Listening: Engine Fire on Takeoff from Gatwick

Your briefing

Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Callsign: Speedbird 472
Route: London Gatwick (EGKK) to Rome Fiumicino (LIRF)
Current state: You have just taken off from runway 26L at Gatwick and are climbing through 500 feet when the right engine fire warning activates. Your co-pilot is beginning the engine fire memory items. You are on Gatwick Departure frequency.
Souls on board: 137
Your role: Pilot Flying (PF)

How this works

You’re playing the pilot. A instructor will introduce the activity in her own voice, then the controller’s first transmission begins. Every radio transmission — controller or pilot — ends with a short roger beep, the cue that the speaker has finished. After each controller transmission, the instructor gives you an instruction — telling you what information to communicate back to the controller (e.g. read back a clearance, declare an emergency, report your status) — and reminds you that you have eight seconds to respond. Your job is to relay that information to the controller using proper ATC phraseology. Speak your reply aloud — recording yourself on a phone voice memo makes review easier. You’ll then hear one model pilot response against light cabin background — that’s one acceptable phrasing, not the only correct one. Take notes while you listen if it helps.

Comprehension

Q1. What initial climb altitude did the controller give?

a) 2,000 feet
b) 3,000 feet
c) 4,000 feet
d) 6,000 feet

Q2. What heading did the controller give after acknowledging the Mayday?

a) one eight zero
b) two five zero
c) two seven zero
d) three six zero

Q3. What did the controller say was standing by on runway 26L?

a) The engineering team
b) Ground handling crew
c) Fire services
d) Air ambulance

Q4. At what altitude was the aircraft told to descend before the ILS approach?

a) 3,000 feet
b) 2,500 feet
c) 2,000 feet
d) 1,500 feet

Click to see the answer key

d) 6,000 feet — the controller’s first clearance, before the Mayday was declared
d) three six zero — the post-Mayday vector to position for the return
c) Fire services
c) 2,000 feet — in the controller’s final ILS approach clearance

Click to read the transcript

Controller: Speedbird four seven two, Gatwick Departure, good morning. Radar contact. Climb to six thousand feet, heading one eight zero.

Instructor cue: Declare the emergency and request a return to Gatwick.

[Gap 1 — your turn]

Model pilot: Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. Gatwick Departure, Speedbird four seven two. Engine fire, right engine. Five hundred feet, one three seven souls on board. Request immediate return to Gatwick. Speedbird four seven two.
✓ Three Mayday calls; station and callsign given; nature of emergency, altitude, and souls on board stated; clear request made.

Controller: Speedbird four seven two, Mayday acknowledged. Turn right heading three six zero, climb to three thousand feet, vectors for ILS runway two six left. QNH one zero one eight.

Instructor cue: Read back the new heading, altitude, approach, and Q N H.

[Gap 2 — your turn]

Model pilot: Right turn heading three six zero, climbing to three thousand feet, ILS runway two six left, QNH one zero one eight, Speedbird four seven two.
✓ All clearance items read back in order; callsign at the end.

Controller: Speedbird four seven two, fire services are standing by on runway two six left. Can you confirm your current status?

Instructor cue: State that engine two is shut down and the fire bottle is discharged. Confirm the aircraft is controllable and you are ready for approach.

[Gap 3 — your turn]

Model pilot: Right engine fire warning is showing. Engine two shut down, fire bottle discharged. Aircraft is controllable. Ready for approach, Speedbird four seven two.
✓ Clear, factual status report: current abnormal indication, actions taken, aircraft state, readiness declared.

Controller: Speedbird four seven two, turn left heading two five zero, descend to two thousand feet. You are number one for runway two six left. Cleared for ILS approach runway two six left.

Instructor cue: Acknowledge the new heading, altitude, and approach clearance.

[Gap 4 — your turn]

Model pilot: Left heading two five zero, descend two thousand feet, cleared ILS runway two six left, Speedbird four seven two.
✓ Key items read back: heading, altitude, approach type and runway, callsign.

Click to see extended vocabulary

Mayday (call)	The international distress call, spoken three times, used when the aircraft faces an immediate threat to life. Three repetitions are mandatory.
souls on board (phrase)	The total number of people on the aircraft — passengers and all crew. Standard information in a Mayday call so rescue services know what to expect.
fire bottle (noun, informal)	A built-in fire extinguisher that the crew can discharge remotely into an engine to fight an engine fire.
QNH (abbreviation)	The local atmospheric pressure setting used to calibrate the altimeter. Spoken letter by letter. The controller gives it so the pilot’s altitude reading is accurate for the approach.
ILS approach (noun phrase)	Instrument Landing System approach — a precision approach using radio signals to guide the aircraft to the runway in any weather.
vectors (noun, plural)	Headings given by ATC to direct an aircraft along a specific track, usually to position it for an approach.
read-back (noun)	The pilot’s word-for-word repetition of a clearance back to ATC, confirming correct receipt. Required for all safety-critical instructions.
Mayday acknowledged (phrase)	The standard ATC response to a Mayday call, confirming the distress call has been received and assistance is being provided.

Now try a variation

How else could you have phrased the Mayday call in gap 1? What would change if the fire warning had come on during the takeoff roll — before rotation — rather than at 500 feet? How would that change your call and your options?

Level: CEFR B1–B2 / ICAO Level 4–5

Want to read about a real takeoff emergency? See our news article: Air India 787 Crashes on Takeoff, Killing 260.

Listening: Engine Fire on Takeoff from Gatwick

Your briefing

How this works

Comprehension

Now try a variation

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Your briefing

How this works

Comprehension

Now try a variation

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