APU failure at gate

오늘은 비행 중 비상이 아니라 출발 전 지상에서 생기는 흔한 문제입니다. 비상 선포는 없고, 핵심은 지상 조업팀에 필요한 것을 정중하게 요청·조율하는 말하기예요. 그래서 문법도 정중 요청 표현(could you / would it be possible)으로 갑니다.

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1. Scenario

I was the First Officer of HL123, a twin-engine aircraft, at the gate before departure.

During the cockpit preparation, the APU failed and would not start. The APU normally supplies electrical power and bleed air, and we use the bleed air to start the engines, so without it we needed help from the ground.

We told the ground crew about the problem. We asked them to connect a ground power unit for electrical power, and we requested an air-start unit so we could start the engines. We also asked engineering to check the APU.

While we waited, we informed the passengers that there would be a short delay. Once the ground equipment was connected, we started the engines with ground air and departed normally.

The APU failure was written up for maintenance to fix after the flight.

2. 상황 한눈에 (At a glance)

English — At the gate, the APU failed to start. The APU normally supplies electrical power and bleed air for engine start, so without it we depend on ground equipment. The flow: tell the ground crew → request a ground power unit for electrics → request an air-start unit for engine start → tell the passengers about a short delay → start the engines and depart. This is a routine ground problem, not an emergency.

한국어 — 게이트에서 APU가 시동되지 않았습니다. APU는 보통 전원과 엔진 시동용 블리드 공기를 공급하므로, 없으면 지상 장비에 의존합니다. 흐름: 지상 조업팀에 통보 → 전원용 지상 전원장치(GPU) 요청 → 엔진 시동용 에어스타트 유닛 요청 → 승객에게 짧은 지연 안내 → 엔진 시동 후 출발. 비상이 아니라 일상적 지상 문제입니다.

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3. Key Verbs — 동사 + 예문

fail

뜻: 작동하지 않다, 시동되지 않다

• The APU failed to start during preparation.
• When the APU fails, we use ground equipment instead.

supply

뜻: 공급하다

• The APU normally supplies electrical power and bleed air.
• A ground power unit can supply electrics at the gate.

require

뜻: 필요로 하다

• We required an air-start unit to start the engines.
• The aircraft required ground power because the APU was inoperative.

connect

뜻: 연결하다

• We asked the ground crew to connect a ground power unit.
• Once the unit was connected, we had electrical power.

depend (on)

뜻: 의존하다

• Without the APU, we depend on ground equipment.
• The engine start depended on the air-start unit.

arrange

뜻: 마련하다, 준비시키다

• The ground crew arranged the equipment quickly.
• We arranged for engineering to check the APU.

start

뜻: 시동하다

• We started the engines using ground air.
• We could not start the engines without bleed air.

request

뜻: 요청하다

• We requested an air-start unit.
• We requested ground power for the electrical system.

update

뜻: (소식을) 알려주다

• We updated the passengers about the delay.
• We updated the ground crew on our status.

depart

뜻: 출발하다

• We departed normally once the engines were started.
• We were ready to depart after the start.

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4. 핵심 표현·콜로케이션

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5. 상황 어휘 Vocabulary

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6. ⭐ 말하기 좋은 문장 구조 (Sentence Frames)

빈칸만 갈아끼우면 다른 지상·요청 상황에도 그대로 씁니다.

• During ____, the ____ failed. → During the cockpit preparation, the APU failed.
• The APU normally supplies ____, so without it we ____. → … supplies power and bleed air, so without it we needed ground equipment.
• We asked the ground crew to ____. → … to connect a ground power unit.
• Could you ____ ? / Would it be possible to ____ ? → Could you connect ground power? Would it be possible to send an air-start unit?
• We informed the passengers that ____. → … that there would be a short delay.

오늘의 표현 포인트 — "Could you ____ ?" / "Would it be possible to ____ ?" 지상·관제에 정중하게 부탁하는 틀. 무뚝뚝한 명령보다 협조를 잘 끌어냅니다.

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7. ❌ 흔한 실수 → ✅ 더 나은 표현

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

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8. 오늘의 문법 포인트 — 정중 요청

지상·관제에 부탁할 때는 명령형보다 정중한 요청형이 자연스럽습니다.

• Could you connect a ground power unit?
• Would it be possible to send an air-start unit?
• We requested the ground crew to check the APU. (we requested + 사람 + to-v)

명령 "Connect ground power" 보다 "Could you connect ground power?" 가 협조를 잘 끌어냅니다. 보고할 땐 "We requested … to …" 형태로.

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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 at the gate before departure when the APU failed and would not start. The APU normally supplies electrical power and bleed air, and we use that bleed air to start the engines, so without it we needed help from the ground.

We told the ground crew about the problem. We asked them to connect a ground power unit for electrical power, and we requested an air-start unit so we could start the engines. We also asked engineering to check the APU.

While we waited, we informed the passengers that there would be a short delay, so they knew what was happening. Once the ground equipment was connected, we started the engines with ground air and departed normally.

So it was a simple APU failure on the ground. By coordinating clearly with the ground crew and keeping the passengers informed, we handled the delay smoothly, and the APU was written up for maintenance.

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.

On the whole, ATC and the ground team were very helpful. The ground crew brought the power unit and the air-start unit quickly, and ATC adjusted our slot for the short delay without any trouble.

One thing that would help is a quicker way to confirm equipment availability, so we know early whether the units are free. But in this case everything was arranged fast, and we only had a small delay.

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11. Follow-up Q&A

1. What does the APU do? → It supplies electrical power and bleed air on the ground, and we normally use the bleed air to start the engines.
2. How can you start the engines without the APU? → With an air-start unit from the ground, or with a cross-bleed start using bleed air from an engine that is already running.
3. Why did you inform the passengers? → So they understood the reason for the delay and stayed comfortable while we sorted it out.
4. Was this an emergency? → No, it was a routine ground problem. We just needed ground equipment and a little extra time.

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12. Shadowing Sentences

각 문장을 3~5번 소리 내어 따라 하세요.

1. At the gate, the APU failed and would not start.
2. The APU normally supplies electrical power and bleed air.
3. Without it, we depended on ground equipment.
4. We asked the ground crew to connect a ground power unit.
5. Could you send an air-start unit for the engine start?
6. We also asked engineering to check the APU.
7. We informed the passengers that there would be a short delay.
8. Once the equipment was connected, we started the engines with ground air.
9. We departed normally after the start.
10. The APU was written up for maintenance.

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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.