US Bangla Flight 211 Crash: An Analysis of the Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript

Abstract

Communication plays a distinctly consequential role in the field of aviation. Involving a specialized version of English named Aviation English, the communicative aspects of this field go beyond the basic information exchange. It contributes to ensuring almost half of the overall safety of any aircraft flying in the sky. Considering the remarkable amount of air crashes due to miscommunication in the past, this study aims to investigate the breakdown points in the communication of US Bangla flight 211 crash. The researcher focuses on topic construction, sequence organization, use of aviation English, read-backs and Cockpit insider coordination. To identify the potential gaps and glitches in the target transcript, the technique of conversation analysis was adopted. Besides, to testify the erroneous aspects regarding aviation English and ATC communication, the jargon, phraseologies, read-back errors and linguistic coordination inside the cockpit were taken into account. The results showed notable contributions of the misapprehensions in the areas mentioned above towards the air crash. These results suggested that the confusing exchanges of information, muddled nature of communication among the interlocutors and the breakdown points in sequencing as well as topicality of the conversation played seminal roles in the accident. On this basis, the emphasis on the error-free maneuver of ATC communications would be increased to minimize the possibility of any future incident. Also, people in general would be made aware of the importance of the topic on a broader and more comprehensive level.