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TESTBANK of ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFFICIENCY

(for AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS)

The aviation English test for ATCs consists of 02 parts:

❖ The Interview (about 15-20 minutes)
❖ The Role-play scenario (about 10 minutes)
Throughout the TWO sections of the test, the test taker will be examined the
ability based on the following six ICAO language proficiency requirements:
- Pronunciation
- Structure
- Vocabulary
- Fluency
- Comprehension
- Interactions
The test will be recorded for the purpose of rating.
The test will take about 25-30 minutes.
 PART I – INTERVIEW
(For Airtraffic Controllers)

A. WARM UP (2-3 minutes)

(The warm-up phase of the interview is very brief and consists of greeting the
interviewee, making him or her feel comfortable, exchanging the social
pleasantries and giving information about oneself)

STT Câu hỏi

Topics/
Main ideas
1. Feelings How are you today?
2. How do you feel now?
3. How do you normally feel just before an important
exam?
I feel a little bit nervous because this is an
important test for me.
4. Coming How long have you been waiting outside?
time/ I have been waiting here for about 1 hour.
5. Waiting When/What time did you come here?
6. time When did you get here this morning/afternoon? How
did you manage to be here on time?
I tried to go to bed early last night. And I got up at
6 a.m and tried to prepare everything quickly. I
had breakfast at 7.0 am. After that, I came here at
8 a.m by my motorbike.
7. Travelling/ How was your trip to get here? How long did it take
Traffic you to get here?
It just takes about 15 minutes to come here from
my house.
STT Câu hỏi
8. How did you get here? How was the traffic this
morning/afternoon?
I came here at 8 a.m by my motorbike.
9. How did you get here? How far is it from here to your
house?
The distance from my house to here is about 6 km.
10. How was the traffic on your way to get here?
11. How was the traffic this morning/afternoon?
12. Was there any traffic jam when you came here?
I came here in the early morning so traffic is quite
light. It’s convenient for me to come here.
13. How far is it from your house to your company?
14. How far is it from your house to your office/
workplace? How long does it take you to get there?
15. How long does it take you to get here from your
house?
16. Weather How is the weather today?
The weather today is cool and windy. It makes me
feel more comfortable.
The weather today is so hot. It makes me quite
tired. But I think hot is still better than rain. I
don’t like rainyrain .
17. Does the weather affect your mood?
Of course, the weather affects my mood. I don’t
like rainy days. It makes me feel sad and my mood
is down.
18. What do you like to do when it’s hot?
When it’s hot, I like going to the beach to swim or
go to the mountain to enjoy the fresh air. It makes
me feel comfortable.
19. What do you usually do in the winter/in the autumn
In winter, it usually
rains whole a day rains the whole day
, so I just want to stay at home and
prepare the meals for my family and enjoy it
STT Câu hỏi
together.
In autumn, It’s cool so I like it. In this weather,
It’s suitable to travel or go out with my friends to
reduce stress after working.
20. What do you think about the weather in this
morning/afternoon?
21. What’s the weather like today?
22. Breakfast, What time do you usually get up in the morning?
lunch What time did you get up this morning?
23. What do you often have for breakfast/lunch?
24. What did you have for breakfast/lunch today?

25. Yourself Where were you born?

I was born in Da Nang city
26. When were you born?/How old are you?
I was born in 1991. I’m 31 years old now.
27. What is your age? When is your birthday?
My birthday is on October 12th.
28. How did you prepare for this interview?
To prepare for this interview, I answered the
question in question bank and asked my colleague
to role-play as interviewee and interviewer.
29. Hometown/ Which town do you come from?
Living I come from Da Nang city.
30. places Where do you come from?
31. Where is your home town?
32. What is special about your hometown?
My home town is Da nang city. It’s famous for
beautiful bridges and food. Da nang has many
special foods such as my quang, banh xeo…
especially seafood. You can enjoy seafood with
reasonable price here. People here isare also
STT Câu hỏi
friendly and kind. Ba Na Hills is a place you
should visit when you are in Da Nang city. From
Da Nang city, you can visit Hue or Hoi An. It's
very near from Da nang.
33. What do you like about your hometown?
34. What is the weather like in your town?
My home town is located in the middle of Viet
nam. So the weather is tropical (climate). It has 2
seasons: rainy season and dry season.
Rainy season is from sep to January. The average
temperature is about from 20 to 25. It often
rain whole a dayrai
. In this
season, there are usually low visibility, strong
tailwind or wind shear making it difficult for the
operation of aircraft.
Dry season is from February to August. The
average temperature is about 28 to 35. It’s very
hot. It sometimes has fog and mist in the early
morning and thunderstorms in the west in the
afternoon.

35. How often do you go back to your hometown?

36. How many seasons are there in your hometown?
37. Is your hometown famous for anything?
38. When and where were you born? Do you often visit
your hometown?
39. When and where were you born? Where do you live
now?
40. Where do you come from? Where are you living
now?
41. Where do you live?
42. Do you live near here?
43. What is the name of the street you live on?
44. What do you like about your home? Is there anything
you would like to change/improve about your home.
I love my home so much. I have stayed there for 20
STT Câu hỏi
years. So I have many good memories there. My
neighborhood is so kind and friendly. They’re
always ready to help me whenever I need it. This is
the thing I like most there. My home was built 20
years ago. So I think It’s better if my home is
painted again (or repainted) with a new colour.
45.a What sort of home do you live in?
46. What kind of accommodation do you live in?
I’m living in my house. It’s on Dinh Cong Trang
street.
47. Where do you live now? How long have you been
living there?
48. Where are you living now? With whom?
49. Do you live in a house or a flat? Who do you live
with?
50. How long have you lived in Ha Noi/ Da Nang/ Ho
Chi Minh/ …city?

51. Work How long have you been working for Vietnam Air
Traffic Management Corporation (VATM)?
I have been working for VATM for 9 years, since
2013.
52. Where do you work? What do you do at work?
I work at Da Nang approach control center. I
control all operations of aircraft in my area,
coordinate with relative units to keep the safety for
the aircraft.
53. Are you an air traffic controller or a watch
supervisor?
I’m still an air traffic controller now.
54. Do you enjoy your work?
STT Câu hỏi
Yes, my work is very interesting and has many
challenges. I love to face it and overcome the
challenges.
55. What’s your working position in ATC?
My position in ATC is area control.
56. Which unit are you working at (TWR, APP, GCU or
ACC)?
57. What’s your working position in ATC? Which ATC
unit do you like to work at?
My position in ATC is approach control. I have
worked as approach control for a long time. So I
get familiar with work procedures here and I can
control aircraft well in control airspace. That’s
Why I like to work at approach control.
B. LEVEL CHECK (5- 7 minutes)
(This phase is to assess the ability to perform linguistic tasks at base level.
The interviewee can perform the function and speak about the designated
content areas with the great degree of accuracy)
GENERAL
1. Which is safer, air or highway travel? Can you give your opinions about
that?
In my opinion, traveling by air is safer than traveling by highway.
Because nowadays, aircraft are equipped with modern equipment such
as TCAS…besides, ATC always controls aircraft’s operation in their
area to keep the safety. It’s effective in preventing collisions between
aircraft. On the highway, the driver may be drunk while driving. It
can cause terrible incidents.
2. Compare traffic on the ground with traffic in the air, which is more
complicated in your opinion? Why?
In my opinion, when controlling traffic on the ground or in the air, you
must pay attention all the time. But I think traffic in the air is more
complicated than traffic on the ground. Because in the air, aircrafts
are moving very fast and it is impossible to stop. Besides that it can be
affected by the weather. Pilot req changes HDG and FL immediately.
That is why controlling a/c in the air is more difficult than on the
ground.
On the ground, if there is any conflict between aircraft and aircraft or
aircraft and obstacles, air traffic controllers can stop them almost
immediately.
3. “Travelling by air is more dangerous than travelling by road” Do you agree
or disagree?
No, I don’t agree with that.
4. How often do you travel by airplane? Have you had any problems with
travelling by air? Tell me about that.
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5. Tell me something you know about Noi Bai/Da Nang/Tan Son Nhat
international airport.
Da Nang international airport is located in Hai Chau district, about 2
km from the city center with convenient traffic. Da Nang airport is the
third busiest airport in Viet Nam. It has two parallel runways
equipped with a lighting system, instrument landing system, and air
navigation aid system for flight operations. Two runways are parallel
but they operate dependently because the distance between two
centerlines of two runways are is not enough 760 m. Da Nang airport
is a combined airport with the civil commercial flights and military
flights for training of the VietNamese air force. The airport has two
terminals for passengers. Aerodrome classification is 4E and the
aerodrome elevation is 9 meters.
6. Can you describe the geography of Noi Bai/Da Nang/Tan Son Nhat
international airport (the layout and the area around the airport)?
I will describe the geography of Da Nang airport:
DN airport is surrounded by mountains in the west and sea in the east.
In the North is Cau Hai Gulf.
In the Northeast is Son Tra mountain.
In the Southeast is Hon Ong and Cu Lao Cham island.
In the South is Thu Bon river.
In the West is 1A highway.
In the North west: Hai Van and Bach Ma mountain.
Yourself, home, Hometown

