PHASE BRIEFING FOR

ADVANCED
INSTRUMENT
 Background
This briefing note illustrates
The importance of flight preparation and
discusses the details of conducting effective
briefings.
It provides an outline of how to structure and
conduct effective preflight briefings.
This briefing note is not intended to supersede a
company’s SOPs for flight preparation.
 Introduction
 Flight preparation is part of the transition from normal life to the
highly dynamic environment of flight.
 In-depth takeoff, cruise and approach/go-around briefings should
be conducted before each flight to ensure understanding among
crewmembers and the effective application of CRM.
 A thorough briefing should be conducted regardless of how
familiar the crewmembers are with the flight plan and each other.
 By the end of the flight-preparation phase, the crew should have a
shared mental model of the flight plan and possible problems that
might arise in normal operations.
 Also, the crew should agree upon procedures to be used in case of
unexpected events that might disrupt the normal pattern of flight
operations.
 Data

Many aviation incidents and accidents can be

linked in some way to flaws in flight preparation.
The quality of approach and go-around briefings
has been determined to be a causal factor in
approximately 50 percent of approach and
landing accidents.
 Most of the incidents and accidents related to
poor flight preparation are due to:
Lack of understanding of prevailing conditions
Loss of horizontal or vertical situational awareness
Poor crew coordination
 Briefings Overview

Briefings should help both the pilot flying (PF)

and the pilot not flying (PNF) understand the
desired sequence of events and actions, as
well as the condition of the aircraft and any
special hazards or circumstances involved in
the planned flight sequence.
To achieve the safety and efficiency benefits of
good flight preparation, all crewmembers
should strive for high-quality briefings.
 Objectives of briefings
When conducting any briefing, the following objectives should be met:
 Define and communicate action plans and expectations under
normal and abnormal conditions
 Confirm applicable task sharing (i.e., crewmembers’ roles and
responsibilities)
 Brief each subject area to its appropriate level of detail
 Promote questioning and feedback
 Ensure full understanding and agreement on the correct sequence of
actions
 Communicate objectives to other crewmembers and develop synergy
 Enhance the preparedness of the flight crew and cabin crew for
facing unusual requirements or responding to unexpected conditions
 Takeoff Briefing
 The takeoff briefing is conducted by the pilot designated as PF for the
particular flight leg. It enables the PF to inform the PNF of the planned
course of actions (e.g., expectations, roles and responsibilities, unique
requirements) for both normal and abnormal conditions during
takeoff.
 A full takeoff briefing should be conducted during the first sector of
the day. Subsequent briefings should be limited to the specific aspects
of each individual airport/runway/takeoff/departure condition.
 The takeoff briefing should be guided and illustrated by referring to
the applicable flight management system (FMS) pages, the paper or
electronic charts and the navigation display to visualize the departure
route and confirm the various data entries. Some of the important
topics to review in a takeoff briefing are discussed below.
 The important point is that a takeoff briefing must be comprehensive
and based on complete situational awareness gained from the
available documentation and data.
 Timeliness of briefings
Briefings should be conducted during low-
workload periods. The takeoff briefing should
be conducted while the aircraft is at the gate
or other parking position.
The descent preparation and the approach
and go-around briefings should typically be
completed 10 minutes before reaching the
top-of-descent to prevent increasing workload
and rushing the descent preparations.
 Techniques for conducting effective briefings

• The style and tone of a briefing play an important role in

its effectiveness.
• Interactive briefings (e.g., confirming agreement and
understanding by the PNF after each phase of the briefing)
are more effective and productive than an uninterrupted
lecture from the PF followed by: “Any questions?”
• Interactive briefings provide the PF and PNF with an
opportunity to communicate and to check and correct
each other as necessary (e.g., confirming the use of the
correct departure and approach charts, confirming the
correct setup of NAVAIDs for the assigned takeoff and
landing runways).
 CONTINUED ….

The briefing itself should be based on the logical

sequence of flight phases.
It is important, however, to avoid the routine and
formal repetition of the same points on each
sector, which often becomes counterproductive
because it involves no new thinking or problem
solving.
For example, adapting a briefing by highlighting
the special aspects of an airport, or the prevailing
weather conditions.
CONTINUED ….

Briefings should be conducted while

remaining alert and vigilant in the monitoring
of the aircraft and flight progress.
The briefing technique of the PF should
encourage effective listening to attract the
PNF’s attention. The briefing should therefore
be conducted when the workload of the PNF
is low enough to permit effective
communication.
CONTINUED ….

