Operational Procedures
Standard operating practice
Operational procedures cover pre-flight and in-flight actions, checklists, communication and coordination, emergency and abnormal handling, and the management of risk. Understand the purpose of standard operating procedures, the role of briefing and callouts, and the principles of threat and error management. Know the actions for fire, engine failure, depressurisation and forced landing, and the order in which they are taken.
Traps
Questions often test priority: aviate, navigate, communicate, in that order. Another trap is choosing a checklist action before securing the aircraft, or treating a memory item as a substitute for the checklist. Watch for items that reward improvisation over the published procedure.
Worked example
On an engine failure after take-off at low altitude, the priority is to control the aircraft, establish the best glide or safe attitude, select a landing area, then run the memory items and checklist. Communication comes last because it does not change the aircraft's trajectory.
Rule of thumb
Aviate, navigate, communicate. Control the aircraft first; everything else follows.