Taxi clearance confusion

오늘부터 Phase 3 — 공중이 아니라 지상입니다. 지상 시나리오는 화려한 비상은 없지만, Task C에서 꾸준히 나오고 실수하기 쉬워요. 오늘의 원칙은 하나 — 애매하면 멈추고 물어라. 문법은 "무엇을 물어봤는지"를 전하는 간접의문문입니다.

---

1. Scenario

I was the First Officer of HL123, taxiing out for departure at a large, unfamiliar airport.

Ground control gave us a long taxi clearance in one quick transmission — runway 33 via Alpha, Bravo 3, hold short of runway 28. I read it back, and we started to taxi.

As we approached the Bravo intersection, the signs did not match what we expected. On our chart, Bravo 3 led away from runway 33, not toward it. Either we had heard the route incorrectly, or the clearance itself had an error — and on a live airfield, you do not taxi on a guess.

We stopped before the intersection and told ground we were holding position. I asked them to confirm the routing, and explained that Bravo 3 led away from the runway on our chart. The frequency was busy, and the controller first simply repeated the same route; when we queried it a second time, he checked, corrected the clearance to Alpha and Bravo 1, and thanked us for asking.

The corrected route still took us across runway 28, so we held short there until we received an explicit crossing clearance. After that, we taxied to runway 33 and departed normally.

2. At a Glance

English — While taxiing at a big, unfamiliar airport, our taxi clearance did not match the taxiway signs — the chart showed Bravo 3 leading away from our runway. We stopped, held position, and queried the routing. The controller was busy and first repeated the same words, but when we pushed back with what our chart showed, he checked and corrected the route to Bravo 1, and thanked us. The rule is simple: when in doubt, stop and ask — guessing on a live airfield is how runway incursions happen.

한국어 — 낯선 대형 공항에서 지상활주 중, 받은 클리어런스가 유도로 표지판과 맞지 않았습니다 — 차트상 Bravo 3은 우리 활주로에서 멀어지는 방향이었어요. 멈춰서 위치를 유지하고 라우팅을 질의했습니다. 바쁜 관제사가 처음엔 같은 말을 반복했지만, 차트 근거를 대며 다시 묻자 확인 후 Bravo 1으로 정정하고 고맙다고 했습니다. 원칙은 하나 — 애매하면 멈추고 물어라. 지상에서의 추측이 활주로 침범(runway incursion)으로 이어집니다.

---

3. Key Verbs

issue

뜻: (허가·지시를) 발부하다

• Ground control issued a long taxi clearance in one transmission.
• A corrected clearance was issued after we queried the route.

read back

뜻: 복창하다

• I read back the clearance word for word.
• The routing was read back correctly, but the plan itself was wrong.

clarify

뜻: 명확히 하다

• We asked ground to clarify the routing.
• Stopping gave us time to clarify the clearance safely.

query

뜻: 질의하다, 되묻다

• We queried the clearance when the signs did not match.
• When the controller repeated the same route, we queried it again.

match

뜻: 일치하다

• The signs did not match what we expected.
• The route did not match our chart.

hold

뜻: (위치를) 유지하다, 대기하다

• We stopped and held position before the intersection.
• We held short of runway 28 until we were cleared to cross.

double-check

뜻: 재확인하다

• The controller double-checked the route when we pushed back.
• We double-checked the taxiway against the chart.

correct

뜻: 정정하다

• The controller corrected the clearance to Bravo 1.
• The error was corrected before anyone moved into the wrong place.

cross

뜻: (활주로를) 횡단하다

• We did not cross runway 28 without an explicit clearance.
• We were cleared to cross after a departing aircraft rolled.

proceed

뜻: (계속) 진행하다

• Once the route was corrected, we proceeded to runway 33.
• Do not proceed on a clearance you are not sure of.

---

4. Key Expressions & Collocations

---

5. Vocabulary

---

6. Sentence Frames

빈칸만 갈아끼우면 다른 지상 시나리오에도 그대로 씁니다.

• We were cleared to runway ____ via ____. → We were cleared to runway 33 via Alpha and Bravo 3.
• The ____ did not match ____, so we stopped. → The signs did not match our chart, so we stopped.
• We weren't sure whether ____, so we stopped and asked. → We weren't sure whether the route was correct, so we stopped and asked.
• We asked ATC to confirm ____. → We asked ATC to confirm the routing.
• We did not ____ until ____. → We did not cross runway 28 until we received an explicit clearance.

