WORKSHOP 3 From December 27 to 30, 2016

Volume 3, nº 1

EMERGENCY DESCENT

There is no set of ready,

out-of-the-box rules to be
followed universally. As

TERMINAL AREA with any unusual or emer-

gency situation, contro-
llers should exercise their
best judgment and exper-
tise when dealing with
emergency descent situa-
tions.

There are various reasons

why the flight crew might
initiate an emergency des-
cent. These include but
are not limited to loss of
pressurisation and in-
flight fire. Many flight
crew drills encourage
emergency descents to
continue to the higher of
10,000 feet or MSA from
where the aircraft may
then seek the shortest
route to a suitable diver-
sion aerodrome.

 What are the tasks of a Terminal Area Radar An emergency descent

could be initiated without
Controller?
prior warning. Depending
 As an approach controller, what do you expect to on the circumstances, the
happen in an emergency descent? flight crew could begin a
high vertical speed des-
 Provide a sample of your radio message in case
cent without warning if
of an emergency descent. the safety of the aircraft is
at risk.
 Activity 1. Interact with your classmates. First choose a situation
(A-C), then ask any of the listed questions (1-5)
SITUATION A) A SAS Scandinavian Airlines
Airbus A320-200, registration OY-KAU per-
forming flight SK-596 from Keflavik (Iceland)
to Copenhagen (Denmark) with 111 people
on board, diverted to Malmo due to Copenha-
gen Airport being closed and was on ap-
proach to Malmo's runway 35 when the air-
craft went around due to weather. The crew
decided to divert to Bornholm (Denmark),
however, the aircraft received a lightning
strike. The crew climbed the aircraft to 7000
feet and landed safely in Bornholm.
The aircraft was unable to continue the flight.
The airline reported the passengers were
taken to hotels and are estimated to be taken
to Copenhagen by a replacement aircraft the
following day.
SITUATION B) A Korean Airlines Airbus
A300-600, registration HL7240 performing
flight KE-755 from Jeju (South Korea) to Na-
goya (Japan) with 164 people on board, was
enroute about 30 minutes before landing,
when the cabin pressure was rapidly lost. The
crew donned their oxygen masks and initia-
ted an emergency descent to 10000 feet. The
passenger oxygen masks deployed. The crew
decided to continue to Nagoya, where the air-
plane landed safely 40 minutes later with
emergency services on stand by.
The cause of the pressure loss is under inves-
tigation by maintenance engineers. The Japa-
nese Transportation Safety Board (JTSB) ha-
ve dispatched an investigator.
2
SITUATION C) An Etihad Airbus A380-800, registration
A6-APD performing flight EY-461 from Melbourne,VI
(Australia) to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), was
climbing out of Melbourne's runway 16 when the crew
stopped the climb at FL120, descended back to FL100 and
entered a hold. The aircraft subsequently dumped fuel
and returned to Melbourne for a safe landing on runway
16 about 2 hours after departure.
A passenger reported the captain announced they weren't
able to pressurize the cabin. After about 20 minutes the
crew reported that despite resets and checks they hadn't
been successful in resolving the problem, they were now
dumping fuel and would return to Melbourne.
The aircraft remained on the ground for about 3 hours,
then was able to depart again, climbed to initially FL320
and reached Abu Dhabi with a delay of 4.5 hours.
Following landing in Abu Dhabi the aircraft remained on
the ground for 36 hours, then resumed service.
1.– You are assisting this flight and suddenly the radar display
turns off. Provide a sample of your radio message to the crew.
2.– Talk about the relevant information you would provide to the
pilot in this situation.
3.– Provide a sample of your radio message to the other aircraft
in the same frequency.
4.– Imagine that you have to transfer the flight to the upstream
ATC Unit, provide a sample of your message to the other ATC
Unit.
5.– Paraphrase the situation, remember to use the past tense,
gramatical structures and expressions of time.
Activity 2. Use your imagination. Create a story after looking at both
pictures. You have to talk for at least 2 minutes.

Activity 3. Listen to the audio ‘Kite 63’ and fill in the blanks.
KITE 63 EMERGENCY ONBOARD
Now that you have completed activity 3, find another
P= pilot, C= controller. way to say this words or phrases.

P ___________________.. Centre. Kite 63. Emergency _________________________________

Making an emergency ________. Say again _________________________________
C Calling station. Say again. Say again. Understand _________________________________
P This is Kite 63. I say again, Kite 63 ma- Breaking up _________________________________
king an You are cleared _________________________________
_________________.
C Kite 63. Cleared to FL____.
P Centre … 63.
C Kite 63. Your breaking up. Say again. In the end, what happened to Kite 63
P We had a _____________. We are just flight? Apparently your instructors
_____ Christa and Efrain forgot about the end
Of the PAYAM VOR, passing FL ____,. of that situation. Use your imagination
Kite 63. and extend the dialogue between the
C Kite 63. Understand you are Pilot and the Controller.
___________. You are cleared to FL ____.
I say again.
________ to FL 100. Report reaching. P ___________________________________
C ___________________________________
P ___________________________________
C ___________________________________
P ___________________________________
C ___________________________________
P ___________________________________

3
Activity 4. Watch the videos and complete the activities.

VIDEO A VIDEO B VIDEO C

1. Describe the scenario (place, 1. What is the problem? Ex- 1. What are the possible solu-
flights and airspace). plain all you know about it. tions for these event?

