Operational Procedures
Normal and abnormal operations
Know the standard operating procedures for take-off, climb, cruise, descent, approach, and landing. Understand the purpose of checklists and the difference between normal, abnormal, and emergency checklists. Know that memory items are limited to time-critical emergencies and must be followed by the checklist.
Emergencies
Know the priorities: aviate, navigate, communicate. Understand the meaning of Mayday (distress) and Pan-Pan (urgency), and when each is used. Know the procedures for engine failure, fire, depressurisation, and forced landing, and the role of the emergency checklist.
Safety and reporting
Know the purpose of the safety management system and the occurrence reporting scheme. Understand the difference between a mandatory occurrence report and a voluntary report, and the importance of a just culture.
Traps
- Using Mayday for an urgency situation; Pan-Pan is for urgency.
- Believing memory items replace the checklist; they are followed by it.
- Confusing the roles of the PIC and the co-pilot in an emergency.
- Forgetting that the emergency descent may require a specific speed and configuration.
Worked example
On a rapid depressurisation at high altitude, the memory action is to don oxygen masks, establish communication, and initiate an emergency descent to 10,000 ft or the minimum safe altitude, whichever is higher, then complete the checklist.