Language Proficiency and the Cali Accident
On December 20, 1995, the English-speaking crew of American Airlines Flight 965 lost situational awareness on their approach to Cali, Columbia and became confused about their position. As a result, the aircraft impacted a mountain with the loss of 151 passengers and all eight crewmembers.
The ground controller, a native Spanish speaker, did not have a functioning radar and had to depend on the crew for position reports. He recognized the crew's confusion. However, his English proficiency was mostly limited to ATC clearances. He was not able to warn the crew about their situation in English. While the NTSB attributed the accident to pilot error, the controller's limited English proficiency might have played a role.
The following simulated reconstruction of the accident, with English subtitles, presents the contents of the final minutes on the cockpit voice recorder, including analysis. See if you can identify some of the places where the controller might have assisted the crew, had his English proficiency been better. The crew's confusion is very obvious. (Warning: some graphic language.)
From the CVR: Captain: "Just doesn't look right on mine. I don't know why." Famous last words...
SOURCE: Alec Joshua Ibay, YouTube, posted December 2, 2018.
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