2. What would you have done 2. What procedure does the 2. What is your opinion about
differently in this situation? crew need to follow? the ATC procedures?

Activity 5. Look at the picture for no more

than 20 seconds. Cover the picture and tell
your colleagues what you remember about it ATC Involvement in Uns-
using the past simple. table Approaches

The ATC can contribute

towards unstable approa-
ches through their invol-
vement in and understan-
ding of the following basic
factors:

 Distance (Time) Provi-

sion
 Speed Instructions

For both of the above fac-

tors, two-way communica-
tion between ATC and the
flight-deck plays a large
and important role. With
good communication from
both sides, the risk of an
unstable approach occu-
rring can be significantly
reduced.

Now, explain why those aircraft are flying so

close to each other.

4
Activity 6. Read the article and answer to the questionnaires.
SWISSAIR 111—INVESTIGATION REPORT
The following is an executive sum-
mary of the report by the Transpor-
tation Safety Board of Canada (TSB)
into the accident involving Swissair
Flight 111 near Peggy's Cove, Nova
Scotia, on the night of 2 September
1998. The aircraft, a McDonnell
Douglas MD-11 with
215 passengers and 14 crew mem-
bers on board, was on a scheduled
flight from New York, United States
of America, to Geneva, Switzerland.
Summary of Occurrence
About 53 minutes after departure,
while flying at Flight Level 330
(about 33,000 feet), the flight crew
smelled an abnormal odour in the
cockpit. A small amount of smoke
became visible in the cockpit; then,
it is likely that the smoke stopped
entering the cockpit for an undeter-
mined length of time. The flight
crew assessed that there was an
anomaly associated with the air
conditioning system.
After conversing with air traffic
services, the flight crew decided to
divert to the Halifax International
Airport in Nova Scotia, Canada.
While the flight crew was preparing
for the landing in Halifax, they were
unaware that a fire was spreading
above the ceiling in the front area of
the aircraft.
About 13 minutes after the abnor-
mal odour was first detected, the
aircraft's flight data recorder began
to record a rapid succession of air-
craft systems-related failures. The
flight crew declared an emergency
and indicated a need to land imme-
diately. About one minute later,
radio communications and secon-
dary radar contact with the aircraft
were lost, and the flight recorders
stopped functioning. About five and
one-half minutes later, at 10:31 p.m.
Atlantic daylight saving time (ADT),
the aircraft crashed into the ocean
about five nautical miles southwest
of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Cana-
da. The aircraft was destroyed and
there were no survivors.

PARAPHRASING I
QUESTIONNAIRE A QUESTIONNAIRE B

Have in account the 1. What’s the origin and destina-

1. When did this accident happen?
following steps... tion of the flight?

 Reread the arti- 2. Where does the accident hap- 2. What was the position of the
cle until you get pen? flight when the situation started?
the full meaning.
3. What kind of smell does the
3. What did the crew think about
 Select 6 key- crew identify and what decision
the cause of the smell?
words and un- do they take afterwards?
derline them.

 Use the key 4. What was actually happening to 4. What problems did the crew ex-
the aircraft in flight? periment before the crash?
words from the
article and start
paraphrasing.
5. What did they find in the flight 5. What was the cause of this acci-
data recorder? dent?

5
 Activity 7. This activity presents a situation in
which you will play a dialogue, first you have to
CFIT deny a permission and then you have to support
Controlled Flight into Terrain your position.
(CFIT) occurs when an
airworthy aircraft under the
complete control of the pilot Air Java Flight 603, headed for Tanzor. Its current altitude is
is inadvertently flown into 8000 ft. They are experiencing icing at that altitude and they'd
terrain, water, or an obstacle. like to descend to 5000ft. But the minimum en route level on
The pilots are generally una-
ware of the danger until it is that section of airway is 6000 ft because of mountains. It seems
too late. that the situation is serious and they decide to descend without
clearance.
Most CFIT accidents occur in
the approach and landing pha-
se of flight and are often asso- Java 603: Tanzor Approach, descending to 5 000 ft due icing.
ciated with non-precision ap- Leaving 8 000ft.
proaches.
ATC: ______________________________________________________
Many CFIT accidents occur Java603: Roger that, we request to intercept another radial to
because of loss of situational continue the descent.
awareness, particularly in the ATC:________________________________________________________
vertical plane, and many crash
sites are on the centreline of
an approach to an airfield.
Lack of familiarity with the
approach or misreading of the
approach plate are common
Now roll-play with your classmates or your instruc-
causal factors, particularly tors, think of different possible scenarios.
where the approach features
steps down in altitude from
the initial approach fix to the
final approach fix.

Activity 8. Answer the question, consider the prompts.

You are working at the terminal radar control position and you see
that your workmate who is sitting next to you is feeling unwell. He
has misunderstood important information about the traffic and
confused some callsigns. What actions do you have to take in a
situation like this?

Consider using the following prompts in your answer:

A) Position handover
B) Medicine
C) Complain
D) Supervisor

U - CLI