Problems of miscommunication are not confined to the aviation industry, of course. For example, lack of a regularised communications system utilising standard, defined terminology was identified as a contributing factor in the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in 1979 (Barrett, 1982). More often than not, though, there is time for individuals to expose and clarify misunderstandings. The Three Mile Island accident, for instance, unfolded over four days. Time, however, is in short supply for controllers and pilots—it is a time-sensitive environment. They cannot see each other nor each other’s actions, so an important means of error detection is unavailable.

Information about ATC phraseology and comunications

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Communications problems have been studied in terms of their consequences, such as operational errors and accidents, and the results published in aviation safety journals. They can also be described as a concept of information transfer based on the information theory perspective of communications. Perceptual problems occur which lead to misproducing and misunderstanding messages, and linguistic problems are a product of the nature of language itself.