How to Use Briefing Notes

Flight Operations Briefing Notes Foreword

Flight Operations Briefing Notes

How to Use Briefing Notes
Foreword

The Airbus Flight Operations Briefing Notes have been developed to constitute
a safety-awareness reference for flight crewmembers , cabin crewmembers, flight
operations personnel and other aviation actors, regardless of their role, type of
equipment and operation.
The Flight Operations Briefing Notes provide an overview of the following aspects that
need to be understood and mastered in order to enhance ground and flight operations
safety :
• Threats and hazards awareness;
• Operational and training standards;
• Operating and flying techniques;
• Operational and human factors affecting crew performance;
• Company accident-prevention-strategies;
• Personal lines-of-defense; and,
• Applicable regulations (e.g., ICAO recommendations, U.S. FARs and European
JARs).

Flight Operations Briefing Notes are intended to cover aircraft operations

from-gate-to-gate, considering multiple viewpoints, as follows :

Flight Phase Viewpoint :

• Takeoff and departure operations;
• Climb and cruise operations; and,
• Descent, approach and landing operations.

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 How to Use Briefing Notes
Flight Operations Briefing Notes Foreword

Threat / Hazard Viewpoint :

• Human performance;
• Operational threats and errors;
• Operating environment; and,
• Weather.

Procedural Viewpoint :
• Standard operating procedures (SOPs);
• Supplementary techniques;
• Abnormal and emergency procedure; and
• Situations beyond the scope of published procedures.

Within the Flight Operations Briefing Notes website, each viewpoint is addressed in
a specific Series of Flight Operations Briefing Notes.
The Flight Operations Briefing Note titled Introducing the Briefing Notes Concept provides
detailed guidance on the content and suggested use of Flight Operations Briefing Notes.

Each Flight Operations Briefing Note features the following disclaimer clause :

This FOBN is part of a set of Flight Operations Briefing Notes that provide an overview of the applicable standards,
flying techniques and best practices, operational and human factors, suggested company prevention strategies and personal
lines-of-defense related to major threats and hazards to flight operations safety.

This FOBN is intended to enhance the reader's flight safety awareness but it shall not supersede the applicable regulations
and the Airbus or airline's operational documentation; should any deviation appear between this FOBN and the Airbus or
airline’s AFM / (M)MEL / FCOM / QRH / FCTM / CCOM, the latter shall prevail at all times.

In the interest of aviation safety, this FOBN may be reproduced in whole or in part - in all media - or translated; any use of
this FOBN shall not modify its contents or alter an excerpt from its original context. Any commercial use is strictly excluded.
All uses shall credit Airbus.

Airbus shall have no liability or responsibility for the use of this FOBN, the correctness of the duplication, adaptation or
translation and for the updating and revision of any duplicated version.

Airbus Customer Services

Flight Operations Support and Services
1 Rond Point Maurice Bellonte - 31707 BLAGNAC CEDEX FRANCE
FOBN Reference : FLT_OPS – FOBN – SEQ 01 - REV 05 – MAY. 2006

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Flight Operations Briefing Notes Introducing the Briefing Notes Concept

Flight Operations Briefing Notes

How to Use Briefing Notes
Introducing the Briefing Notes Concept

I General
The initial set of Approach-and-Landing Flight Operations Briefing Notes has been
developed by Airbus in the frame of the Approach-and-Landing Accidents Reduction
(ALAR) Task Force led by the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF).

The Approach-and-Landing Flight Operations Briefing Notes provide background

information, operational recommendations and training guidelines for
the implementation of the conclusions and recommendations of the following
international ALAR working groups:
• FSF ALAR Task Force; and,
• U.S. Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST), ALAR Joint Safety Implementation
Team (JSIT).

Lessons-learned from the Airbus operational and human factors analysis of in-service
occurrences and from training feedback have been also considered.

A generic version of the ALAR Briefing Notes has been published by the FSF,
in the Volume 19, No 8-11, Aug.-Nov./00 of the FSF Flight Safety Digest and in the FSF
ALAR Tool Kit (CD-ROM).

