Listen to a short account of a navigation system failure over the North Sea, then write down exactly what air traffic control says in its one radio call to the crew. Play the audio, write what you hear, replay as many times as you need, then check your work against the transcript and the answer key.
Before you listen — key vocabulary
- GPS receiver (noun phrase) — a device on the aircraft that picks up position signals from satellites. e.g. “both GPS receivers failed within a few seconds.”
- VOR (noun, abbreviation) — a ground radio beacon that aircraft use to check their position. e.g. “there was no VOR coverage this far out over the sea.”
- radar vectors (noun phrase) — headings given by air traffic control to guide an aircraft, based on what controllers see on radar. e.g. “the crew asked for radar vectors to Bergen.”
- checklist (noun) — a printed list of steps a crew works through, one by one, during a problem. e.g. “the first officer worked through the checklist.”
Your dictation task
First, listen all the way through once without stopping, just to get the whole story. Then listen again and write down, word for word, everything Scottish Control says in its one radio call to Fjordair 214 — from “Fjordair 214” to “we’ll keep you on track.” Replay as many times as you need before checking your answer.
On a mid-morning flight from Aberdeen to Bergen, Fjordair 214, an E195, was cruising at flight level 350 over open water when both of its GPS receivers failed within a few seconds of each other.
Without reliable satellite positioning, the flight management system could no longer confirm the aircraft’s exact position. The crew reported the failure to Scottish Control and asked for radar vectors, since there was no VOR coverage this far out over the North Sea.
Scottish Control replied: “Fjordair 214, roger, turn left heading 090, radar vectors to Bergen, we’ll keep you on track.” The captain read back the heading, and the first officer began working through the checklist for a navigation system failure while the captain flew the aircraft and kept a visual lookout, since it was a clear day.
For the next thirty-five minutes, controllers on both sides of the North Sea passed the flight from sector to sector, giving fresh headings each time. As the coastline came into view, Bergen Approach took over and vectored the aircraft onto the approach for runway 17 at Bergen.
Fjordair 214 landed without further incident. Engineers later traced the fault to a shared wiring fault feeding both GPS antennas — a single fault that had knocked out both receivers together.
Listen again and notice how quickly small words disappear in phrases like “could no longer confirm” and “passed the flight from sector to sector” — natural speech links these into one flowing sound rather than separate words.
- Fjordair 214,
- roger, (a short word — easy to miss)
- turn left heading 090, (check you wrote the number, not “ninety degrees”)
- radar vectors to Bergen,
- we’ll keep you on track. (the contraction “we’ll” is often misheard as “we”)
- flight management system (noun phrase) — the aircraft’s on-board computer that plans and manages the route. e.g. “the flight management system could no longer confirm the aircraft’s position.”
- sector (noun) — a defined block of airspace controlled by one team of controllers. e.g. “controllers passed the flight from sector to sector.”
- heading (noun) — the direction an aircraft’s nose is pointing, given in degrees. e.g. “Scottish Control gave the crew a new heading.”
- visual lookout (noun phrase) — watching outside the cockpit windows for other traffic or hazards. e.g. “the captain kept a visual lookout on the clear day.”
- wiring fault (noun phrase) — a defect in the electrical cables connecting two parts of a system. e.g. “engineers traced a shared wiring fault feeding both antennas.”
Speaking follow-up
Imagine you are the first officer of Fjordair 214. After landing, your training captain asks you to explain, in your own words, what went wrong and how the crew handled it — from the GPS failure to the landing at Bergen. Record your answer aloud, in 45–60 seconds.
If a word won’t come, describe around it or use a filler and keep talking — staying fluent matters more than the perfect word. Record yourself on a phone voice memo and play it back; there’s no single right answer — aim for a clear, structured response under time pressure. Then record it once more, keeping going for the full time with fewer long pauses, and compare the two takes.
Play back your recording and rate yourself on each ICAO skill. Then re-record, focusing on whichever line you rated lowest.
| Skill | Ask yourself | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | Can a listener understand “radar vectors”, “checklist” and “flight management system” clearly, without needing to guess? | Yes / Almost / Not yet |
| Structure | Did you tell it in order — before (cruise, GPS failure) → during (checklist, radar vectors) → after (handover, landing)? | Yes / Almost / Not yet |
| Vocabulary | Did you use at least three of: GPS receiver, VOR, radar vectors, checklist, flight management system, sector, heading? | Yes / Almost / Not yet |
| Fluency | Did you keep talking for close to the full 45–60 seconds, without long silent gaps? | Yes / Almost / Not yet |
| Comprehension | If your captain asked a quick follow-up question, could you answer it based on what you just said? | Yes / Almost / Not yet |
Level: CEFR B2 / ICAO Level 5
If you want to hear how a crew handles losing another kind of on-board system over open water, try Listening: Weather Radar Failure and Diversion to Shannon.
