sallyjay

I know that English is mandatory for aviation, but sometimes you hear things like this and I begin to wonder how often this occurs. Have you experienced something similar or is there an airline that you have noticed to have consistent issues(even minor) when communicating with ATC as a result of poor English skills?

Apart from the incidents you've already mentioned, what has been the hairiest moment for you, or maybe even your colleagues as a result of some sort of miscommunication/pilot error, language barrier or not?

I did mean Steve Irwin. Friends and I affectionately refer to him as Steve O, my bad. It's pretty clear that I wasn't referring to the Jackass star

Edit: Felt a bit rude, sorry!

Your stingray experience sounds wonderful and you should cherish it. They are normally not as "tame" under normal circumstances in that they just lay around in the sand during the day and bolt if you disturb them. They can sting you and it would hurt a lot, but they almost never kill. Their barbs are their only defense mechanism and the only reason they would "attack" is if they felt threatened. Their biggest threats are sharks and they usually come from above which is unfortunate for any large creature, or the odd beach goer's foot. Steve-o's death was a bit of a freak incident. He was above a stingray when its barb pierced his heart, which unfortunately led to his death. /u/MrPennywhistle actually had rather interesting conversation/interview with someone who was with Steve in his final moments that you can watch here if you like. I've read that only 17 or so people have been killed by stingrays. Not sure how accurate those statistics are, but if that number is true, that's just 17 people in all of (recorded) human existence, which just goes to show how harmless they really are. Like any creature, you have to treat them with respect or be faced with the (rather painful) consequences. Here's another video about stingrays, specifically those from the Caribbean which you might enjoy. :)