7. Tell me something about yourself including your educational background

(but don’t mention your name).
I was born and grew up in Da Nang city. I studied primary, secondary
and high school in my home town, Da Nang city. After that, I studied
accounting at Duy tan university. After graduated graduating from

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 my university, I studied basic ATC in ATMTC for 18 months. During
that time, I spent 1 year studying theory subjects in Ha Noi and 6
months to practice in simulator in HCM city. After that, I returned to
my location to join a training course for ATC beginners including 6
months in simulator and 6 months at real working position.
8. Tell me something about your house.
My house is on Dinh Cong Trang street in Da Nang city. It’s built 20
years ago. I live here with my mother and my wife. There are two
floors in my house. On the ground floor there is a living room with a
big sofa, my mother’s bedroom , a kitchen and a bathroom. On the top
floor there is my bedroom, a bathroom and a washing room. My house
is painted by->in white. I feel comfortable when I live in my house.
Home is where my heart belongs. I love my house so much.
9. Tell me something about the house you are living in?
10. Could you tell me something about your family?
There are 3 members in my family: my mother, my wife and me. . My
father passed away a long time ago. We get on well with and rely on
each other. We always have meals and watch TV together after a long
working day. We also support each other to overcome ups and downs
in life. I really love my family and I think it is the warmest place to
welcome me back everyday.
11. Tell me something about your hometown.
English
12. “It is said that air traffic controllers must speak English fluently”. Give
your own opinion about that.
ATC uses English to communicate with the pilot everyday. If you’re
good at English, You can feel more confident and avoid
misunderstandings between ATC and pilots. Besides that, it also helps
reduce the workload of both ATC and pilot, especially when abnormal
situations happen. Moreover, many aviation documents are written in
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 English, being good at English also helps me understand these more.
Therefore I can improve my aviation knowledge. So I think English is
very important for ATC to develop working skills.
13. “English Speaking and Listening skills are important for every air traffic
controller”. What do you think about that?
14. Is English proficiency important for an air traffic controller in your
opinion? Why?
15. Is English proficiency important for an air traffic controller? Explain the
reason why ICAO standard phraseologies must be used in communication
between pilots and air traffic controllers?
As you know, ATC uses English to communicate with the pilot
everyday. ATC and pilots come from different countries Where
English is not their first language, So they have different
pronunciation, intonation,accent….It makes difficult to communicate
between ATC and pilot. By using phraseologies, communication
between pilots and air traffic controllers is easier and It helps avoid
misunderstanding between ATC and pilot. Besides that, It also helps
reduce the workload of both ATC and pilot. That’s Why I think It’s
very important to use phraseology in communication between pilots
and ATC.
16. Why is English proficiency important for air traffic controllers?
17. Could you explain why ICAO standard phraseologies must be used in
communication between pilots and air traffic controllers?
18. How is English important for ATC job in your opinion? Why?
19. How long have you been studying English? Could you share some of your
experience in learning English?
20. How long have you learned English? What do you find difficult in learning
English?
I have studied English for 20 years. I think the most difficult part is
speaking English exactly and fluently. As you know, English is not my
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 first language. So I can speak English but I meet hard about
have difficulties with
words and pronunciation…English is the same as
Vietnamese. It has many different words to talk about one topic. I try
my best to improve my English skills day by day, especially speaking
and listening skills Because It’s very important in my job.
21. In your opinion, what is the most difficult part in learning English? Why?
22. How long have you been studying English? What skills in English are you
good at?
23. How often do you use English? Do you find any difficulty using English at
work? Why?
24. How often do you use English at work? Describe some situations when you
use English at work.
25. How often do you use English at work? What do you do to improve your
speaking skill?
To improve speaking skill, the first step is learning how to pronounce
the words correctly by listening to music or watching films in English..
I also join an English club, where I can practice my speaking skill
frequently. Besides that, When I have the chance, I try to talk to native
speakers as much as possible. I think it’s the best way to improve my
speaking skill.
26. How often do you use English at work? Can you suggest some ways to
improve English speaking skill?
27. When did you start studying English? What do you do to improve your
English proficiency?
28. What skills in English are you good at? What do you do to improve your
English skills?
29. What skills in English are you good at? Could you suggest some ways to
improve English speaking skill?
30. Could you suggest some ways to improve English proficiency for ATCs?

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31. Do you think that ATC job will give you a lot of chance to practice
English? Why?
32. Have you ever studied English with an English native teacher? Do you
think that it is an effective way to learn English? Why or Why not?
33. Have you got any English communication problems at work? Tell me about
that.
34. Have you got any English communication problems at work? What have
you done to improve that problem?
35. When did you last experience a language problem in English?
36. Have you ever had any difficulty with language in your communications?
37. Why is a good standard of English Language required for ATC?
Team work

38. Is teamwork important for ATCOs? How important is it for you to work
with friendly colleagues?
Yes, teamwork is very important for ATC. As you know, ATC works
in pairs. When you work with friendly colleagues, you will feel
comfortable to work together. Working in a comfortable environment
is the way to reduce stress in my work. Besides that, We can support
each other better to complete our work. So Work efficiency is also
increased.
39. If you have problems or difficulties in your work or in your life, are you
able to discuss these with your supervisor or manager? How important is it to
have sympathetic and interested supervisors/managers?

R/T Communication
40. What are some main factors causing misunderstandings between pilots and
controllers in your opinion?
In my opinion, there are some main factors as follows:

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 First, because pilots and ATC come from different countries where
English is not their first language, so they have different
pronunciation, intonation, accent, etc.. That’s Why they sometimes
misunderstand each other.
Second, sometimes the pilots don’t read back to ATC clearance or the
ATCs don’t focus on the pilot’s read back. This also causes
misunderstanding.
Third, The bad quality of VHF frequency such as background noise
also makes it difficult to communicate and it may lead to
misunderstanding.
Besides, If pilots and ATC don’t use correct phraseologies it may cause
misunderstanding too.
41. Could you describe some main factors causing misunderstandings between
pilots and controllers?
42. What are some problems you often face when communicating with pilots?
43. What is the most important skill that needs to be improved to avoid
misunderstanding in voice communication, in your opinion?
The most important skill that needs to be improved to avoid
misunderstanding in voice communication is English skill, especially
listening and speaking skill. If you’re good at English, You can feel
more confident and understand what the pilots say easier
more easily
. You can use phraseology exactly. Besides that, It also helps
reduce the workload of both ATC and pilot, especially when abnormal
situations happen.
44. What problems can affect communication between Pilot and ATC?
First is the human factor. Pilots and ATC come from different
countries where English is not their first language, so they have
different pronunciation, intonation, accent, etc.. That’s Why they
sometimes misunderstand each other.

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 The second is the quality of equipment and radiotelephony frequency.
Sometimes there is background noise on frequency that makes it
difficult to communicate between ATC and pilot.
The last is coverage of VHF. When aircraft fly at low altitude or
around the mountain, it’s difficult to establish communication between
ATC and pilot.
45. What would you recommend pilots and ATCs to avoid misunderstandings?
- Use phraseology correctly.
- Improve English skill, especially listening and English skill.
- Pilot should read back the ATC instruction and ATC should focus on
the pilot’s readback.
- Improve the quality of VHF frequency.
46. Do you think language can be a barrier for pilots and controllers in
communication? Can you give me an example? Have you ever been in such
situations?
47. Why is it necessary for pilots to repeat or read back the instructions given
by the air traffic controller?
Controllers must control many aircraft at the same time, so sometimes
they can give wrong instructions to the pilot. When the pilot read back
the clearance, ATC would realize that it was the wrong one. Therefore,
a new clearance will be given by ATC. Pilots also may not be able to
hear the instructions correctly from ATC, Which could cause terrible
consequences. There are many factors causing misunderstanding
between pilot and ATC such as similar callsign, similar
pronunciation….so it’s necessary for the pilot to read back the
instructions to enhance the safety.
48. In your opinion, which is the most convenient means of communication
between pilots and air traffic controllers? Why?
In my opinion, the most convenient means of communication between
pilots and air traffic controllers is voice communication. By using voice
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 communication, When you don’t understand what the pilots say, you
can ask them to say it again or clarify it another way. It’s also flexible,
especially in abnormal situations. Besides that, when you transmit a
message, All aircrafts on your frequency can hear it, so you can make a
broadcast for many aircrafts at the same time. So It helps in reducing
the workload of ATC.
49. In your opinion, what is a more convenient means of communication
between pilots and ATCs, voice communication or data link
communication? Why?
50. Can you tell me some advantages and disadvantages of using voice
communication between pilots and air traffic controllers?
51. Why is it important for controllers to listen to pilot’s read back?

