Runway incursion

어제(Day 31)는 "애매하면 멈추고 물어라"였다면, 오늘은 한 단계 위 — 받은 허가라도 안전하지 않으면 거부하라입니다. "Unable" 한마디를 제때 말하는 연습이에요. 문법은 본 것을 생생하게 전하는 지각동사 패턴입니다.

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1. Scenario

I was the First Officer of HL123, number one at the holding point of runway 33, ready for departure.

Tower cleared us to line up and told us to expect an immediate takeoff — there was an arrival on final, about four miles out. Just as we began to move, I saw a vehicle sitting on the runway near the far end, with its beacon flashing.

We stopped at the hold-short line and declined the clearance. I reported, "Unable — there is a vehicle on the runway." The tower had believed the runway was clear, because the inspection car had already reported vacating; in fact it had turned back to check a runway light and was still on the pavement.

The controller did not argue. He canceled our line-up clearance, sent the arrival around, and got the vehicle off the runway. A minute later the driver confirmed clear, the arrival was re-sequenced, and we were cleared for takeoff.

We departed normally. The pressure to accept an immediate takeoff was real — but a clearance you cannot accept safely is a clearance you refuse.

2. At a Glance

English — Cleared to line up with an arrival four miles out, we saw a vehicle still on the runway — its beacon flashing near the far end. We stopped at the hold-short line and said, "Unable — vehicle on the runway." The tower had thought the runway was clear because the inspection car had reported vacating too early; once we spoke up, the controller canceled our clearance, sent the arrival around, and removed the vehicle. The lesson: a takeoff clearance is permission, not an order — if it is not safe, you decline it.

한국어 — 도착기가 4마일 파이널인 상황에서 라인업 허가를 받았는데, 활주로 원단에 비콘을 켠 차량이 아직 있었습니다. 정지선에 멈추고 "Unable — 활주로에 차량 있음"으로 거부했어요. 점검 차량이 너무 일찍 "이탈 완료"를 보고해 타워는 활주로가 빈 줄 알았던 것. 우리가 말하자 관제사는 라인업 허가를 취소하고 도착기를 복행시키고 차량을 내보냈습니다. 교훈 — 이륙 허가는 명령이 아니라 허락입니다. 안전하지 않으면 거부하세요.

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3. Key Verbs

line up

뜻: (활주로에) 정렬하다

• We were cleared to line up on runway 33.
• Do not line up if anything on the runway looks wrong.

spot

뜻: 발견하다, 알아보다

• I spotted a vehicle near the far end of the runway.
• The vehicle was spotted just as we began to move.

decline

뜻: (허가를) 거절하다

• We declined the line-up clearance.
• A clearance can be declined any time it is not safe.

report

뜻: 보고하다

• I reported a vehicle on the runway.
• The incursion was reported to the tower immediately.

cancel

뜻: 취소하다

• The controller canceled our clearance.
• The immediate takeoff was canceled.

vacate

뜻: (활주로에서) 이탈하다

• The inspection car had reported vacating too early.
• We waited until the vehicle had vacated the runway.

send around

뜻: 복행시키다

• Tower sent the arrival around.
• The traffic on final was sent around for safety.

occupy

뜻: (활주로를) 점유하다

• The vehicle was still occupying the runway.
• A runway is never used while it is occupied.

remove

뜻: 치우다, 내보내다

• The vehicle was removed from the runway.
• Tower removed the hazard before re-clearing anyone.

re-clear

뜻: 다시 허가하다

• We were re-cleared for takeoff a minute later.
• The arrival was re-sequenced and re-cleared to land.

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4. Key Expressions & Collocations

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5. Vocabulary

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6. Sentence Frames

빈칸만 갈아끼우면 다른 지상·거부 시나리오에도 그대로 씁니다.

• We were cleared to ____, with ____ on final. → We were cleared to line up, with an arrival four miles out on final.
• I saw ____ ____ing on the runway. → I saw a vehicle sitting on the runway.
• We declined the clearance, because ____. → We declined the clearance, because the runway was not clear.
• "Unable — ____." → "Unable — there is a vehicle on the runway."
• We did not accept ____ until ____. → We did not accept the takeoff clearance until the vehicle had vacated.

오늘의 표현 포인트 — "We declined the clearance, because ____." 허가를 거부했고, 이유가 있었다 — Task C에서 좋은 airmanship을 가장 또렷하게 보여주는 틀입니다.

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7. Common Mistakes → Better Phrasing

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

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8. Grammar Point — Perception Verbs (see / notice + 목적어 + -ing)

본 장면을 생생하게 전할 때, see/notice + 무엇 + -ing 어순을 씁니다. 사건 묘사의 힘이 확 달라져요.

• I saw a vehicle sitting on the runway.
• We noticed it moving back toward the centreline.
• I saw the arrival climbing away after the go-around.

핵심: "차가 있는 걸 봤다"를 I saw a vehicle sitting처럼 동작까지 붙여 말하기. saw/noticed + 명사 + -ing — 이 한 틀이면 목격 진술이 됩니다.

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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 number one at the holding point of runway 33. Tower cleared us to line up and told us to expect an immediate takeoff, because there was an arrival on final about four miles out.

Just as we began to move, I saw a vehicle sitting on the runway near the far end, with its beacon flashing. We stopped at the hold-short line and declined the clearance — I reported, "Unable, there is a vehicle on the runway."

It turned out the inspection car had reported vacating too early; it had gone back to check a runway light and was still on the pavement. The controller didn't argue with us. He canceled our line-up clearance, sent the arrival around, and got the vehicle off the runway.

Once the driver confirmed clear, the arrival was re-sequenced and we were cleared for takeoff, and we departed normally. The pressure to accept the immediate takeoff was real, but a clearance is permission, not an order — if it is not safe, you say "unable" first and discuss it after.

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.

This is one where I'd give the tower real credit for the recovery. The moment we said "unable" and reported the vehicle, there was no argument and no wasted time — our clearance was canceled, the arrival went around, and the vehicle was ordered off the runway, all within seconds. He did not stop to defend himself — he simply fixed the problem, and that is exactly what you want when a crew questions the picture.

The gap was earlier: the tower's picture depended on the driver's "vacated" report, which came too early. Before issuing a line-up with traffic on short final, a positive check of the runway — visually or on the surface radar — would have caught the vehicle without needing us to spot it. As it was, the recovery was faultless; the trap was in trusting one report too much.

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11. Follow-up Q&A

1. Why say "unable" first instead of asking a question? → With traffic on final, there is no time for a discussion. "Unable" stops the sequence immediately; the explanation comes right after.
2. What is the difference between "line up and wait" and a takeoff clearance? → Line up only puts you on the runway; you may not begin the takeoff roll until you receive "cleared for takeoff".
3. What would you have done if the vehicle appeared while you were already rolling? → Reject the takeoff if we were below decision speed — a rejected takeoff is exactly for that.
4. Why did the tower believe the runway was clear? → The inspection car had reported vacating before it actually left, so the controller's mental picture was wrong until we corrected it.

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12. Shadowing Sentences

각 문장을 3~5번 소리 내어 따라 하세요.

1. We were cleared to line up and expect an immediate takeoff.
2. There was an arrival on final, about four miles out.
3. I saw a vehicle sitting on the runway, with its beacon flashing.
4. We stopped at the hold-short line.
5. Unable — there is a vehicle on the runway.
6. The controller canceled our clearance without argument.
7. Tower sent the arrival around.
8. The vehicle vacated the runway a minute later.
9. We were re-cleared and departed normally.
10. A clearance is permission, not an order.

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