Whether anticipated or not, a significant

change in an air traffic control (ATC) clearance,
weather conditions, landing runway or aircraft
condition requires a crew to review relevant
parts of previously completed briefings.
A re-briefing is almost always beneficial under
these circumstances.
 Approach Briefing
No matter how many times pilots have
performed a particular approach and landing,
it is vitally important to conduct an effective
approach briefing.
FMS pages should be used to guide and
illustrate the briefing and to confirm the
various data entries. The items to be
considered for an approach briefing are listed
below.
 1. Aircraft status
• Review the aircraft status, (e.g., inoperative
items, any failure or malfunction experienced
during the flight) and discuss the possible
consequences in terms of operation and
performance (e.g., final approach speed and
landing distance).
 2. Fuel status
Review the fuel status by examining:
Fuel on board
Minimum diversion fuel
Available holding fuel and time
 3. ATIS
• The automatic terminal information service (ATIS)is a recorded message
broadcast at major airports. It provides flight crews with up-to-date
information on weather, runway in use and other operational
information.
• The ATIS message is updated whenever the situation changes
significantly, with the new version designated by the next letter of the
alphabet.
All pilots approaching the airport are required to monitor the ATIS and
review the message, including:
 Expected takeoff runway in use and SID
 Altimeter (QNH or QFE)
 Transition altitude (if variable with QNH)
 Weather, temperature and dew point
 Wind and runway condition
 Unusual airport conditions (e.g., closed taxiways, presence of work
crews)
 NOTAMs
Review and discuss enroute and terminal
NOTAMs for possible operational impact (e.g.,
unserviceable navaids, airspace restriction,
obstructions) or additional threats or hazards.
If there is any doubt about the contents or
interpretation of a NOTAM, contact the
company for confirmation.
 Top-of-descent point
Confirm or adjust the top-of-descent (TOD)
point computed by the FMS as a function of
the expected arrival following the published
STAR or expected radar vectors.
Be aware of the resulting track distance
between the TOD point and the runway
threshold.
 Approach chart
Review and discuss the following items relating to the approach chart and the FMS/navigation
display (ND):
• Designated runway
• Approach type
• Task assignments (confirm the designated PF for the approach based on company policy for
the type of approach to be flown)
• Chart index number and date
• Minimum safe altitude (MSA) — reference point, sectors and minimum sector safe altitudes
• Let-down navaid(s), type, frequency and identifier (confirm the correct setup of navaids)
• Radio frequencies (discuss special procedures in case of loss of communications, as applicable)
• Airport elevation
• Approach transitions (initial approach fix (IAF), intermediate fix (IF), other fixes, holding
pattern, altitude and speed constraints/restrictions, required navaids setup)
• Final approach course (and lead-in radial, as applicable)
• Terrain features (location and elevation of hazardous terrain or man-made obstacles, even if
they are below the minimum descent altitude (Minimum Descent Altitude/Height))
• Approach profile view, including crossing altitudes and DME distances, as applicable, including:
o Final approach fix (FAF)
o Final descent point (if different from FAF)
CONTINUED …
o Outer marker (OM), as applicable
o Visual descent point (VDP), if indicated on approach profile or computed by the flight crew
o Missed approach point (MAP)
o Typical vertical speed for the expected final approach groundspeed
o Touchdown zone elevation (TDZE)
• Missed approach, including:
o Lateral and vertical navigation, particularly the initial lateral and vertical maneuvers
o Speed restrictions
o Obstacles
• Visibility and Runway Visual Range (RVR) minimums (and ceiling, if applicable)
• Descent and decision minimums
o MDA(H) for nonprecision approaches
o Barometric Decision Altitude/Height(H) for CAT I Instrument Landing System (ILS)
approaches
o Radio altimeter Decision Altitude/Height for CAT II and CAT III ILS approaches
• Local airport requirement (e.g., noise restrictions on the use of thrust reversers)
• Any hazards or possible sources of visual confusion (e.g., lights on the ground in
the approach path) shown on the chart
 Airport diagram
• Review and discuss the following items using the airport
chart:
 Runway length, width and slope
 Approach end runway lighting, and other expected visual
references
 Specific hazards (as applicable)
 Intended turnoff taxiway and available alternates

• If another airport is located in the close vicinity of the

destination airport, relevant details or procedures should
be discussed for awareness purposes.
 Use of automation
 Discuss the intended use of automation for vertical
and lateral guidance and for speed management
depending on FMS navigation accuracy (only for
aircraft not equipped with a global positioning system
(GPS) or if GPS PRIMARY LOST is displayed):
 Use of FMS vertical navigation and lateral navigation
or use of selected vertical modes and lateral modes
 Step-down approach (if a constant-angle nonprecision
approach [CANPA] is not available or not possible)
 Go-Around/ Missed approach Briefing
A detailed go-around briefing should be included in the descent-and-approach
briefing, highlighting the key points of the go-around maneuver and missed-
approach procedures, and the planned task sharing under normal or abnormal
conditions. The go-around briefing should include the following key topics:
 Go-around callout (i.e., a loud and clear go-around/flaps call)
 PF and PNF task sharing (e.g., flow of respective actions, including use of the
autopilot, speed restrictions, go-around altitude, parameter-excessive-
deviation callouts)
 Intended use of automation (i.e., automatic or manual go-around, use of FMS
lateral navigation or use of selected modes for missed approach)
 Missed approach lateral navigation and vertical profile (e.g., speed
limitations, airspace restrictions, potential obstacles, terrain features)
 Intentions (i.e., second approach or diversion)
o If a second approach is intended, discuss the type of approach if a different runway or
type of approach is planned
o Confirm the minimum diversion fuel
 Human Factors, TEM and Airmanship
Considerations
Sequence specific airmanship points may be discussed early so they can be recalled
and referenced during the rest of the pre-flight:

 Recognize and manage threats and manage errors;

 Recognize and manage undesired aircraft state;
 Fitness for flight;
 Situational awareness;
 Assess situation and make decisions;
 Set priorities and manage tasks;
 Maintain effective communications and interpersonal relationships;
 Handing over/taking over controls;
 Smooth use of controls, engine handling;
 Any airmanship considerations specific to the lesson; and
 Actions to be taken in the event of any real emergency.