ATC Training
52. Tell me something about yourself, including your educational and ATC
background.
I studied basic ATC in ATMTC for 18 months. During that time, I
spent 12 months to study studying theory and 6 months
practice practicing in simulator. After that, I returned to my location
to join a training course for ATC beginners including 6 months in
simulator and 6 months at real working position.
53. What training courses did you attend to become an air traffic controller?
54. Where did you take your basic training for ATC job? Please tell me
something about that course.
55. Tell me something about your basic ATC training courses.
56. Can you tell me the process how you have been trained to become an
ATC? How about your on-the-job training?
When I’m on job training, I have a chance to observe the ATC’s work.
I can learn how to control air traffic situations well from my senior

9
 colleagues. OJT instructors also teach me the necessary skills and help
me more understand aviation documents. So, I have basic knowledge
to control aircraft when I become a real air traffic controller.
57. What subjects did you study at your initial training course?
In my initial training course, I studied many theory subjects such as
aircraft performance, runway, meteorological, human factor, English
aviation….
58. Which subjects were you good at/bad at when you studied your basic
ATC training course? Why?
59. What was the most difficult part of your training to become an air traffic
controller?
The most difficult part of my training to become an air traffic
controller is that I didn’t know how to apply the theory knowledge on
controlling aircraft in simulator and establish separation between
aircraft. I spent a lot of time in the simulator to practice. Finally, I can
overcome the difficulties to complete my training course well.
60. Compare different ATC training courses you have attended, which is the
most useful course for your career in your opinion? Why?
In my opinion,I think the initial training course is the most useful
course for my career. Because It gives trainees basic aviation
knowledge. From the initial training course, trainees also have
necessary skills in handling traffic situations. But refresher or
recurrent courses are also very important and useful for ATC.
61. Why is training important for ATCs in your opinion? What about refresher
or recurrent courses?
62. What is the importance of training for an air traffic controller? What about
your refresher or recurrent courses?
63. What do you think about simulator training for ATCs? Tell me what you
have learned from simulator training.

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 Simulator training is very useful and has many advantages. It gives
trainees the real feeling of being an ATC and helps trainees
understand more and have many working experiences. It also helps
trainees practice necessary skills. I can practice phraseology
frequently, so i can use it fluently. Besides that, I have a chance to
handle abnormal situations. In the simulator, I can start again when I
make mistakes so I can avoid the mistakes when I work in real
situations.
64. Is Simulator training important for air traffic controllers? Why?
65. Why should controllers take annual training in your opinion?
In my opinion, annual training is very important and useful for ATC.
It helps ATC to update the new aviation knowledge. Besides that, ATC
can learn basic knowledge again to more understand them. Moreover,
ATC can practice controlling aircraft in simulators, especially having a
chance to handle abnormal situations. So, ATC feels more comfortable
and confident when they control aircraft in the real.
66. Is it necessary for controllers to take annual training in your opinion? Why?
67. How does training help you in handling non-routine situations?
Training gives me experience and knowledge so I feel confident and
more comfortable when facing real situations. I know how to ensure
the safety of all flight activities but I hope abnormal situation will
never happen.
68. Have you ever taken an overseas training course? Tell me something about
the course.
69. Have you ever been abroad for ATC training? If you were offered a chance
for an overseas ATC training course, which country would you choose and
why?
70. What are the benefits of overseas training in your opinion?
[Link] you have to have periodical training (huấn luyện định kỳ) to learn about
changes?
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72. Did you enjoy your ATCO training? Where did you do your training? What
subjects did you find particularly interesting or particularly difficult?

ATC job
73. What do you know about your company? What are the main functions?
MIRATS stands for Middle region air traffic service Company.
MIRATS provides air traffic control service for flights which operate
in the middle region of VietNam. In addition to the air traffic control
unit, MIRATS also provides flight information services, air traffic
advisory services and alarm services. It provides service to aircraft 24
hours a day.
74. Can you tell me something you know about VATM?
VATM stands for Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation.
VATM consists of some companies such as: Northern Region Air
traffic Service Company, Middle region Air Traffic Service Company,
Southern Region Air Traffic Service Company, Vietnam Aeronautical
Information Center (VNAIC), Air Traffic technical Company limited.
VATM provides 5 air navigation services: Air Traffic Service,
aeronautical Information Service. Communication Navigation
Surveillance, Meteorological service and Search and Rescue Service.
75. Can you tell me about the main purpose of ATC service?
The main purpose of ATC service:
Prevent collisions between aircraft.
Prevent collisions between aircraft on the maneuvering area and
obstructions on that area.
Maintain and expedite an orderly flow of ải traffic.
Provide advice and information useful for the safety and efficiency of
flights.
Notify organizations regarding aircraft in need of search and recuse
and assist them.
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76. What is the main purpose of ATC service?
77. Do you think it is equal for women working in ATC? Why?
78. People have different views about the work of ATC, what is your opinion
about ATC job?
79. How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t know anything
about ATC?
ATC is called the police in the sky. We have many positions such as
tower control, approach control, area control and ground control.
Each position has different missions but they all must ensure the safety
of all aircraft in the responsibility area. We work in pairs and help
each other. We give instructions to aircraft to land, take off, and
change heading or flight level. I think my job is very interesting and
important in aviation.
80. What do you think about the work of an air traffic controller?
81. What do you normally do at work?
82. What do you enjoy most about ATC job? In your opinion, are there any
disadvantages working as an ATC? What are they?
The thing I enjoy most in my job is that my job has many challengings.
I like facing challenges and overcoming them. Besides, I also have a
chance to communicate with the pilots who come from different
countries in the world. It makes me feel interested and I can improve
myself day by day. About disadvantages, ATC must work in shifts. It
affects their health and relationships. Working under high pressure
sometimes makes ATC stressful after working.
83. Could you describe your job? Do you think it’s a difficult job? Why?
84. What is your opinion about ATC job?
My job is an interesting and important job in aviation. I think every
job has both advantages and disadvantages. About advantages in my
job, you can work in professional environment, have chance to
improve yourself day by day, have a good salary….About
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 disadvantages, when you are ATC mean that you must work under
high pressure, work in shift…In short, I still love my job so much.
85. What do you think about ATC job?
86. What do you most impress about ATC job?
87. What is your opinion about ATC job? What do you consider to be the best
thing about this job?
88. Do you think ATC job is very special and only some people can do the job?
Why/Why not?
89. Which part of your job do you enjoy most?
90. What do you enjoy most about your job? What do you dislike about your
job?
91. Why are you interested in ATC job? What did you know about the career
before you chose it?
92. In your opinion, what are good things and bad things of ATC job?
93. What do you think are good things and bad things of ATC job?
94. In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of ATC job?
95. What do you find most challenging about your job?
Stress is the most challenging thing about my job, I think so. ATC
must pay attention at all times to keep the safety for aircraft’s
operation. When having abnormal situation or military training, ATC
have to work under high pressure. Besides, working in shift also affects
ATC’s health. All of that thing make ATC stress. ATC must overcome
stress to complete their work well.
96. In your opinion, what is the most difficult/ challenging of your job as an air
traffic controller?
97. Why did you decide to become an air traffic controller?
98. Why are you interested in ATC job?
99. Please tell me why you are interested in ATC job?
100. How did you become an ATC?
101. What influenced you to choose this job?
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102. When did you start your career in aviation? Why did you choose ATC as
your career?
103. Do you think that the aviation industry will increase or decrease in the
future?
Yes, of course. The aviation industry will increase in the future. People
will choose to travel by airplane instead of by train or car. It’s more
convenient and quick.
104. How do you think your job will change in the future?
105. How has your work changed since you started?
106. Do you think you made a good decision in choosing to become an ATCO
or do you regret that you did not choose another career?
107. What are your main duties at work?
108. What are your responsibilities at work?
109. What are your work responsibilities?
110. What responsibilities do you have at work?
111. Which ATC position do you work? In your opinion, which position is the
most difficult?
112. Can you tell me how to become an ATC?
113. How to become a good air traffic controller, in your opinion?
114. How did your interest in ATC? Through family or friends or just a passion
for aviation?
115. Would you say that you have a good salary? How important is it to you
have a high salary? Or are other things more important to you? If so, what
things?
116. The job of an ATCO is a very responsible one. Do you enjoy this
responsibility or does it sometimes worry you?
Job Skills and Characteristics
117. What are the most important characteristics of a good air traffic controller
in your opinion?

