Operational Procedures
What the exam tests
Operational procedures covers normal, abnormal and emergency drills, take-off and approach minima, depressurisation, engine failure, fire, diversion and fuel management. Iran CAO expects aircraft-general procedures, not a specific type checklist.
Core rules
- V1: before V1 reject; after V1 continue and fly the aircraft. V1 is decision speed, not rotation speed.
- Engine failure after V1: maintain directional control, pitch for V2, clean up on schedule, identify/confirm, then manage.
- Depressurisation: oxygen masks, establish communication, descend to 10,000 ft or MSA, divert.
- Approach minima: DA/DH or MDA/MDH; missed approach at the published point.
- Emergency descent: speedbrakes, idle, turn away from terrain, 10,000 ft or MSA.
Worked example
At 400 ft after take-off, the right engine fails. The captain's call is 'V1, rotate, positive climb, gear up.' Because the failure occurred after V1, the take-off is continued. The pilot flying maintains V2 to 400 ft, then accelerates; the pilot monitoring runs the engine-failure checklist. Reasoning: below V1 the runway is the safest stop; above V1 the aircraft is committed and configuration cleanup protects climb performance.
Traps
Rejecting after V1; retarding the wrong thrust lever; turning back to the departure runway without terrain/performance assessment; forgetting the 10,000 ft target in decompression; using QFE for the missed approach.