Lost In Translation and Airline Disasters

The people in my class who fully understand the impact and necessity of precision in language are those who have traveled. It is only when we experience passing through airports and hopping onto foreign territory that we realize the need to understand, and the need to be understood. Some people are patient as you figure out what to say, while others are not as accommodating.

There are certain countries that require you to speak their own language. However, it is still English that binds you (albeit temporarily) with new people as you assimilate new words and new culture.

I came across an article a few years back about Air China and JFK Control Tower, and how the two could not understand each other. To some, it was hilarious. To me, it was frightening. Listen to the conversation below:

I've been trying to scour the net for the full CNN (?) article I read before because it also cited another aviation disaster with another non-English airline. Control tower instructed in English to descend by thousands of feet. Instead, the pilot got lost in translation and went up instead of down. In doing so, the airline collided into a passing jet above and both exploded into oblivion.