15
 Excellent memory: controlling the aircraft requires air traffic
controllers to remember many factors such as distance, flight level,
position….of a lot of aircraft at the same time, especially in the non
radar environment.
Making decisions under pressure: air traffic controllers must think
fast and make an effective decision in a short time to keep safety in the
air. Decisions cannot be delayed when working live traffic.
Teamwork skills: air traffic controllers are working in pairs, so
teamwork skill is very important. If you have good teamwork skills,
you and your partner could help each other in your work and improve
work efficiency.
118. What are some important characteristics required to be a good air traffic
controller?
119. What are some necessary skills and characteristics of a good air traffic
controller?
Communication skills: Air traffic controllers must be able to give
instruction clearly, listen carefully to the pilot’s request and speak
clearly.
Decision making skills: Controllers must make quick decisions. For
example, when pilot request a change of altitude or heading to avoid bad
weather, the ATC must give instructions quickly, so that the plane can
operate safely.
Organizational skills: Controllers must be able to know what they
should do first in order to give priority because they may receive the
requirements from several pilots at the same time.
Problem solving skills: Controllers must be able to understand difficult
situations, and can give suitable instruction for pilots, providing pilots
with an appropriate solution.
120. What are some necessary characteristics required to become a good air
traffic controller?
16
121. What are some required skills of an air traffic controller?
122. Should ATCs be calm and self-confident? Why?
Yes, ATC should be calm and self-confident. Because when you can
keep calm and confident, you can acknowledge the situation exactly
and you can know what you should do, therefore you can give suitable
instruction. If you feel nervous or confused, you will give wrong
instructions to the pilot and you can’t keep the safety for the aircraft.
123. Should ATCs be cool under pressure? Why?
124. What skills do you need to be successful in your job?
125. What skills do you need to be a good ATC?
126. What do you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses?
127. What do you consider to be your greatest strengths? Weaknesses?
128. What are your good points and weak points? What did you do to improve
yourself?
129. As you know that the air traffic volume nowadays has increased steadily,
what have you done to improve your working skills?
130. What do you think is the most important working skill that you need to
improve? Why?
131. What have you done to improve your working skills to meet the job
requirements?

Working Day/ Time

132. Could you tell me about your typical working day?
We usually work in shifts. By the time we take shift change, we should
get all the necessary information from our colleagues.
For arriving traffic: we receive the information of aircraft from adjacent
control units and coordinate with other relevant ATC units before the
aircraft fly over the area of our responsibility. When we take control of
the aircraft, we give them the weather conditions and approach
procedures of their destinations as well as other necessary information
17
 over VHF frequency. During the control, we have to maintain
separations between all traffic by the use of radar. The aircraft shall be
transferred to other control units when they are out of the area of our
responsibility. The control is taken until the aircraft have landed safely
and taxi to the apron.
For departing traffic: after their flight plans have been filed and
checked, we give the aircraft the ATC clearance to their destinations
including routes to be followed, altitudes to be maintained, pass
necessary information, control aircraft until they reach the area of other
control units. Of course, we have to do the same work for arriving
traffic.
133. Could you describe a typical working day?
134. What are your main tasks in a typical working day?
135. Are your working days always the same or are they different?
136. What is normally the busiest time in your working shift?
137. What is normally the busiest time when you are on duty?
138. Could you explain hours and shifts during a regular working day?
139. Could you describe working conditions in a regular working day?
140. Do you like working on a day or night shift? Why?
141. Can you tell me about advantages and disadvantages of working in shifts?
In my opinion, working in shift has a number of advantages as well as
disadvantages.
About advantages, I think working in shifts can mean a lot of freedom
and convenience. As you know, my job is very stressful. So after
working I must relax to relieve my stress. I can do whatever I want to
relax even When I am at the office if I am not on duty. I can read
newspapers, go online or do something like that. Working in shift is
also very convenient because I have 3 days working and 1 day off. And
When I’m busy, I can suggest my colleagues to change the shift with
me.
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 About disadvantages, It affects my health. All air traffic controller
must be on duty at night. So We don’t sleep properly and feel tired
even if we sleep the whole day after the night shift. So We have a
higher risk of developing heart diseases. Besides, working in shift
affects my relationships. When working in shift I must work at
weekends or even on holidays such as Tet holiday, Valentine’s
day….So I can not spend time for my beloved people.
In short, I think that every job has advantages and disadvantages.
Therefore, it’s better for us to increase the positive sides.
142. Do you enjoy shift work? (Are there certain hours of the day during which
you would prefer not to work?)
Work-related Issues
143. What are the main problems that ATCs have to deal with nowadays?
144. Can you describe the geography of an airspace you are familiar with?
I would like to describe the airspace of Da Nang control. Da Nang
control has the vertical limitation from the ground to FL245 except to
the area of Da Nang APP, DN TWR, CL TWR, PLK TWR, PCA
TWR,PB TWR.
In the North is FIR HN and FIR HCM boundary line.
In the West is VietNam and Laos boundary line, Vietnam and
Cambodia boundary line.
In the North east is FIR HCM and FIR SANYA boundary line.
In the East: longitude at 110 degrees East.
In the South is latitude at 13 degrees 30 minutes North.
145. Tell me about the weather conditions at your airport?
The weather is tropical climate. It has 2 seasons: rainy season and dry
season.
Rainy season is from sep to January. The average temperature is about
from 20 to 25. It often rain whole a day. In this season, there are

19
 usually low visibility, strong tailwind or wind shear making it difficult
for operation of aircraft.
Dry season is from February to August. The average temperature is
about 28 to 35. It’s very hot. It sometimes has fog and mist in the early
morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon.
146. When does bad weather often happen in your airspace and please mention
some bad weather phenomena?

There are many weather phenomena that affect aircraft taking off and
landing such as: tailwind, crosswind, wind shear, cb overhead, heavy
rain, fog, mist, hail, low cloud, thunderstorm, low visibility … and so
on

For example when the heavy rain makes the visibility low and reduces
visibility of pilots, sometimes it is below minima, a/c cannot land in
some cases, a/c doesn’t have the RWY in sight so he must go around
and hold for the wx better.

147. What kinds of weather are difficult for air traffic control? Why?
148. Should controllers know about aircraft performance? Why/Why not?
149. Do ATCs need to know about aircraft performance? Why/Why not?
Well, the controllers have to control the aircraft. So, in my opinion, the
ATC should know about the aircraft performance as much as possible.
The ATC should know about type of aircraft, climb speed or descent
speed, load of aircraft and feature of aircraft to give suitably suitable
instruction for to the pilot.
150. Is it important for an ATC to know about aircraft performance (such as
speed, landing gear, engines, etc.)? Why?
151. How much should ATCs know about aircraft performance? Why?
152. What surveillance systems do air traffic controllers use to control air
traffic?
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153. What do you know about surveillance systems in ATC?
154. What do you know about TCAS or ACAS?
TCAS stands for Traffic Collision Avoidance System and ACAS means
Airborne Collision Avoidance System. Both TCAS and ACAS are
based on secondary surveillance radar (SSR) transponder signals.
There are two types of alerts that can be issued by ACAS and TCAS.
They are TA ( traffic advisory) and RA ( resolution advisory). There
are three types of TCAS and ACAS and the most popular type is
ACAS II or TCAS II. The information provided by TCAS and ACAS
as follows:
First, ACAS I and TCAS I provide traffic advisory (TA) but do not
recommend any maneuver.
Second, TCAS II and ACAS II provide traffic advisory and resolution
advisory in vertical direction to avoid conflicting traffic.
Last, TCAS III and ACAS III provides traffic advisory and resolution
advisory in both vertical and horizontal direction.
155. How do you maintain separation between aircraft in your airspace?
156. How do you separate aircraft in your airspace?
157. Does RADAR help air traffic controllers to do their job easier? Can you
explain?
Yes, of course. Radar is very useful for ATC and helps ATC reduce
their workload. By using radar, We can see all the signals of aircraft
on the radar screen. It provides important information for ATC such
as callsign, altitude, speed, distance….Using radar helps ATC prevent
conflict between aircraft especially When aircraft cross level of each
other on the same route or head on. Moreover, Radar system helps
ATC expedite departing or arriving aircraft, reducing separation
standard compared with conventional separation.
158. What information should controllers know before taking over watch?

21
 Before taking over watch, controllers should have a good mood and get
enough information including traffic information, weather conditions,
communication facilities status, VIP flights information,...from the
transferring controller.
159. What information should an ATC know before taking over watch/his shift?
160. What would ATCs normally do before taking over his watch?
161. Before taking over working position what information is usually exchanged
between controllers?
162. Could you describe your working environment briefly? What is the
maximum number of aircraft you have handled when you are on duty?
163. When you are handling a difficult traffic situation, what is the most
important thing you have to do? Explain in details.
When handling a difficult traffic situation, in my opinion, the most
important thing is to keep calm and confident to face it. Because when
you keep calm, you can acknowledge the situation exactly and you can
know what you should do, therefore you can give suitable instruction
to the pilot. If you feel nervous or confused, you will give wrong
instructions to the pilot and you can not keep the safety for the
aircraft.
164. Have you ever experienced a bad weather situation in your job? Tell me
something about it.
165. What challenges did you meet during your first time controlling real
traffic?
At the first time when I control real traffic, I feel a bit nervous. My
feeling is different from when I control the aircraft in the simulator. I
must ensure the safety for all aircrafts in my area, so I have a little
pressure when I give instruction to the pilot. And sometimes it’s very
hard to hear clearly what the pilot say. I must try to get familiar with
listening by audio frequency. Finally, I can overcome the difficulties to
complete my work well.
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166. What are some of the common problems in ATC facilities?

