Communication is generally defined as the imparting or exchanging of information or news. Instrument flying requires operational two-way radios, because the simplest way of exchanging accurate information in a timely manner is through the spoken word. As aviators, we become fluent in “aviation English.” Show a clip of a busy tower or approach frequency to someone who has never flown an aircraft before, and it is borderline gibberish. It is obviously words they understand, but the cadence and meaning is lost. An appreciable portion of instrument training is improving these communications, so all parties have a mutual understanding of the intended flight path.
So when an event occurs and that two-way communication is lost, how does it usually shake out? With primary instrument students, I will usually run several scenarios to ensure they understand what ATC expects of them when they can no longer reach the aircraft. During IPCs, I start talking about lost comms by asking if the pilot had experienced this at any point during their flying career. Frequently, there was a story where a headset did not work correctly, or a radio panel failed and comm two was pulled up to save the day. Only two (so far) had fully lost communications, and one was completely VMC and returned to the departure airport with no issue. The other was on final already and landed. A quick review of the lightgun signals on their kneeboard and they made it back to the ramp without further incident, albeit with a bit more stress than usual. See the sidebar below for more.