오늘의 표현 포인트 — "We weren't sure whether ____, so we stopped and asked." 확신이 없었고, 그래서 멈춰서 물었다 — 지상 시나리오 전체에서 판단을 설명하는 만능 틀입니다.

---

7. Common Mistakes → Better Phrasing

한국인이 자주 쓰는 틀리거나 약한 표현을, 시험에서 통하는 표현으로 바꿔 익히세요.

---

8. Grammar Point — Indirect Questions (간접의문문)

물어본 내용을 서술문 안에 넣어 전할 때 씁니다. Task C에서 "우리가 뭘 확인했는지"를 말하는 핵심 도구예요.

• We asked whether we were cleared to cross.
• We weren't sure which taxiway the clearance meant.
• I asked ground where the route led.

핵심: 어순. 직접 의문문(Were we cleared?)이 아니라 평서 어순(whether we were cleared). asked whether / wasn't sure which / didn't know where — 이 세 개면 대부분 커버됩니다.

---

9. Model Answer — Q1

"What happened to your aircraft? Explain the nature of the incident."

틀은 자유 — 무슨 일 → 어떻게 대처 → 결과 흐름이면 됩니다.

We were taxiing out for departure at a large airport we did not know well. Ground control gave us a long taxi clearance in one quick transmission — runway 33 via Alpha and Bravo 3, hold short of runway 28 — and I read it back.

As we approached the Bravo intersection, the signs did not match what we expected. On our chart, Bravo 3 led away from runway 33. We weren't sure whether the route was correct, so rather than taxi on a guess, we stopped and held position.

I asked ground to confirm the routing and told them that Bravo 3 led away from the runway on our chart. The frequency was busy and the controller first repeated the same route, but when we queried it a second time, he checked, corrected the clearance to Bravo 1, and thanked us for asking.

The corrected route still crossed runway 28, so we held short there until we received an explicit crossing clearance, and then we taxied to the runway and departed normally. Stopping cost us less than a minute — guessing could have cost a runway incursion.

10. Model Answer — Q2

"How do you think ATC handled the situation? Could it have been handled differently?"

Q2 = ATC 평가로 의견 표현을 익히는 자리. 아래는 한 예시 — 외워서 그대로 쓰지 말고, 시작·마무리 표현은 자유롭게 바꿔 보세요.

If I'm fair to both sides, the controller finished well. The first response wasn't ideal — he was busy and just repeated the same route — but when we came back with what our chart showed, he took it seriously, checked, and corrected the clearance instead of ignoring us. He also thanked us for asking, which keeps crews willing to speak up, and the crossing clearance for runway 28 was clean and explicit.

Where it could have started better is the first transmission — a long taxi route given fast, in one call, on a busy frequency invites exactly this kind of confusion. Splitting the route into two shorter clearances would have prevented the whole thing. Even so, what mattered most was that our question was heard and acted on, and that is what kept everyone out of the wrong place.

---

11. Follow-up Q&A

1. Why did you stop completely instead of taxiing slowly while you checked? → A moving aircraft in the wrong place is the hazard itself. Stopping freezes the situation while you sort the clearance out.
2. Your readback was correct — how could there still be confusion? → A correct readback of a wrong clearance still takes you the wrong way. Readback catches mishearing; it does not catch a wrong plan.
3. Why did you mention what your chart showed? → It gives the controller something concrete to check. "Bravo 3 leads away from the runway" gets a better answer than just "say again".
4. What if the frequency is too busy to ask? → Hold position and wait for a gap. Silence is never a clearance.

---

12. Shadowing Sentences

각 문장을 3~5번 소리 내어 따라 하세요.

1. Ground gave us a long taxi clearance in one quick transmission.
2. I read back the clearance word for word.
3. The signs did not match what we expected.
4. On our chart, Bravo 3 led away from runway 33.
5. We weren't sure whether the route was correct.
6. We stopped before the intersection and held position.
7. We asked ground to confirm the routing.
8. The controller checked and corrected the clearance to Bravo 1.
9. We held short of runway 28 until we were cleared to cross.
10. When in doubt, stop and ask.

---

다 읽었으면, 위 문장 구조 몇 개를 골라 30초만 직접 말해보세요. 화면에서 녹음하고 ICAO 6영역 채점을 받아보고 싶다면 EPTA Coach에서 1회차를 무료로 열어둡니다.