How to do this dictation
Listen to the audio recording and fill in the missing words and phrases. You can play the audio as many times as you like. Check your answers using the answer key and transcript below.
Before you listen — key vocabulary
These words appear in the recording. Knowing them before you listen will help you catch every word:
| holding short (phrase) | Waiting at the edge of the runway, not yet on it, until air traffic control gives clearance to cross or enter. |
| crossing clearance (noun phrase) | Official permission from air traffic control to cross an active runway. |
| surface movement radar (noun phrase) | A radar system at airports that shows the position of all aircraft and vehicles on the ground. |
| go-around (noun) | A procedure where a landing aircraft abandons its approach and climbs away to try again. |
| runway incursion (noun phrase) | When an aircraft or vehicle enters an active runway without clearance from air traffic control. |
Your dictation task
Fill in the missing words and phrases as you hear them.
Flight 4271, a _____ (1), was _____ (2) to _____ (3) at Frankfurt Airport. _____ (4), a _____ (5), callsign Sunrise 83, was _____ (6) of the same runway, waiting for _____ (7).
At 06:32 local time, the crew of Sunrise 83 _____ (8) without clearance from the tower. _____ (9) detected the incursion. The _____ (10) immediately issued a _____ (11) to Flight 4271.
The crew responded correctly and climbed to _____ (12). Sunrise 83 _____ (13) within seconds, and the two aircraft came no closer than _____ (14).
Flight 4271 _____ (15) and landed safely 15 minutes later. The incident was classified as a _____ (16). An _____ (17) was opened, and the crew of Sunrise 83 were suspended pending its outcome.
Speaking follow-up
You are the controller in the tower at Frankfurt Airport. Five minutes after the incident, your supervisor asks you to give a verbal summary of what happened. Without referring to any notes, describe the sequence of events clearly and in the correct order.
Record yourself on a phone voice memo so you can play it back and self-review. There’s no single right answer — the goal is to produce a clear, structured response under time pressure.
Level: CEFR B1–B2 / ICAO Level 4–5
Want to read about a real runway safety incident? See our news article: Frontier Jet Kills Man Who Breached Denver Runway.