Lesson created by Michael Egerton for Aviation English Asia Ltd
Objectives:
- You will be able to understand, pronounce, and use the words in the vocabulary list below.
- You will develop your vocabulary and the use of the prefix de-
- You will be able to demonstrate comprehension of the passage by answering questions which require basic understanding and interpretation of the content.
- You will be able to identify past simple in sentences from the text.
- You will be able to distinguish N sounds
Lesson for ICAO Level 3-4
Describe this picture
Pronunciation: N
Directions: Practice by saying the word pairs and example sentences, then speak the words from this reading.
Word Pairs Night-sight, new-sue, lane-lace, men-mess, line-lice
Example sentence: Nathan knew Nancy never went to Nashville.
Examples from this reading: Investigation - Involving - Initiated - Incidents - Informed - Nicknamed - Subsequently - Transmission - Position - Occurrence - Overturned - Horizontal - Remain - Substantial - Ground - Condition - Extended - Found - Concluding - Genesis - Encountered - Aviation - Frequency - Increased - Acknowledged - Assigned -
Reading comprehension
Directions: Read the following passage carefully.
A KLM Boeing 747-400, registration PH-BFB performing flight KL-785 from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Saint Maarten (Dutch Antilles) with 240 passengers, had been de-iced at a remote stand and was moving out of the stand and turning, when the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer hit the still partly extended hydraulic lift of a de-icing vehicle and knocked the vehicle over, so that the cabin at the top of the hydraulic lift crashed to the ground. Emergency services needed an hour to get the operator out. The de-icer received serious injuries including two fractures of his spine, but is in stable condition. The aircraft received substantial damage to its tailplane requiring the replacement of the horizontal stabilizer assembly.
The passengers disembarked and were put onto a replacement Boeing 747-400 registration PH-BFL, that reached St. Maarten with a delay of 4 hours.
The exact sequence of events is still under investigation.
Collegues visiting the injured male de-icer said on Dec 22nd, that he is going to fully recover from his injuries including two fractured vertebrae. They found him already walking in his hospital room though he will need to remain in hospital care for some more time.
The Dutch Safety Board released their final report concluding the probable cause of the accident was:
the aircraft began to taxi while de-icing of the left hand stabilizer was still in progress. The de-icing supervisor had issued the all clear when this was not the case. She had lost track of the de-icing progress and overlooked that de-icing on the left stabilizer was still in progress.
Contributing factors were:
The de-icing supervisor was inexperienced in her duties as well as with the communication devices. The communication devices frequently jammed at regular use and thus increased the work load of the supervisor.
The supervisor had not received sufficient supervised on-the-job-training. While performing her first supervising duty on de-icing pad J she was without escort in her car, an undesireable situation in view of the vital role of the supervisor in the de-icing process.
New employees, especially those without operational aviation background, should improve during supervised customized training adopted to match the background and experience of the trainee.
A weak link in the de-icing process is, that a single person releases an aircraft after de-icing.
The KLM Boeing 747-400 had taxied to de-icing pad J for being de-iced prior to departure. The pad has its own control tower called "Ice Tower". An aircraft being de-iced on pad J would taxi to the pad in contact with ground control and be handed off to Ice Tower, who directs the aircraft into position for de-icing, then hands the aircraft off to the de-icing supervisor. Following de-icing the aircraft would be handed off to Ground Control again.
At the time of the accident 4 positions on de-icing pad were operating, each staffed by a de-icing team led by a supervisor (four supervisors in total). A de-icing team was formed by four de-icers and the supervisor.
The supervisor assigned to position 14, who had previously worked as flight attendant, was newly appointed to the task, it was her fourth day in that role. She had not worked with the four de-icers previously. Following checks of their communication equipment the team took position 14 on the J-pad.
After the Boeing 747-400 had been assigned to position 14 by Ice Tower, had stopped on position 14 and was handed off to the supervisor, the supervisor advised the crew they would use a two step de-icing process, following a first de-icing run a second preventive anti-ice step would occur.
Although in theory the de-icing team should be using an own frequency, it was regular occurrence that other teams or Ice Tower would be heard on the radio requipment too, making it hard to keep track of reports within the own team.
Two de-icing vehicles (nicknamed Safe Aeros) were proceeding with the de-icing and anti-icing steps. The vehicles would start with left respective right wing and after completing the wing would proceed to the tail plane. After completion of the de-icing they would drive to safe areas aside of the de-icing position, sufficiently clear of the aircraft maneouvering out of the position, and report clear.
