Lining Up

I was just reading Luca F. Bencini-Tibos letter to the editor (Unicom, December 2010) and wanted to correct what I perceive to be some misunderstanding. First, changing to ICAO weather abbreviations was and is for the purpose of international standardization, and not to benefit any one group. Second, airspace can have more than one designation, even under ICAO: The TRSA around Oklahomas Altus AFB, exhibits Class D, Class E, and TRSA simultaneously. Third, it was not luck, but study and much debate that caused ICAO in 1952 to streamline the then-internationally accepted French, Spanish and English into the current single language. The overall effort involved linguists and psychologists, not luck.

Key Takeaways:

• Aviation standardization, including ICAO weather abbreviations and a single international language, is driven by international agreement and safety considerations, with phraseology based on psychological principles to prevent miscommunication in a high-risk environment.
• Airspace can hold multiple designations under ICAO, and emergency water landings are not necessarily free of hazards like transmission cables, especially in mountainous regions.
• Pilots flying into non-towered airports, particularly under IFR, are advised to survey surrounding terrain for potential obstacles upon arrival.
• One reader supports a petition against the third-class medical requirement and questions its limited coverage by major aviation organizations.

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