A routine flight to Bangkok 

This is the story of Qantas Flight QF1. It is September 23, 1999, and a Boeing 747-400 arriving from Sydney is preparing to land in Bangkok with 391 passengers and 19 crew members on board. The first officer, the co-pilot, is the pilot flying on this day and takes over the flying duties, while the captain serves as the pilot monitoring and is responsible for supervision. 

Monsoon rains and poor visibility – a challenging landing 

It’s monsoon season; thunderstorms and rain showers are a daily occurrence, and today, too, it’s raining during the final approach. As the jumbo jet nears the touchdown point, the rain intensifies, and due to limited visibility, the co-pilot initiates the flare—the final pull-up maneuver—too high. The plane hovers over the runway for too long, leaving valuable meters of asphalt unused. 

Hit the ground running—or not? 

The rain shower reaches its peak at that moment, further reducing visibility, making it difficult for the captain to judge how much runway is still available. He therefore orders a go-around. The first officer then pushes the four thrust levers forward again to accelerate the engines to full power. At that moment, the landing gear wheels touch the ground. 

Communication errors with serious consequences! 

The captain decides against going around and to land after all, but fails to communicate his change of mind. He takes command and moves three of the four throttle levers to the idle position. In the commotion, the thrust lever for engine number one remains in the maximum power position. As a result, neither the automatic braking system nor the jumbo jet’s air brakes can engage, since all thrust levers must be in the idle position for this to happen. 

A last-minute correction saves lives 

With only a quarter of full engine thrust and without its air brakes, QF1 continues to race down the runway. At the last second, the co-pilot notices that the left thrust lever is in the wrong position and moves it to the idle position. Finally, the air brakes on the upper surface of the wings deploy. However, despite the emergency braking, the braking effect is reduced because the runway is covered with a layer of water. The jumbo jet reaches the end of the runway at a speed of 163 km/h and doesn’t come to a stop until 200 meters past it. The aircraft is severely damaged, but the passengers remain miraculously unharmed. 

Clear communication instead of disaster 

Communication errors don't always have such serious consequences. But every project and every team effort benefits from structured, precise, and efficient communication. See for yourself how clear language and standardized procedures—much like those used in aviation radio—can make the difference between success and failure.