While de-icing of the Boeing 747 was in progress, Ice Tower called the supervisor advising that another aircraft was already waiting for position 14. That call was not acknowledged by the supervisor. Instead, the supervisor told the crew of the Boeing 747-400 that de-icing had been completed, although both left and right Safe Aeros were still spraying the tail plane. The supervisor later said, that she had no full recollection of the events, however, she had received various ready calls, she could not say whether these were from their own team or other de-icing teams. At the same time she heard Ice Tower calling and talking to other supervisors. The crew of PH-BFB, informed by their ground stuff about de-icing fluid type 1 in use, asked her to confirm whether de-icing fluid type 1 had been used as she had advised earlier type 2 fluid was being used. The supervisor drove her car into the safe area left of the aircraft and gave the all clear and handed the crew off to ground control.
While the crew was talking to ground control to receive taxi instructions towards the runway, the right hand Safe Aero completed de-icing and drove to its assigned safe area, the left vehicle was still spraying the tail plane when the aircraft began to move.
The supervisor at that point noticed the error and instructed PH-BFB to stop. Another supervisor reported on radio the aircraft had contacted the extended arm of the de-icing vehicle and overturned the vehicle. The crew later reported they had felt a slight bump as if the aircraft had rolled over a patch of snow. The aircraft continued to taxi, the crew being unaware of the accident. After the aircraft had reached the centerline of the taxiway the crew initiated a right hand turn. A transmission from another pilot, who had observed the accident involving a KLM Boeing 747-400, made the crew of PH-BFB aware of the accident as they had been the only 747 on the de-icing pad, they stopped the aircraft and subsequently decided to return to the apron to have the aircraft checked for damage.
The operator of the left de-icing vehicle had moved the cabin to about 10 meters above the pad surface when the vehicle came in contact with the left stabilizer of the aircraft. The vehicle tipped over, the cabin crashed down onto the tarmac. The operator received two fractured and another shattered vertebrae, the de-icing vehicle received substantial damage. He later reported he was about one meter above the horizontal stabilizer of the aircraft when the aircraft began to move, at that time he had not closed his safety belt as he was standing at that time. He had no time to react.
At the time of the accident visibility was above 10 kilometers and the de-icers were clearly visible from the supervisor's car.
The supervisor had started her training in October 2010 and completed her training successfully on Nov 5th. In the following weeks she wasn't needed as de-icing supervisor however due to weather conditions and took other tasks like check in supervisor. On Nov 24th she worked as de-icing supervisor for the first time entirely on her own, without supervisor or instructor with her. She handled one aircraft that day, on Nov 27th she handled 10 aircraft and on Nov 29th 23 aircraft, all without incidents. During these days however she had frequently encountered problems with communication equipment. She said later that because of that she wasn't sure about how to use the communication equipment.
The Dutch Safety Board analysed that both flight crew had no possibility to see the de-icing vehicles from the cockpit, followed the standard operating procedures and thus had limited role into the genesis of the accident.
An investigation by KLM into the accident came up with 13 recommendations to improve safety of the de-icing process, the recommendations were rated sufficient by the investigation commission, which therefore did not issue safety recommendations.
Focus on Grammar
The past perfect shows the action that happened before another action.
"He had eaten breakfast before he ate lunch."
Notice the difference between "had eaten" and "ate". The past perfect shows that breakfast was before lunch.
Directions: Which action happened first in the sentences below?
1. He later reported he was about one meter above the horizontal stabilizer of the aircraft when the aircraft began to move, at that time he had not closed his safety belt as he was standing at that time.
2. A transmission from another pilot, who had observed the accident involving a KLM Boeing 747-400, made the crew of PH-BFB aware of the accident as they had been the only 747 on the de-icing pad, they stopped the aircraft and subsequently decided to return to the apron to have the aircraft checked for damage.
3. The operator of the left de-icing vehicle had moved the cabin to about 10 meters above the pad surface when the vehicle came in contact with the left stabilizer of the aircraft.
4. During these days however she had frequently encountered problems with communication equipment.
5. He had no time to react.
6. At the time of the accident visibility was above 10 kilometers and the de-icers were clearly visible from the supervisor's car.
7. The supervisor had started her training in October 2010 and completed her training successfully on Nov 5th.
8. After the aircraft had reached the centerline of the taxiway the crew initiated a right hand turn.
9. The KLM Boeing 747-400 had taxied to de-icing pad J for being de-iced prior to departure.
10. She had lost track of the de-icing progress and overlooked that de-icing on the left stabilizer was still in progress.
11. The de-icing supervisor had issued the all clear when this was not the case.
12. The crew later reported they had felt a slight bump as if the aircraft had rolled over a patch of snow.
13. The crew of PH-BFB, informed by their ground stuff about de-icing fluid type 1 in use, asked her to confirm whether de-icing fluid type 1 had been used as she had advised earlier type 2 fluid was being used.
14. She had not worked with the four de-icers previously.
Word Roots & Stems
Rule: The suffix ive adds "causing" or "making" to the meaning a word, like demonstrative.
Directions: Identify the word that ends with -ive in each sentence.
1. The vehicles would start with left respective right wing and after completing the wing would proceed to the tail plane.
