Flight Operations Briefing Notes

How to Use Briefing Notes

Introducing the Briefing Notes Concept

Flight Operations Briefing Notes

How to Use Briefing Notes
Introducing the Briefing Notes Concept

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

II

How to Use Briefing Notes

Introducing the Briefing Notes Concept

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 linesof-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:

III

Risk awareness;

Exposure assessment;

Identification of related prevention strategies (at company level) and lines-ofdefense (at company and/or personal levels); and,

Implementation of prevention strategies and/or corrective actions.

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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Flight Operations Briefing Notes

How to Use Briefing Notes

Introducing the Briefing Notes Concept

This reference aircraft features the following equipment to allow discussing the role and
operation of each system during each flight phase:

IV

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.

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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Flight Operations Briefing Notes

How to Use Briefing Notes

Introducing the Briefing Notes Concept

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

to support CRM discussions.

Information:

Flight crew / Cabin crew bulletins;

Airlines 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.

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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Flight Operations Briefing Notes

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How to Use Briefing Notes

Introducing the Briefing Notes Concept

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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Flight Operations Briefing Notes

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Introducing the Briefing Notes Concept

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
airlines 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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