On the way back from San Diego to DC on Alaska Air, I thought to myself "how do the pilots and control towers communicate, when they don't speak the same language?"

This is especially relevant in conversations that involve more than just "clear for landing on runway #1"


What about that recent Boeing crash, where they had to "talk through" a rather complicated issue?


I've asked this to a bunch of non-pilot people, and none of us could answer.