There are some problems with ATC facilities such as:

- Stuck microphone.

- FDP malfunction so we can’ input FL into the label of a/c.

- VHF freq : Radio interference, background noise, another strange

VHF transmission, jammed, 2 a/c transmit at the time.

- RADAR: the target no stable or false target appear near the real
target, causing STCA . It makes me confused.

- NAVIGATION AID: VOR, DME, ILS out of services…

167. What equipment at work do you have the most problem with? Why?
168. How do you handle a stuck microphone as an ATC?

ATC :

If I get this situation:

- I will check my microphone by pressing it several times to release it .

-Use another headset or handset.

- If I can’t solve the problem, I will report to my watch supervisor

about that.

- Request technician help.

- Request another air traffic controller to help me monitor the traffic.

-At last if my efforts cannot get the results I think my WS will use
backup sys to continue control a/c.

PIL :

-I check which a/c is stucking, pay attention to a/c I have just

communicated.

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 -Use EMR frq or request another a/c relay mess and request him check
his transmission.

-Finally, if I can't find which a/c is stuck, I try my best by requesting

one a/c change to stand by frq. If it is good, I will request all a/c (except
suspected a/c)

169. What would you do if you had a situation with a stuck microphone?

In this case, I would check whether it was from ATC or pilot’s

microphone. If I make it stuck, I would release it or use standby
microphone, if the pilot got stuck, I would check the a/c which
communicated the last time and ask him to release it. If I didn’t know
who got stuck, I would transmit on emergency frequency and advice to
release the microphone.

170. Can you tell me some kinds of ATC Documents you are using? What are
the differences between these kinds of documents?

In ATC, we have many types of documents. Such as LOA, DOC 4444,

MANOP, ANNEX...

- ANNEX we learn the general ways to control an a/c

- DOC4444 they prescribe the standard laws in more detail.

- MANOPS is an operations manual which includes general working

procedures for controllers at one air traffic control center.

- LOAs show us mutual working procedures between two control units.

For example, we use 30nm separation for a/c traversing between Hanoi
and Sanya FIRs, but we use only 20nm separation for a/c traversing
between Hanoi and HCM FIRs.( mutual- chung,qua laị)

171. Do you spend time reading ATC documents? Do you have any difficulty
studying these documents? Can you tell me about this?

24
172. Have you ever taken part in a familiarization flight? Could you tell me
more details about that?
173. What are advantages of taking a familiarization flight in your opinion?
From my viewpoint, I think It is very necessary for ATC, because it
helps ATC understand the pilot’s work more. During Familiarization
flight, we have a chance to observe all segments of the flight and we
know the difficulties in each segment. Besides, we also know about how
aircraft operate and how long pilots take to receive instructions and
cary out it and we know the busiest segment to give instruction at
suitable moments.
174. What are some difficulties you may have in your job?
175. What are some difficulties in handling traffic for an ATC?
176. Do you think that you will get more experience by handling difficult traffic
situations? Why?
177. Can you describe your most rewarding (or difficult) work experience?
178. Can you tell me about the advantages of working in a team?
179. Do you think team work is really important for air traffic controllers?
Why?
180. Do you think teamwork is really good for ATC? Why?
181. Do you like to work independently or in a team? Why?

Work-related Stress
182. Many people think ATC job is a very stressful one with a lot of
responsibilities, what do you think about that?
183. When working in the same shift, what tells you that your colleague is
becoming stressed?
184. What do you normally do when you feel sleepy while on duty?
185. How do you stay alert during your night shift?
186. In order to prevent feeling sleepy while on duty, what do you normally do?

25
187. Do you sometimes feel stressed at work? What are the reasons that may
cause work-related stress in your opinion?
188. Do you sometimes get stressed? What are some of the situations that make
you feel stressed?
189. Do you often get stressed at work? What is the most stressful situation you
have ever been in?
190. Tell me about the most stressful situation you have had at work. What did
you do in the situation?
191. Does stress often affect you on your job? What is your best way of dealing
with stress?
192. Does stress sometimes affect you on your job? What do you normally do to
avoid stress?
193. Do you sometimes get stressed from your job? What is your best way of
dealing with stress?
194. Do you often get stressed at work? What do you do to reduce stress?
195. Have you ever been in a stressful situation at work and how did you handle
it?
196. How can you handle stress and pressure at work?
197. How would you prepare to be in a good mood before starting a working
day?
198. What would you do to prepare yourself before starting a working day?
199. How do you prepare yourself not to get stressed before starting a working
day?
200. Please tell me how you prepare yourself before starting your shift?
201. How would you balance your work and personal life?

TOWER – APPROACH – GROUND CONTROL

202. Which airports have you worked at?
203. Tell me about the weather conditions at your airport?
204. Tell me when the bad weather conditions often happen at your airport.
26
205. Tell me some weather phenomena that affect aircraft take-off and landing.
Why?
206. How do you handle aircraft which diverts to your airport for landing?
207. What special arrangements have to be made when handling VIP(s) flights
at your airport?

When VIP aircraft flies in our airspace, the watch supervisor has to
assign a qualified controller to handle the VIP. Then, the director, the
manager and watch supervisor must present at the control room to
monitor the VIP movement. For controlling VIP, we have to double
separations between VIP flight and other flights. For example, we
normally use 10nm radar separation to separate aircraft, but when a
VIP movement flies in our airspace, we have to apply 20nm between
that aircraft and others. Moreover, any vehicle or other aircrafts are
not permitted to operate before or after 5 minutes VIP operation.

208. Do you have any difficulty controlling IFR flights and VFR flights at
work? Could you give more details about that?
- VFR aircraft often fly at low altitudes, it is difficult for ATC to
establish communication with the aircraft and for the detection of
radar.
- There is risk of collision between VFR and IFR aircraft when an IFR
aircraft is flying out of a cloud. A VFR aircraft right next to the cloud
would not have enough time to see and avoid the IFR aircraft.
- VFR aircraft are not assigned routes or altitudes by ATC. They fly on
their own separation criteria and do not “need” to rely on radar for
navigation or separation. Controllers do not provide any instructions
concerning direction of flight, altitude, or speed to the VFR pilot and
they do not provide separation services.
209. Do you think microphone is one of the most important equipment for your
Center? Why?

27
 ACC
210. What is the importance of PIREPS (pilot reports) to air traffic controllers?
211. What special arrangements have to be made when handling VIP(s) flights
in your airspace?
212. Tell me about the weather conditions in your airspace?
213. Tell me when the bad weather conditions often happen in your airspace.
214. Do you have any difficulty controlling IFR flights and VFR flights at
work? Could you give more details about that?
215. Do you think microphone is one of the most important equipment for your
ACC Center? Why?

28
C. PROBE CHECK (5 – 7 minutes)
(This phase is to determine the ability to perform linguistic tasks at the next
higher base level. Examiner probes with additional questions in order to see
how much language the test taker can produce and how the taker responds)

GENERAL
1. What are the differences between controlling the aircraft in a real situation
and in the simulator?
Of course, there are many differences between controlling the aircraft
in the real situation and in simulator. In the simulator, you can control
the aircraft without pressure or just a little bit. When you make a
mistake, you can start again without any awful results. In the
simulator, you can try to control the aircraft in many ways to find the
best way and apply it to control the aircraft in the real. In the real, you
must work under high pressure, pay attention all the time to ensure the
safety for all aircraft and if you make a small mistake, the terrible
consequence may happen. So controlling the aircraft in the real
situation is more difficult than in simulator.

2. Supposing that some foreign pilots complained that local airlines are given
preference over foreign airlines during arrivals as well as departures. What
do you think about this problem?
No, I don’t think so. Local airlines are equal to foreign airlines. ATC
will be based on ETA of each arriving aircraft, ETD on flying
permission of departing aircraft, traffic condition at that time to give
sequence for arriving aircraft and departing aircraft. Besides that,
sequencing of aircraft is also affected by some other factors such as
military operation or weather conditions…..
3. Tell me some advantages of using Surveillence separation in comparison
with using Procedural/ Non- Surveillence separation

29
 We use surveillance separation for the areas under radar or ads B
coverage. Otherwise, we have to use procedural separation to protect
the safety of aircraft. Of course, using surveillance separation is much
more useful in comparison with using procedural separation because
we can see exactly the position and the altitude of aircraft on radar/ads
B screen. Besides, the distance required between two a/c is reduced
significantly from 80nm to 5nm (radar), 30 nm(ads B), so we can
accept more a/c in our responsibility area. Moreover, Using
surveillance separation helps controllers reduce workload and voice
communication.