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Flight Operations Briefing Notes Introducing the Briefing Notes Concept

II Accident-prevention Strategy
The Flight Operations Briefing Notes have been designed to allow an eye-opening and
self-correcting accident-prevention strategy.

To support this strategy, each Flight Operations Briefing Note:

• Presents the subject and its associated hazard to flight operations safety, using
background information and statistical data;
• Emphasizes the applicable standards and best practices (e.g., standard operating
procedures [SOPs], supplementary techniques, operational recommendations and
training guidelines);
• Lists and discusses the operational and human factors that may cause flight
crewmembers and cabin crewmembers to deviate from applicable standards;
This section constitutes an eye-opener to assist the reader in assessing his/her own
exposure;

• Provides or suggests company accident-prevention-strategies and/or personal lines-

of-defense;
This section will assist the reader in identifying company or personal prevention
strategies and/or corrective actions;

• Establishes a summary of operational key points and training key points;

• Refers to associated or related Flight Operations Briefing Notes; and,
• References related ICAO, U.S. FAR and European JAR regulatory documents.

The proposed education and training strategy is valid at both company and personal
levels for:
• Risk awareness;
• Exposure assessment;
• Identification of related prevention strategies (at company level) and lines-of-
defense (at company and/or personal levels); and,
• Implementation of prevention strategies and/or corrective actions.

III Defining a Reference Aircraft

The technical content of the Flight Operations Briefing Notes refers to a generic
reference aircraft defined to reflect the design features common to most Airbus and
non-Airbus aircraft families (i.e., modern-technology airliners, regional and corporate
jets or turboprop aircraft).

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This reference aircraft features the following equipment to allow discussing the role and
operation of each system during each flight phase:
• Glass-cockpit, including an electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) consisting of
a primary flight display (PFD) and navigation display (ND);
• Integrated autopilot (AP) / flight director (FD) / autothrottle/autothrust (A/THR)
systems;
• Flight management system (FMS);
• Automatic ground-spoilers;
• Autobrake system;
• Thrust reversers;
• Two flight-deck crewmembers and required number of cabin crewmembers;
• Operation using manufacturer-published or company-prepared standard operating
procedures (SOPs), defining the following elements:
− Operating philosophy;
− Use of automation;
− Task sharing ( for pilot flying [PF] and pilot-non-flying [PNF] );
− Crewmembers tasks for all phases of ground and flight operations;
− Briefings;
− Standard calls; and,
− Normal checklists.

IV How to Use and Implement the Flight Operations Briefing Notes ?

The Flight Operations Briefing Notes should be used by airlines to enhance
the awareness of various operational and human factors, threats and hazards among
flight crews and cabin crews.
Management pilots and flight attendants should review, customize (as required) and
implementthe recommendations, guidelines and awareness information, in the following
domains:

• Operational documentation:
− Standard operating procedures; and,
− Procedures and techniques / Supplementary techniques.

• Training:
− Simulator Training, to develop new scenarios for line oriented flight training
(LOFT) or special purpose operational training (SPOT); and/or,

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− Crew resource management (CRM) training, to develop new topical subjects

to support CRM discussions.

• Information:
− Flight crew / Cabin crew bulletins;
− Airline’s safety magazine articles;
− Classroom lectures; and/or,
− Stand-alone reading.

Line pilots, line flight attendants and flight operations personnel should review and
compare the recommendations, guidelines and awareness information with their
current practices and enhance their techniques and awareness level, as required.

Other actors in the global aviation system, such as:

• Air traffic control services;
• Navigation state agencies;
• Operational authorities;
• Service providers; and,
• Flight academies / flying colleges; …
… should use the provision of the Flight Operations Briefing Notes to evaluate their
possible contribution to the enhancement of ground and flight safety.

