Communication Equipment Technical Problems
Communication Equipment Technical Problems
Description
Sound communications rely on reliable and efficient communication equipment. This article deals with technical problems involving communication equipment.
Types of Equipment Problems
The problems which contribute most commonly to communication breakdown are:
- Airborne radio equipment malfunction;
- Ground equipment malfunction; and,
- Stuck microphone selector.
Effects
Impairment of communication, or complete or partial loss of communication.
Defenses
Duplication of equipment makes the complete loss of communication an extremely rare event.
Typical Scenarios
- Sleeping receiver. The pilot realizes that they have heard no communication from ATC or other aircraft for some time. The pilot transmits successfully to ATC and finds that ATC has been trying unsuccessfully to make contact for some time. Post-flight investigations reveal no identifiable fault in the radio equipment.
- Airborne Equipment. The pilot selects a new frequency but the equipment does not respond to change, so the pilot is unable to transmit or receive on this frequency.
- Stuck Microphone. The microphone remains live after pressure on the transmit switch used has been released, blocking other transmissions on this frequency.
Solutions
- Flight crew should always record occurrences as defects in the Aircraft Technical Log after the flight. This will provide usable data and ensure that a technical assessment/response is made, recorded, and signed for.
- Pilots and ATCOs report any equipment malfunction, including the suspected sleeping receiver, using the national occurrence reporting system, to enable trends to be detected.
- Operators and ATCUs report equipment malfunctions to the manufacturer to allow improvements to be made to equipment.
- National authorities continue to investigate sleeping receivers to develop solutions.
Further Reading
- ALL CLEAR? Toolkit
AGC Safety Letters:
- AGC Safety Letter December 2004;
- AGC Safety Letter August 2005;
- AGC Safety Letter April 2006;
EUROCONTROL Action Plan for Air-Ground Communications Safety, including:
- AGC Briefing Note 3 – Loss of Communication;
OGHFA Briefing Notes:
- Pilot-Controller Communications (OGHFA BN);
EUROCONTROL Reports:
- Investigation into Loss of Communication;
- AGC Safety Study – Causes and Recommendations;
- AGC Safety Study – An Analysis of Pilot-Controller Occurrences;
Read more:
Aircraft Safety Management System Course Syllabus, Course Structure [ Subject Code: 8276]
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