LESSON29-SAMPLE TEST 2

LISTEN,READ AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

LISTENING TEST

Avianca 052 was on a regularly scheduled flight from Bogotá to New York's Kennedy Airport. Approaching New York, the aircraft was put in a series of extended holding patterns. Bad weather at Kennedy airport had caused many delays in take offs and landings and many aircraft were diverted to another airports or put on holding before cleared to land. After holding for 77 minutes, Avianca 052 informed ATC that they were running out of fuel and had only 5 minutes of fuel remaining. The flight was then cleared for approach and landing but, on short final, they encountered wind shear and the crew decided to discontinue the approach and proceed to the holding point for another approach.

During go-around, the plane ran out of fuel, all engines shut down and the aircraft crashed in a wooded area. Due to the lack of fuel, the aircraft did not burst into flames on impact, and this circumstance probably saved the lives of 85 people. Seventy-three passengers and crew died.

Investigators found that the captain spoke very poor English and had to communicate through the first officer. Although the crew stated in several occasions that they needed priority due to the fuel shortage, they never declared emergency.

Sample Questions:

Have you ever heard about a plane landing short of fuel?

Do you think that poor English is an important contributing factor in some accidents?