V Statistical Data
Statistical data quoted in the Flight Operations Briefing Notes originate from various
industry sources.
The following Special FSF Report provides a consolidated source of statistical data,
definitions and facts about approach-and-landing accidents, including those involving
CFIT:

Flight Safety Foundation

Flight Safety Digest
Killers in Aviation:
FSF Task Force Presents Facts
About Approach-and-landing and
Controlled-flight-into-terrain Accidents
Volume 17/No 11-12 – Volume 18/No 1-2
Nov.-Dec.98/Jan.-Feb.99

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VI Reference Documents
The following reference documents have been used to:
• Support and illustrate the applicable standards, operational recommendations and
training guidelines; and,
• Document and analyze the operational factors and human factors involved in
incidents and accidents

Airbus Operational and Training Documentation :

• Flight Crew Operating Manuals (FCOM);
• Quick Reference Handbooks (QRH);
• Flight Crew Training Manuals (FCTM);
• Cabin Crew Operating Manuals (CCOM)
• Instructor Support Guides;
• Airbus Cockpit Philosophy reference document;
• Airbus Training Philosophy reference document; and,
• Proceedings of:
− Performance and Operations Conferences;
− Human Factors Symposiums; and,
− Operational Liaison Meetings.

Aviation Regulations / Requirements :

• ICAO – Annex 6 – Operation of Aircraft, Part I – International Commercial Air
Transport – Aeroplanes;
• ICAO – Procedures for Air Navigation Services (PANS-OPS, Doc 8168);
• European Joint Aviation Requirement – JAR-OPS 1 – Commercial Air Transport
(Aeroplanes);
• U.S. FAR – Part 91 – Air Traffic and General Operating Rules;
• U.S. FAR – Part 121 – Operating Requirements: Domestic, Flag, and Supplemental
Operations; and,
• U.S. FAA – Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) – Basic Flight Information and
ATC Procedures.

Airlines’ Aircraft Operating Manuals :

• Several airlines’ aircraft operating manuals (AOM) have been used to document
operators’ best practices for non-type-related operational matters.

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Government Agency Websites :

• NASA ASRS ( http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/ and http://human-factors.arc.nasa.gov/ );
• U.S. FAA ( http://www.faa.gov/ );
• U.S. NTSB ( http://www.ntsb.gov/aviation/ );
• French BEA ( http://www.bea-fr.org/ );
• U.K. AAIB ( http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/ );
• Transport Canada (http://www.tc.gc.ca/) and,
• Australian BASI ( http://www.atsb.gov.au/aviation/aviation/ )

In addition, Airlines’ Flight Safety Magazines, Incident and Accident Analysis Reports,
Feature Articles from various aviation publications have been used as data sources.

VII Acknowledgement
Airbus is grateful to various airlines and industry professionals who have kindly
contributed to this effort by reviewing the Flight Operations Briefing Notes in their
respective fields of expertise.

VIII How to Print Flight Operations Briefing Notes

The Flight Operations Briefing Notes have been designed in a custom-size format
to allow printing on either A4 or Letter paper format.
As required, select the print option “Fit to page” in the “Print” window to optimize
printing quality.

This FOBN is part of a set of Flight Operations Briefing Notes that provide an overview of the applicable standards,
flying techniques and best practices, operational and human factors, suggested company prevention strategies and personal
lines-of-defense related to major threats and hazards to flight operations safety.

This FOBN is intended to enhance the reader's flight safety awareness but it shall not supersede the applicable regulations
and the Airbus or airline's operational documentation; should any deviation appear between this FOBN and the Airbus or
airline’s AFM / (M)MEL / FCOM / QRH / FCTM / CCOM, the latter shall prevail at all times.

In the interest of aviation safety, this FOBN may be reproduced in whole or in part - in all media - or translated; any use of
this FOBN shall not modify its contents or alter an excerpt from its original context. Any commercial use is strictly excluded.
All uses shall credit Airbus.

Airbus shall have no liability or responsibility for the use of this FOBN, the correctness of the duplication, adaptation or
translation and for the updating and revision of any duplicated version.

