solution: "We're 20 kt fast for flap 2. I suggest we reduce speed before selecting it." Graded escalation models such as PACE (Probe, Alert, Challenge, Emergency), which move from a probing question to an emergency call, rely on the same style.

Transactional analysis

Transactional analysis (Parent-Adult-Child), developed by the psychiatrist Eric Berne, describes three ego states from which people speak. The Parent speaks in values and rules, critical or protective; the Adult in facts and logic; the Child in emotion. A transaction is complementary when the reply comes from the state that was addressed, and the conversation flows. It is crossed when the reply comes from an unexpected state, for example a factual question from the Adult answered by an irritated Child, and communication breaks down.

The practical lesson is that behaviour, unlike personality, is chosen. A pilot who stays in the Adult mode can avoid reacting to inappropriate behaviour, keep the discussion on the outcome, listen, and talk about issues rather than personalities. When conflict remains in flight, the commander acts as arbitrator rather than negotiator, decides, and explains the reasons, after landing if there is no time before.

Library articles are written for study and exam preparation. They do not replace your aircraft's approved documentation, your operator's procedures or the regulations themselves.