2. After the Boeing 747-400 had been assigned to position 14 by Ice Tower, had stopped on position 14 and was handed off to the supervisor, the supervisor advised the crew they would use a two step de-icing process, following a first de-icing run a second preventive anti-ice step would occur.
Directions: Fill in the blanks below, just as in the examples above.
exhaustive exhaust + ive Her long research was exhaustive.
assertive assert + ive He's a very assertive salesperson.
constructive ____________ ________________________________________________
active ____________ ________________________________________________
appreciative ____________ ________________________________________________
subtractive ____________ ________________________________________________
Vocabulary Practice
FILL IN THE BLANK
Directions: Use the word bank to identify the word that best completes the sentence.
in view of keep track of hydraulic occurrence operator proceed
recover slight concluding involving initiated acknowledged
nicknamed assigned aware subsequently extended vital
requiring process shattered remain informed due to
transmission found hit escort advised substantial
horizontal factors confirm checked increased reached
1. She lost her wallet on the subway but the police _______________ed it.
2. 8 and 3 are both _______________ or 24 because 8 is multiplied by 3 to get 24 and 3 is multiplied by 8 to get 24.
3. The arrow _______________ the target.
4. He was not _______________ of the bee until it stung him.
5. He is a computer _______________ and works on a computer all day.
6. The game was stopped _______________ rain.
7. The radio _______________ ended when the battery died.
8. The police _______________ed the president to the airport.
9. His hair _______________ed black until he was 60.
10. The parade _______________ed down 5th Avenue.
11. The actor _______________ his parents when he accepted the award.
12. He tried to _______________ a conversation with the beauitful woman.
13. She got divorced and _______________ dated many men.
14. My waist size _______________ every year.
15. She had a _______________ pain in her foot but still ran the race.
16. All that _______________ she has been saying about Lee is just not true.
17. She compared prices and _______________ the cheaper one was good enough.
18. We _______________ California after driving for two days.
19. The _______________ of making a pot of coffee only takes a few minutes.
20. The boss _______________ the job to me last week.
21. Air is _______________ for human life.
22. She _______________ him to get a haircut and a job.
23. It is difficult to _______________ everything in the news.
24. He was very tall so his friends _______________ Shorty.
25. Electricity is created by the _______________ generator when water turns the turbines.
26. The doctor _______________ me I was sick.
27. Please don't _______________ me in your argument.
28. We _______________ that the following regulations be adopted .
29. The glass _______________ when it hit the floor.
30. He _______________ his arm across the table to get the salt.
31. Please _______________ your reservation three days before your flight.
32. The top of desk is _______________ as it runs left to right.
33. There was _______________ evidence that he had committed the crime.
34. I lost my keys but Joe _______________ them.
Vocabulary Practice
MATCHING
Directions: Match the word and the definition.
A. in view of
B. keep track of
C. hydraulic
D. occurrence
E. operator
F. proceed
G. recover
H. slight
I. concluding
J. involving
K. initiated
L. acknowledged
M. nicknamed
N. assigned
O. aware
P. subsequently
Q. extended
R. vital
S. requiring
T. process
U. shattered
V. remain
W. informed
X. due to
Y. transmission
Z. found
AA. hit
BB. escort
CC. advised
DD. substantial
EE. horizontal
FF. factors
GG. confirm
HH. checked
II. increased
JJ. reached
1. _______ To get back or return to the original condition.
2. _______ Any number (or expression) that is multiplied by another to get an answer.
3. _______ To strike , reach or touch a particular place.
4. _______ To locate something.
5. _______ Knowing.
6. _______ One who works with or controls some machine or scientific equipment.
7. _______ Because of.
8. _______ An event where something happens.
9. _______ The act of sending through or across.
10. _______ Armed police or soldiers who travel guard and protect during a trip.
11. _______ To stay the same or in the same place.
12. _______ after thinking about, because of
13. _______ To begin or continue to go forward.
14. _______ To give credit to.
15. _______ Inspect.
16. _______ To begin something.
17. _______ Following that.
18. _______ Become larger in size or number.
19. _______ Small or not important.
20. _______ things that someone says or does, when you are referring to them in a general way without saying exactly what they are
21. _______ To judge or decide after thinking.
22. _______ Arrive at.
23. _______ The steps or actions needed to do something.
24. _______ To tell a person to do a specific task. •
25. _______ Needed for life.
26. _______ To offer an opinion as a good idea.
27. _______ To stay aware of new information about a subject.
28. _______ Another name given to someone or something that is not their original name.
29. _______ Related to moving water, or the force exerted by water in motion.
30. _______ Tell something to someone; give them knowledge.
31. _______ To make someone or something a part of something else.
32. _______ to demand, to need, to call for
33. _______ To break into pieces, like glass.
34. _______ Reach, make longer.
35. _______ To acknowledge with definite assurance.
36. _______ A flat line that runs left to right rather than up and down.
37. _______ Existing; solid; true.
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