Recently an airline contacted us to provide some coaching for one of their line pilots who had just failed to attain a Level 4. He had achieved Level 4 in four of the descriptors and level 3 in two of them
The pilot had only 2 lessons and unbeknown to ourselves and the airline , went to a different EASA approved test provided and was awarded a Level 4.
This is not the first time this has happened and through word of mouth, many pilots in Europe know which test provider they can use to either ensure they obtain a Level 4 or to “upgrade” and achieve a Level 5 or even Level 6
I would love to claim that we can assist a pilot going from Level 3 to Level 4 in just 2 lessons, but I am more concerned about the lack of consistency in ICAO ELT testing, particularly within EASA. If one EASA state approves a Test Provider, then by default that Test Provider is approved, and their test results are accepted within all EASA states.
The situation appears to be getting worse rather than better and can result in (it seems to us) test takers shopping around for a more ‘favourable’ result. This can then undermine professional test centres whose fundamental aims are to improve the level of English Language in the aviation industry, not just to award Level 4,5 or even 6.
All testing should be reliable, impartial and consistent wherever the test is taken.
