Terminology Science as a means of improving specialist communication in the domain of aircraft accidents

In aviation, specialist communication can play a safety-critical role. However, owing to the exponential growth of specialist knowledge efficient communication is often impeded. This paper describes some communication barriers that can occur in aviation. In this connection, the inconsistent and ambiguous use of specialist terms in aircraft accident reports will be commented on. As a possible solution for reducing communication obstacles a proposal is made to apply the principles and methods of terminology science - the field of knowledge which deals, among other things, with harmonizing and standardizing concepts and terms of special subject fields. Finally, an ongoing research project will be briefly outlined in which British and German aircraft accident reports are analysed conceptually as well as linguistically with a view to improving not only the use of terms in accident reports but also the representation of specialist knowledge in this area