Airbus Customer Services

Flight Operations Support and Services
1 Rond Point Maurice Bellonte - 31707 BLAGNAC CEDEX FRANCE
FOBN Reference : FLT_OPS – FOBN – SEQ 02 - REV 06 – MAY. 2006

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Flight Operations Briefing Notes Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations

Flight Operations Briefing Notes

How to Use Briefing Notes
Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations

Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

A/THR Autothrottle or Autothrust system

AAL Above Airport Level

AC U.S. FAA Advisory Circular

ACAS Airborne Collision Avoidance System (see also TCAS)

ACP Audio Control Panel (see also DCDU)

ADC Air Data Computer

AFE Above Field Elevation

AFL Above Field Level (e.g., 1000 ft - height AFL)

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Flight Operations Briefing Notes Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations

Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

AFM Airplane Flight Manual (approved by certification authorities)

Automatic Flight System, this includes the flight director (FD),

AFS the autopilot (AP), the autothrottle/autothrust system (A/THR) and
the flight management system (FMS)

Above Ground Level (e.g., 1000 ft - height AGL, indicated by the radio
AGL altimeter or computed by subtracting the terrain elevation from
the altitude above MSL)

U.S. FAA Aeronautical Information Manual

AIM
(previously called Airman Information Manual)

Aeronautical Information Publications

AIP
(published by ICAO member states)

ALA Approach-and-Landing Accident

ALAR Approach-and-Landing Accident Reduction

ALS Airport Lighting System

ALTN Alternate

AMC Acceptable Means of Compliance (for compliance with JAR-OPS 1)

AOM Aircraft Operating Manual (established by operator)

AP Auto Pilot

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Flight Operations Briefing Notes Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations

Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

APP Approach control frequency

A point in space with a defined configuration and energy state

Approach Gate
(see also Stabilization Height and Next Target)

ARTCC Air Route Traffic Control Center (usually referred to as "Center")

ASAP Aviation Safety Action Partnership

ATC Air Traffic Control

ATIS Automatic Terminal Information Service

Air Traffic Management (one of the two components of FANS, see also
ATM
FANS and CNS)

BASIS British Airways Information System

BRG Bearing (e.g., bearing to a waypoint or navaid)

CAP U.K. Civil Aviation Publication

CAPT Captain (see also PIC)

Commercial Aviation Safety Team (international industry task force led

CAST
by U.S. FAA)

A causal factor is an event or item judged to be directly instrumental in

Causal Factor the causal chain of events leading to an accident (source: Flight Safety
Foundation)

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Flight Operations Briefing Notes Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations

Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

CAWS Collision Avoidance Warning System (see TCAS)

CDU Control and Display Unit (see also MCDU)

CFIT Controlled Flight Into Terrain

Checklist See also QRH

A circumstantial factor is an event or an item that was judged not to be

Circumstantial
directly in the causal chain of events [leading to an accident] but could
Factor
have contributed to the accident (source: Flight Safety Foundation)

Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (one of the two

CNS
components of FANS, see also FANS and ATM)

CONF Configuration (e.g., slats, flaps, roll spoilers, ground spoilers, ...)

Correction (e.g., wind or configuration correction on final approach

CORR
speed)

CPDLC Controller Pilot Data Link Communications

CRM Crew Resource Management

DA(H) Decision Altitude (Height)

DCDU Data Communications Display Unit

DDG Dispatch Deviation Guide (see also MMEL and MEL)

DIR TO Direct route to [a waypoint]

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Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

DIST Distance

DME Distance Measuring Equipment

DNA French Direction de la Navigation Aerienne

ECAM Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor

EFIS Electronic Flight Instruments System

Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System

EGPWS
(see also TAWS)

EGT Exhaust Gas Temperature

ETOPS Extended Twins Operations

F/O First Officer

FAA U.S. Federal Aviation Administration

FAF Final Approach Fix

FANS Future Air Navigation System (see also CNS and ATM)

FAR U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations

FBS Fixed Base Simulator

FCOM Flight Crew Operating Manual (established by Airbus)

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Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

FCU Flight Control Unit (i.e., AP/FD interface)