4. Can you tell me some advantages and disadvantages of using speed control
technique?
Controllers use speed control technique when they apply surveillance
or longitudinal separation for a/c:

Advantages:

- The flow of traffic will be more effective, especially in crowded

arriving traffic situations

- Make sure that the separation will not be lost

- Make use of a/c performance in case the faster a/c is the preceding
a/c (in procedural separation, we apply Mach number technique. If
faster a/c is the leading, the separation can be reduced from 10 minutes
to 9, 8, 7, or even 6 minutes, which depends on how fast the preceding
is)

Disadvantages:

- Some pilots don’t like being restricted on the speed of their a/c. They
would rather change the altitude. Most of them don’t want to slow

30
 down their speed. It is easy to understand because they want to arrive
at the destination on time.

So we use speed control with the concurrence of the pilots. Otherwise,

we apply other forms of control technique such as altitude change,
route change, or surveillance separation.

5. How do you get ready to deal with the air traffic volume increasing
unexpectedly/suddenly?
6. Please explain the difference between a MAYDAY call and a PANPAN
call?
Mayday is as a distress call. The mayday call is sent when a pilot
considers that his a/c or the persons on board are in imminent and
serious danger of loss of life or a/c. A voice call begins with the word
“MAYDAY” and the nature of emergency following.
In other situations, pilots may have a problem but it is not immediately
life threatening. In such cases they use a Pan Pan call. This tells the
controllers that the call is urgent. pilots have a problem and would like
some assistance but it is not a life threatening event.
7. What do you know about classification of airspace?
ATS airspace is classified and designated in accordance with the
following:
Class A. IFR flights only are permitted, all flights are provided with air
traffic control service and are separated from each other.
Class B. IFR and VFR flights are permitted, all flights are provided
with air traffic control service and are separated from each other.
Class C. IFR and VFR flights are permitted, all flights are provided
with air traffic control service and IFR flights are separated from other
IFR flights and from VFR flights. VFR flights are separated from IFR
flights and receive traffic information in respect of other VFR flights.

31
 Class D. IFR and VFR flights are permitted and all flights are provided
with air traffic control service, IFR flights are separated from other
IFR flights and receive traffic information in respect of VFR flights,
VFR flights receive traffic information in respect of all other flights.
Class E. IFR and VFR flights are permitted, IFR flights are provided
with air traffic control service and are separated from other IFR
flights. All flights receive traffic information as far as is practical. Class
E shall not be used for control zones.
Class F. IFR and VFR flights are permitted, all participating IFR
flights receive an air traffic advisory service and all flights receive
flight information service if requested.
Class G. IFR and VFR flights are permitted and receive flight
information service if requested.

8. How many women are there in your ATC unit and are there some
differences in performing their jobs?
9. Can you tell me some advantages and disadvantages of using holding
technique in comparison with using vectoring technique for delaying
action?
About advantages:
reducing communication workload
accept more a/c in one area
About disadvantages:
difficult to maintain efficient flow of traffic after a/c leave the holding
area
high risk of separation infringement because of 1000ft vertical
separation and a/c labels merged
(miscommunication/misunderstanding)
Vectoring technique:
- advantages:

32
 + easy to maintain efficient flow of traffic, and vector a/c in trail
+ low risk of separation infringement because we vector a/c far away
form each other
-disadvantages
+ more communication workload. Controllers continuously give
heading instruction in order to maintain flow of traffic
+ unable to control many a/c at the same time

10. What suggestion do you have for improving working condition for ATC?
ATIS, radar weather, quality of VHF, entertainment room
11. Can you give some ideas for improving working condition or improving
traffic flow in your airspace?
Radar weather, reduce separation 10-5NM, more effective procedures
for solving difficult traffic situations.
12. What changes have there been in your job over the last 10 years?
Industry aviation is increasing
There are more traffic than before
From about less than 100 flights a day, now we must control about 200 flights a day
My workload also increase

13. What do you think are the most common emergencies? Tell us about one of
abnormal situations or emergencies you have experienced at work.
14. What procedure should be followed in a decompression emergency?
15. What do you think are the major causes of mid-air collisions?

- controllers give wrong FL

- pilots misunderstand and climb/descent to wrong FL

- controllers don’t listen to readbacks

- inexperienced controllers or overloaded traffic situations

16. What can be done to reduce mid-air collisions?

33
17. Do you think the incident of mid-air collisions will increase or decrease in
the future?
18. What are the longest delays you have encountered in your work?
19. What things typically cause delay where you work?
bad weather, military training, flow control from Sanya.
20. Do most delays occur on the ground or in the air?
21. What actions can ATC take to manage congestion and delay?

We are trained to deal with the crowded traffic volume every year.
And I myself have some experience in solving traffic congestion and
delays.

- keep calm and be patient

- follow manual of operations strictly

- give the priority for the more urgent traffic situations

- I must know the capability of myself, if the traffic is overloaded, ask

for help from WS or other controllers
22. What problems can animals cause to aircraft?
23. What are the worst weather conditions you have experienced when
working?
24. What are the effects of flying through a severe air turbulence?
25. Where can you get information about air turbulence?
26. How does stormy weather affect commercial aviation?
27. Describe a depressurization incident you know of or have experienced.

On 9 November 2005, a Boeing 737 aircraft operating from Sydney to

Melbourne was cruising at 40,000 ft. After feeling an upset in the stomach
and discomfort in the ears, the captain noticed that the cockpit instruments
indicated the cabin was quickly depressurising. The captain commenced an
emergency descent to 10,000 ft where people on board can breath
34
 normally. He attempted to inform the cabin crew of the emergency descent,
but the announcement was not heard on the passenger address system in the
cabin. Oxygen masks in the cabin fell from the overhead panels but not all
passengers used them. After descending for 11 minutes, the aircraft
levelled off at 10,000 ft and the flight continued to Melbourne. There were
no reported injuries to passengers or crew.

28. What are the main effects of depressurization?

Depressurization is a dangerous situation. Because it affects to
passengers and flight crew on board directly. People on board can not
breathe normally because of low air pressure. When depressurization
happens, the pilot will request emergency descent. Normally, pilots will
descend to around 8000 feets to FL 1000, Which is the level that people
can breathe normally. And I must keep separate this aircraft from
other aircraft and inform the minimum flight altitude for this aircraft.
During depressurization, pilot may use oxygen mask so the radio
telephony is very poor, ATC must listen carefully to avoid
misunderstanding. I would ask If he needed any assistance on the
ground and try to support him as much as I could.
29. What are the ground navigation systems used in your airspace?
30. Describe a fuel-related incident you know of or have had.
31. Which navigation aids do you use in your job?
32. Describe any unusual or emergency situation you have encountered
33. Can you tell me some difficulties when controlling IFR flights and VFR
flights at the same time? ( Câu 208)
34. Could you tell me what you know about TCAS, RA, TA?
35. How does emergency aircraft affect traffic under your control?
When there is an emergency aircraft, the amount of work increases.
ATC must work under high pressure. When abnormal situation
happen, there are many things which need to be solved. Besides, It’s

35
 difficult to maintain separation between aircrafts. So ATCs have to pay
more 100 percent attention to handle that situation.
36. Could you tell me about an emergency situation you’ve known?
37. What non-routine situations have you encountered personally?
38. Tell me about an emergency situation you have encountered at work.
39. Tell me about one of abnormal situations you have experienced at work.

It was a few years ago. VJC378, an aircraft descended from FL310 to

FL180 without ATC clearance. I observed on radar display and asked
my partner call to HCM ACC to confirm the flight level of VJC378.
After about 2 minutes, VJC378 contacted me and informed that it just
passed FL250. At that moment, we also had an opposite direction of
traffic maintaining FL240. So in order to maintain separation between
two aircraft, I gave instruction for VJC378 to turn left heading 360
immediately. Luckily I could maintain separation between two
aircraft.

