Operational Safety and Emergency Procedures
Normal to emergency
The operator's manual must define emergency procedures: engine failure, fire, depressurisation, ditching, evacuation, and hijacking/unlawful interference. Candidates must know the decision points: when to continue versus divert, when to declare an emergency, and when to use emergency authority under RBAC 91. The trap is treating an emergency declaration as optional; the PIC should declare when safety requires priority handling, and must report the deviation afterwards.
Cabin safety and evacuation
Key concepts: briefing of passengers, exit row requirements, 90-second evacuation certification, crew commands, and the brace position. Traps include confusing the certification demonstration with an operational guarantee, and forgetting that the PIC orders evacuation while cabin crew manage it.
Worked example
A cabin depressurisation occurs at FL350. The crew dons oxygen masks, establishes communication, initiates emergency descent to FL100 or the minimum safe altitude, and diverts to the nearest suitable aerodrome. The candidate must sequence these correctly: masks first, then descent, then communication and diversion. A candidate who communicates before descending has the order wrong.
Rule of thumb
For any emergency question, use the sequence: aviate, navigate, communicate, then manage the cabin and report.