FD Flight Director

FDF Final Descent Fix

FFCC Forward-Facing-Crew Cockpit

FFS Full Flight Simulator

FIR Flight Information Region

FL Flight Level

FMGS Flight Management and Guidance System

FMA Flight Modes Annunciator

FMGES Flight Management, Guidance and [flight] Envelop [protection] System

FMS Flight Management System

FOQA Flight Operations Quality Assurance

FSF Flight Safety Foundation

ft Feet

GA Go Around

GAIN Global Analysis and Information Network

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Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

GCAS Ground Collision Avoidance System

GND Ground control frequency

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

GPS Global Positioning System

GPWS Ground Proximity Warning System

GS Glide Slope

GW Gross Weight

HAT Height Above Touchdown

HF High Frequency

HIRL High Intensity Runway Lighting

HSI Horizontal Situation Indicator

hPa Hectopascals

IAF Initial Approach Fix

IAP Instrument Approach Procedure

IAS Indicated Air Speed

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization

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Flight Operations Briefing Notes Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations

Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

Interpretative and Explanatory Material

IEM
(for compliance with JAR-OPS 1)

IF Intermediate Fix

IFR Instrument Flying Rules

ILS Instrument Landing System (see also GS and LOC)

Instrument Landing System with collocated Distance Measuring

ILS-DME
Equipment

IMC Instrument Meteorological Conditions

in.Hg Inches of Mercury (unit for pressure measurement)

INFO Information service frequency

IOE Initial Operating Experience (Line Training)

IRS Inertial Reference System

JAA European Joint Aviation Authority

JAR European Joint Aviation Regulations

JAR-AWO JAR - All Weather Operations requirements

JAR-OPS JAR Operations requirements

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Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

JSAT U.S. CAST Joint Safety Analysis Team

JSIT U.S. CAST Joint Safety Implementation Team

JSSI European Joint Safety Strategies and Initiatives

kt Knots

LAAS GPS Local Area [accuracy] Augmentation System

LAHSHO Land and Hold Short operation

Lateral Navigation FMS managed lateral navigation (i.e., NAV mode)

LDA LOC-type Directional Aid

LLWAS Low Level Windshear Alert System

LOC Localizer

LOC BCK CRS Localizer back course

LOFT Line Oriented Flight [simulator] Training

m Meters

MAP Missed Approach Point

MCDU Multi-purpose Control and Display Unit (see also CDU)

MDA(H) Minimum Descent Altitude (Height)

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Flight Operations Briefing Notes Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations

Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

MEA Minimum Enroute Altitude

MEL Minimum Equipment List (operator' customized version of MMEL)

METAR Meteorological Airport [observation] Report

MMEL Master Minimum Equipment List (approved by operational authority)

Type of guidance used to guide the aircraft towards a target or set of

targets, or along a vertical flight path and/or lateral flight path

"Selected modes" refers to the modes armed or engaged by the pilot on

Mode
the FCU

"Managed modes" refers to FMS vertical navigation and lateral

navigation

MSA Minimum Safe Altitude or Minimum Sector Altitude

MSAW Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (provided by ATC)

Mean Sea Level (e.g., 1000 ft - altitude above MSL, indicated by the
MSL
barometric altimeter when set to QNH)

NATS U.K. National Air Traffic Services

Navaid Navigation Aid (e.g., NDB, VOR, VOR-DME, LOC, ILS,...)

ND Navigation Display

NDB Non Directional Beacon

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Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

Any required element or combination of one or more of the following

elements:

A position,

An altitude,

Next Target
An aircraft configuration,

A speed,

A vertical speed, and/or

A power setting.

NEXT WPT The waypoint located after the TO WPT

nm Nautical miles

NOTAM NOtice To AirMen

OAT Outside Air Temperature

OCA(H) Obstacle Clearance Altitude (Height)

OM Outer Marker

PA Passenger Address system

PAPI Precision Approach Path Indicator

PF Pilot Flying

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Flight Operations Briefing Notes Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations

Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

PFD Primary Flight Display

PIC Pilot In Command

PIREPS Pilot REPorts

Pilot Not Flying

PNF
The PNF is sometimes referred to as the Pilot Monitoring to enhance
his/her role in terms or monitoring, cross-check and backup