40. Can you tell me about a difficult traffic situation you had to handle?
41. Could you tell me about one of the non-routine situations you have
encountered and your solutions at that time?
42. Have you ever experienced/ met/ heard about an emergency situation in
your job? Tell me something about it?
43. What would you do to assist an aircraft experiencing an emergency
situation?
44. What would you do to assist an aircraft in an emergency situation?
45. What problems can hydraulic failure cause for aircraft?
In airplanes, hydraulics control the movement of an aircraft in all four
directions. In the event of a hydraulic failure, the pilots will lose the
ability to control left or right. In the event of a total hydraulic failure
pilots will be unable to climb. So the aircraft can’t fly follow ATC
instruction, we must increase separation between the affected aircraft
36
 and all others. The aircraft maybe losing of nose wheel steering makes
it difficult or impossible to clear the runway after landing. So maybe
we must clear to hold or change the runway in use for all affected
aircraft. Reduced braking capability upon landing
46. Can you tell me about any incidents you’ve known relating to hydraulic
problems?
47. Tell me what difficulties you may have when controlling aircraft
experiencing a hydraulic problem.
48. Describe an accident when the weather was a factor. What should you do to
prevent a similar situation?
49. What would you do after receiving pilot’s request to divert to another
aerodrome due to a technical problem?
50. What would you do if you gave a wrong instruction to an aircraft?
First of all i stop the clearance rite away and emphasize that’s is wrong
clearance by the phraseology” correction” to take his attention. And
then i will give him the new struction and make sure he readback the
new clearance rightly. After that i will monitor his action to make sure
he acknowledge my new instructions
51. What would you do if you could not understand what the pilot of an
arriving aircraft was saying, no matter how much he tried to talk slowly
and clearly?
If i cant understand what pilot say even i asked him say slowly or
clarify by the other way i will tell him spell the words he want to say or
ask him if he can tell me by phraseologies aviation. In addition i will
ask for the helps of my coworker or my senior who has more
experiences year than me. If i have the same nationality with the pilot i
will ask him to tell me what he want by mother language
52. What would you do if a pilot clearly made a mistake or misunderstood an
instruction?

37
53. How would you deal with a pilot who broke into a frequency and cut off
another pilot’s message?
54. How do controllers deal with overlapping transmissions on the radio?
55. What would you do if an aircraft was entering into your airspace without
establishing communication yet?
I will try to establish 2 ways of communication with the aircraft by
calling them on main frequency and standby frequency, including
emergency frequency.
Inform to all identified aircraft in control area about the flight level
and position of the unidentified aircraft and ask the pilot call the
unidentified aircraft.
I also ask relative units about this aircraft.
Inform my supervisor and follow the instruction from my supervisor.
56. What would you do if you tried to contact with an aircraft but there was no
reply?
In this case, I would do as follow:
First, I would quickly check if this would be a communication failure
or not by calling this aircraft on my available frequencies.
Second, If I was not able to call the aircraft, I would ask other aircraft
on my frequency and even relative ATC units to help me call this
aircraft. If they could contact with the aircraft, I would ask them to
relay my message to the pilot. Otherwise, I would follow
communication failure procedures.
Moreover, I would separate this aircraft with other traffic.
Last but not least, I would coordinate with the related units.
57. Supposing that you were on duty, in the event of radio communication
failure, what would you do?
58. What procedures do you use when you experience a radio communication
failure situation?

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59. Supposing that you were on duty as a radar controller, what would you do
if the radar was failure?
Immediately mark aircraft’s position identified, set up non radar
separation as soon as possible.
inform aircraft on using frequency about radar failure and resume
own navigation.
In urgent circumstance, temporarily use a haft of minimum separation
standard if non radar separation can not be applied at that time.
Report to the watch supervisor and relating units.
If radar restores, report to all aircraft and relating units and from that
time apply radar control service.
60. Supposing that you were on duty, what would you do in case an aircraft
was experiencing engine on fire?
First, I would make sure I understand the nature of that situation and
inform my supervisor.
Secondly, I would separate this aircraft from other traffic, inform to
other traffic in that area about the emergency aircraft, I would give
this aircraft number one fo landing.
In this case, I think the pilot might need to descend immediately or
make an emergency descent. They also need fire truck on the ground.
Moreover, I would ask the pilot’s intention and if they needed any
assistance on landing.
Besides, I would coordinate with other related units and try to support
the pilot as much as possible.
The last thing I have to do is to ask for the POB and FOB.
61. What would you do if a pilot informed you that he was being hijacked?
When a pilot informs me that he is being hijacked I should:
Not do any further radio telephony (RTF) referring to the hijacking
unless confirmed by the pilot.
Comply with pilot’s request as far as possible.
39
 Transmit necessary information without expecting reply.
Monitor all flight maneuvers.
Collect any necessary information such as destination aerodrome,
weather situation at destination, routing….
Inform the pilot about any information requested.
Report to the watch supervisor and the assistant controller about the
situation.
62. What could you do to assist aircraft having bomb on board?
The first, I will acknowledge the bomb warning, ask for the intentions
and provide suitable information for landing aerodrome as necessary.
Besides, I also separate between the aircraft and other traffic, give
priority landing for this aircraft if necessary, keep the active runway
clear of departures, arrivals and vehicles. I clear airspace in the
vicinity immediately.
Thirdly, I inform the situation to supervisor and relative units such as
the airport emergency fire rescue services.
Moreover, I will support the aircraft as much as I can and provide any
information requested and necessary such as type of approach, runway
length and additional aerodrome details, isolated parking, etc….
63. What procedures do you have to follow if you have an in-flight bomb threat
at work?
64. What would you do if an aircraft requested emergency landing due to
smoke in the cockpit?
In my opinion, this is a very dangerous situation. In this case, the pilot
must be very stressful in the cockpit, so I would try to support them as
much as I could.
Firstly, I would acknowledge the situation with pilot and inform to my
supervisor.

40
 Secondly, I would ask the pilot’s intention, separate the aircraft from
other traffic and vector the aircraft in the shortest way to land at the
nearest suitable aerodrome.
Moreover, I would ask if the pilot needed any assistance on the ground.
Besides that, I would ask for the number of POB and FOB and provide
the pilot with any necessary information.
65. How do icing conditions affect an aircraft?
Ice can distort the flow of air over the wing, diminish- ing the wing's
maximum lift, reducing the angle of attack for maximum lift, adversely
affecting airplane handling qualities, and significantly increasing drag.
66. What would you do if an aircraft was experiencing an icing condition?
67. How can you and your colleagues help each other in handling traffic in
abnormal situations?
68. How do you and your colleagues co-operate in handling traffic in abnormal
situations?
69. Compare traffic on the ground and traffic in the air, which is more
complicated in your opinion? Why?
70. Can you suggest changes to a regulation for now or in the future to improve
operations in your airspace?
71. What do you think about ICAO English language proficiency test for ATCs
and pilots?

GROUND CONTROL
72. As a ground controller, what information do you have to pass to the pilots
of departure flights?
73. As a ground controller, what information do you have to pass to the pilots
of landing aircraft?
74. Can you describe how a ground controller handles an aircraft from before
start-up until it leaves your area of responsibility?
75. What are some difficulties in handling traffic for ground controllers?
41
76. Can you tell me some situations that may cause taxiway incursions,
especially vehicles?
77. What would you do to prevent taxiway incursions?
78. What would you do if an aircraft entered wrong taxiway that affected other
traffic?
79. Could you tell me a specific example of situation causing delays at your
airport, especially affected by ground control?
80. Can you describe visual aids at your airport?
81. Can you describe the alerting service operating at your airport?
82. Describe the fire and rescue features in an airport you are familiar with?

TOWER

83. Can you describe the alerting service operating at your airport?
84. Can you describe visual aids at your airport?
85. Describe the fire and rescue features in an airport you are familiar with?
86. Supposing that you were on duty. In a case of an emergency landing, what
would you do to help the pilot land safely?
87. What do you find most difficult when controlling aerodrome traffic in bad
weather condition?
88. Can you describe the fire and rescue features at an airport you are familiar
with?
89. Supposing that you were on a late afternoon shift-duty. Suddenly, runway
lights were in failure due to unknown reasons. Now, an aircraft requested
to land at the airport. What would you do in this situation?
90. Supposing that you were working on the tower at busy time and the
visibility was very low. The pilot of a taxiing aircraft informed you that he
was lost. What would you do in this situation?

42
91. Supposing that you were working on the tower, the emergency landing
aircraft overran the runway and the pilot informed you that he needed to
evacuate the passengers immediately. What would you do in this situation?
92. Can you describe a decision you had to make on your own regarding
runway selection?
93. Could you tell me about a specific example of a situation causing delays at
your airport? How did you handle that situation? /What did you do to
handle the situation?
94. Supposing that you were working on the tower, the weather was in VMC,
an aircraft took off and lost communication. What would you do in this
situation?
95. What would you do if an aircraft requested landing or take-off from a
runway which was not suitable for prevailing wind at the time? Give
reasons for it.
96. Tell me about an evacuation situation that happened at your aerodrome/
you’ve known.
97. Supposing that you were on duty. In case of emergency landing, what
would you do to help the pilots to make a safe landing?
98. Can you explain the process of controlling an aircraft from starting up until
leaving TWR airspace?
99. Tell me about some situations that may cause runway incursions and your
solution to prevent it.
100. Could you tell me about some reasons that may cause runway excursions?
101. Have you ever had to deal with an emergency situation in the tower before?
How did you handle the situation?
102. Can you describe the geography of Noi Bai/ Da Nang/ Tan Son Nhat
International Airport?
103. Describe the alerting service operating at your airport.

