Air-ground communication is a unique conversational discourse via specific technological equipment engaged by pilots and air traffic controllers. To conduct efficient air-ground communication, a special language or radiotelephony, is deliberately created and designed for aviation personnel to successfully conduct flight operations and to communicate through wireless technology. Therefore, radiotelephony may be seen as a universal or ‘international language’ used by pilots and air traffic controllers around the world, but it is also a distinctive language used within a restricted environment by a specific profession. A study was conducted to look at the general organisation and communication strategies in radiotelephony at discourse level and to describe its linguistic properties. This paper presents preliminary findings of the analysis done at discourse level and identifies categories of word formations used to construct the lexicon of radiotelephony.The analysis shows that turns are achieved in formulaic patterns embedded with confined units of moves. At the lexical level, compounding and shortening play a substantial role in contributingterms specific to the genre. The findings indicate that radiotelephony possesses distinctive linguistic characteristics influenced by the wireless medium of communication, certain flight operation activities and the unique institutional goal of interaction.