QAR Quick Access Recorder

Actual atmospheric pressure at airport elevation

QFE
Altimeter setting required to read a height above airport elevation

Actual atmospheric pressure at sea level, based on actual atmospheric

pressure at station
QNH
Altimeter setting required to read an altitude above mean sea level
(MSL)

QRH Quick Reference Handbook

R/I Radio / Inertial navigation

Depending on context:

RA Radio Altimeter, or

Resolution Advisory (see also TCAS)

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Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

RA DH Radio Altimeter Decision Height

Raw navigation data: bearing and/or distance from aircraft to the tuned
Raw Data
navaid

REIL Runway End Identification Lights

A mode reversion is a manual or automatic changeover from one AP

mode to another mode (usually, a lower level of automation) resulting
from:

- a pilot action (e.g., the selection of a lower level of automation or

the disengagement of a mode for manual reversion to the AP basic
Reversion
mode); or,

- a system built-in condition (e.g., a guidance limit or an active flight

envelope protection); or,

- a failure or temporary loss of the engaged mode.

RMI Radio Magnetic Indicator

RNAV aRea NAVigation (i.e., lateral navigation based on defined waypoints)

RNP Required Navigation [accuracy] Performance

RVR Runway Visual Range

RVSM Reduced Vertical Separation Minima

SAT Static Air Temperature

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Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

SDF Simplified Directional Facility

SID Standard Instruments Departure

SOPs Standard Operating Procedures

The height above airfield elevation or the height above touchdown (HAT)
at which the aircraft should be stabilized for the approach to be
continued; the stabilization height should be:
Stabilization Height
- 1000 ft in IMC

- 500 ft in VMC

STAR Standard Terminal ARrival

STD Standard altimeter setting (i.e., 1013.2 hPa or 29.92 in.hg)

TA Traffic Advisory (see also TCAS)

A guidance target (e.g., a speed, heading, altitude, vertical speed, flight

Target path angle, track, course, etc) selected by the pilot on the appropriate
panel (FCU, FMS CDU or keyboard)

TAS True Air Speed

Terrain Awareness and Warning System

TAWS is the term used by the European JAA and the U.S. FAA to
TAWS
describe equipment meeting ICAO standards and recommendations for
ground-proximity warning system (GPWS) equipment that provides
predictive terrain-hazard warnings

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Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

TCAS Traffic Collision Avoidance System (see also ACAS)

Terminal Doppler Weather Radar

TDWR
Weather radar capable of detecting areas of wind shear activity

TDZ Touch Down Zone

TDZE Touch Down Zone Elevation

U.S. Standard for Terminal Instrument Approach Procedures

TERPS
(FAR - Part 97)

Waypoint of the F-PLN flight plan considered by the FMS for immediate
TO WPT lateral navigation guidance (in case of incorrect flight plan sequencing,
the TO WPT may happen to be behind the aircraft)

TOD Top Of Descent

A mode transition is a manual or automatic changeover from one AP

mode to another mode, resulting from:

- a pilot action (e.g., the selection of a new mode on the FCU,

as appropriate for the task or following an ATC instruction); or,
Transition

- an automatic mode sequencing resulting from a prior mode selection

involving several mode changes in sequence (e.g., altitude capture
changeover to altitude hold or selected heading changeover to localizer
capture then to localizer tracking)

V APP Final Approach Speed

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Term or
Definition
Abbreviation

Minimum control speed in landing configuration with the critical engine

V MCL
inoperative

Reference approach speed (also referred to as threshold reference speed

V REF
or target threshold speed)

V stall Stalling speed (in a specified configuration)

V/S Vertical speed or AP Vertical Speed mode

VASI Visual Approach Indicator

VDP Visual Descent / Decision Point

Vertical Navigation FMS-managed vertical navigation

VFR Visual Flying Rules

VHF Very High Frequency

VMC Visual Meteorological Conditions

VOR VHF Omni Range

VOR-DME Collocated VOR and DME navaids

WAAS GPS Wide Area [accuracy] Augmentation System

WMO World Meteorological Organization

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