43
 TOWER - APPROACH

104. Could you tell me about a specific example of situation causing delays at
your airport? How did you handle that situation?
105. How can controllers assist pilot in dealing with the bad weather on landing?
106. What procedures are in place for low visibility operations where you work?
107. Describe a take-off incident you know of.
108. What things do ATCs consider when managing departing traffic?
109. What problems can occur at take-off?
110. What factors can affect the safe movement of aircraft on the ground?
111. What type of vehicles are used in aviation?
112. What sort of damage can bird strikes cause to aircraft?
113. What do you think are the major causes of ground movement accidents?
114. Describe how ATC handle a departure a/c from starting up until reaching
APP/ACC airspace?
115. If the weather was so bad (under the minima condition) what would you do
to help the pilots who wanted to land at your airport?
116. Tell me about the weather conditions at your airport and what your ATS
Authority has done to enhance the safety.
117. How do you handle aircraft which diverts to your airport for landing?

APPROACH

118. What would you do if you noticed your colleague clearing an aircraft for
approach when the weather was below landing minima?
119. What would you do if an aircraft with VIP on board requested the priority
over preceding aircraft in your Traffic Management Advisor? How would
you explain to them?

44
120. Supposing that you were working at approach radar position, in the initial
radio contact, the departing aircraft reported that he heard a loud rumbling
noise coming from underneath the aircraft. What would you do in this
situation?

APPROACH - ACC

121. What would you do when you were responsible for two sectors by yourself
in the control room when traffic suddenly became busy?
122. What are traffic control sectors do you usually work for? Any idea to
improve traffic flow in your airspace?
123. What are some difficulties do you have in coordination with adjacent
ACC/ATC Unit (such as SANYA ACC)?
124. What would you do if an arriving aircraft reported that he had a shortage of
fuel?
As far as I know, an aircraft having shortage of fuel is a very
dangerous situation in ATC. In this case the pilot may request
immediate landing or divert to another nearest airport. I will vector
aircraft with the shortest track to the destination, inform to all aircraft
affected by this aircraft and require them to give way for this aircraft.
At all times, I try to ensure the separation between all aircraft and
meet all the request of pilot. Informing to supervisor and other relative
units to support this aircraft as much as possible. I also give necessary
information for aircraft such as weather information, traffic
information, runway in use and approach procedure.
125. Supposing that an aircraft was holding in your airspace for weather
improvement, the pilot informed you that he was in minimum fuel
condition. What would you do in this situation?
126. Supposing that the weather condition was below operation minima, the
pilot of an aircraft holding for weather improvement informed you that
45
 there was a passenger with heart attack on board. What would you do in
this situation?
127. Supposing that the weather condition was below operation minima, the
pilot of an aircraft holding for weather improvement informed you that
there was a passenger with serious health problem on board. What would
you do in this situation?
128. Supposing that you were working in radar environment, you saw that the
mode C level was significantly different from the pilot reported level. What
would you do in this situation?
In this case, I would follow as:
Request another aircraft for checking level information displayed to
make sure the radar mode C system in good operation.
Request the pilot whose level report is different from the radar display
to check the pressure setting and confirm the aircraft’s level again. If
confirmation of the correct pressure setting is still in correct:
ask the pilot to stop mode C or ADS-B altitude data transmission,
notify the next control positions or ATC unit relate with the aircraft.
inform to the pilot about this situation and request that relevant
operation continue in order to prevent loss of identify information of
the aircraft.
129. What would you react if an aircraft’s position deviated significantly from
its report?
130. Supposing that an arriving aircraft was coming to your airspace, and you
saw on the radar that the aircraft was squawking A7500. What would you
do in this situation?
131. What would you do if you noticed an aircraft squawked A7700 in your
airspace? How would you handle this situation?
132. Supposing that an arriving aircraft was coming to your airspace, and you
saw on the radar that the aircraft was squawking A7700. What would you
do in this situation?
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133. Supposing that an arriving aircraft was coming to your airspace, and you
saw on the radar that the aircraft was squawking A7600. What would you
do in this situation?
134. In your opinion, in which circumstances does an aircraft have to make an
emergency descent?
135. What would you do if a pilot reported that he was following a resolution
advisory (RA) of TCAS regarding potential confliction?
136. How does an ACC/APP controllers control the aircraft without using
Radar?

ACC

137. What do you know about RVSM?

138. What is your course of actions in case of aircraft having RVSM failure?
139. Could you give me your comments about reduced vertical separation
minima (RVSM) implemented/ applied in your airspace?
140. What are some of the problems with the changes in minimum vertical
separation?
141. Give your comments about reduced vertical separation (RVSM)
implemented/ applied in your airspace.
142. What would you do if a pilot was making an emergency descent due to
decompression?
143. How do you handle traffic experiencing depressurization?
144. What are the operating procedures in case an aircraft informed TCAS II
warning?

D. WRAP UP (2 – 3 minutes)
(This phase is to reduce the tension of the interview and thank the test taker. It
also reflects the language level that the interviewee is most comfortable with.)

47
ST Câu hỏi

Topics/ Main Hobbies & Free-time activities

ideas
1. Hobbies & What do you often do after your working hours?
2. Free-time What do you most enjoy doing when you are free?
3. activities How do you normally spend your leisure time/spare
time/free time?
4. What kinds of entertainment do you enjoy most when you
stay at home?
5. What do you enjoy doing when staying at home?
6. What do you most enjoy doing when you are on a
summer holiday?
7. What do you often do at weekends?
8. Are you going to somewhere nice this weekend? Why?
9. What do you often do in the evening?
10. What will you do when the weather is fine?
11. Do you think that leisure time is important?
12. What’s your favorite kind of entertainment?
13. What is your favorite leisure activity?
14. What kinds of TV programs do you like?
15. Do you often watch TV? What are your favorite
channels?
16. Do you often go out with your friends? Where do you
often go to?
17. How often do you go to the cinema?
18. What kind of movie are you going to watch when you go
to the cinema?
19. Do you like reading in your free time? Why/Why not?

48
ST Câu hỏi

20. Do you like music? Which kind of music do you like

most?
21. Do you like music? What kind of music do you often
listen to?
22. What kinds of music do you like most?
23. Do you like singing? What’s your favorite song?
24. Do you like cooking? What dishes can you cook?
25. What do you like eating at weekends?
26. Do you like sports? Which kinds of sports do you like
most?
27. Do you like going fishing? Why/Why not?
28. Do you like going to the beach or the mountain on your
holiday? Why?
29. Do you like surfing the Internet? Which Website do you
often visit?
30. Do you like playing computer games? Why?/ Why not?
31. Do you like selfie? taking photos?
32. Do you have social network account?
33. How often do you use Facebook?
34. Do you use Zalo to chat with your friends?
35. Do you have any pets? What are they?
36. What are some of your hobbies?
37. How do you usually spend your weekends /days off?
38. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
39. What do you do when you have a holiday?
40. Do you enjoy going shopping? Why (not)?
41. Do you like shopping on the Internet?

49
ST Câu hỏi

42. Do you enjoy reading? Why?

43. What sort of things do you read?
44. Do you often do morning exercise? What kinds of
morning exercise?
45. Where do you like to read?
46. When do you usually listen to music?
47. What kind of music did you like when you were younger?
48. Which is your favorite instrument?
49. Do you like going out or staying at home?
50. What do you like to do when you go out?
51. How often do you go out?
52. What do you do on the weekend?
53. Do you have any free time during the week?
54. Do you watch television a lot?
55. What do you usually watch on television?
56. How many hours do you usually watch television?
57. What did you last watch on television?
58. What are some of your favorite foods?
59. Do you enjoy cooking?
60. What is your favorite dish?
61. What kind of food do you like?
62. Do you prefer eating at home or in a restaurant?
63. Who does the cooking in your family/ house?
64. What are your plans for your next holiday? Do you have
any plans for your next holiday?
65. What are you going to do at the weekend/on your next
days off?
66. Do you have any plans or ambitions for the future?
67. Do you have any plans to travel or live abroad?

50
ST Câu hỏi

68. Do you often go out with your friends? Where?

69. Job attitude Do you enjoy cooking?
70. What is your favorite dish?
71. What kind of food do you like?
72. Do you prefer eating at home or in a restaurant?
73. Who does the cooking in your family/ house?
74. What are your plans for your next holiday? Do you have
any plans for your next holiday?
75. What are you going to do at the weekend/on your next
days off?
76. Do you have any plans or ambitions for the future?
77. Do you have any plans to travel or live abroad?
78. Do you often go out with your friends? Where?
79. Future plans Could you share your plan for future with us?
80. What are your plans for the next 5 years?
81. Do you have any plans for this weekend?
82. Are you going to somewhere nice this weekend?
83. What is your plan for this summer?
84. What will you do after this interview?
85. To relax after this interview, where will you intend to go?

51