Tenses

1

100

"Tower, Scandinavian 686 ___ (hold) at the CAT III holding point. We ___ (wait) for further clearance."

is holding / are waiting

200

"The marshaller ___ (signal) us to stop, but we ___ (not / see) him because of the fog."

signalled (or was signalling) / did not see

300

"Since the new pavement markings ___ (install), the number of wrong turns at this intersection ___ (decrease) significantly. However, last week a Cessna ___ (enter) the active runway without clearance."

have been / has decreased / entered

400

Find and correct the error:

"The ground controller has cleared the Cessna to taxi via Romeo 5, but the pilot has turned right onto Romeo 6 and has crossed the holding point without clearance."

has cleared → cleared / has turned → turned / has crossed → crossed

500

Explain the difference in meaning:

1. "The pilot was taxiing too fast when he hit the signage."

2. "The pilot taxied too fast and hit the signage."

Sentence 1 = Past Continuous + Past Simple (ongoing action interrupted). Sentence 2 = Past Simple + Past Simple (two completed facts in sequence). Sentence 1 emphasises the continuous unsafe behaviour; Sentence 2 is a neutral report.

2

100

Linate Information Oscar. Visibility ___ (be) 50 metres. Fog ___ (cover) the runway. CAT III procedures ___ (be) in effect.

is / is covering / are

200

The drifting snow ___ (cover) the pavement markings right now, so the pilot ___ (not / see) the holding point.

is covering / cannot see (or does not see)

300

How long ___ the fog ___ (last)? It ___ (be) like this since 05:00. The RVR ___ (drop) to 175 metres an hour ago.

has ... lasted / has been / dropped

400

Find and correct the error:

The visibility has dropped to 50 metres since the last hour, and the airport has closed the runway. The last aircraft has landed at 08:05.

has dropped → dropped / has closed → closed / has landed → landed

500

Explain the difference:

1. "The fog has been thick since morning."

2. "The fog was thick in the morning."

Sentence 1 = Present Perfect (fog started in the morning and is still thick now). Sentence 2 = The fog is gone. 

3

100

The engine ___ (surge) during the last flight. The crew ___ (reduce) throttles to idle and ___ (return) to the airport.

surged / reduced / returned

200

The left engine ___ (stall) right now! The pilot ___ (reduce) throttles immediately.

is stalling / is reducing

300

Since the last inspection, the engine ___ (surge) three times. The maintenance team ___ (not / find) the cause yet, but they ___ (replace) the fuel control unit yesterday.

has surged / have not found / replaced

400

Find and correct the error:

"The engine has surged while the aircraft was taking off. The pilot has reduced throttles and has aborted the take-off. The fire tender has arrived within 3 minutes."

has surged → surged / has reduced → reduced / has aborted → aborted / has arrived → arrived

500

1. "The engine has surged for the last 10 minutes."

2. "The engine was surging for the last 10 minutes."

Sentence 1 = Present Perfect (still surging now — emergency). Sentence 2 = Past Continuous (surging happened in the past and has stopped — report).

4

100

The Cessna pilot ___ (not / stop) at the compulsory point. He ___ (enter) the active runway and ___ (collide) with the MD-87

did not stop / entered / collided

200

While the MD-87 ___ (accelerate) for take-off, the Cessna ___ (cross) the runway holding point.

was accelerating / crossed

300

The investigation team ___ (already / interview) 12 witnesses today. They ___ (not / release) the final report yet. The accident ___ (happen) at 08:10:21.

has already interviewed / have not released / happened

400

Find and correct the error:

"The Cessna has entered the active runway while the MD-87 has been taking off. The tower controller has seen the collision and has sounded the alarm. The fire tenders have arrived in 3 minutes."

has entered → entered / has been taking off → was taking off / has seen → saw / has sounded → sounded / have arrived → arrived

500

Find and correct the error:

"The Cessna pilot has gone to Linate only once before that day. He has been to the wrong taxiway and has not returned to the correct frequency yet."

· has gone to Linate only once before → has been to Linate only once before (experience — he is not at Linate now; "has gone to" means he is still there)

· has been to the wrong taxiway → has gone to the wrong taxiway (he went there and is still there / or the action is recent and relevant)

5

100

The controller ___ (give) the Cessna taxi clearance right now. The pilot ___ (read back) the instruction.

is giving / is reading back

200

The pilot ___ (not / hear) the controller because he ___ (talk) to the marshaller on the headset.

did not hear / was talking

300

Since the new CRM training ___ (start), the number of communication errors ___ (decrease). However, last month a pilot ___ (misunderstand) a clearance because he ___ (expect) a different instruction.

has started / has decreased / misunderstood / expected

400

Find and correct the error:

"The marshaller has signalled the pilot to stop, but the pilot has carried on taxiing. The pilot has not seen the marshaller because he has been looking at the signage. The aircraft has hit the blast fence."

has signalled → signalled / has carried on → carried on / has not seen → did not see / has been looking → was looking / has hit → hit

500

Find and correct the error:

"The fire tender has been to the crash site. It is still there now. The marshaller has gone to the fire station three times this week."

· has been to the crash site → has gone to the crash site (it is still there now — "has gone to" = still there)

· has gone to the fire station three times → has been to the fire station three times (three times = experience; he is not there now)