Checklist (aviation)

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Pilot of an SH-60 while working through a checklist

A checklist or clear list is a list-like instruction used in aviation that contains the controls and actions required to carry out a measure in the correct order.

The consistent use of checklists can increase flight safety. Before flight maneuvers such as take-off or landing , but also in the event of incidents, pilots work through checklists to ensure that all settings are correct and nothing has been forgotten. In the case of aircraft that are not just piloted by one pilot (for example, many commercial aircraft ), the pilot not steering (PNF / pilot not flying / pilot monitoring ) reads the checklist and the pilot currently steering (PF / pilot flying ) works the points from. In emergencies (or abnormal conditions), the PNF may take over the execution of the checklist items, depending on the PF's current workload. Typical cases in which checklists are used are, for example, pre-flight checks and take-off checks .

Pilots often know the checklists by heart, but most checklists are always read and the execution of each point is checked. This is to prevent important points from being forgotten due to routine, stress or inattention, even if the pilots master the processes “as if they were asleep”.

There are checklists that pilots need to know by heart. These are mostly short checklists that are processed in critical phases of the flight, for example the final checklist shortly before touchdown or the climb check shortly after take-off. A pilot who flies the aircraft alone has no capacity to read the checklist during these flight phases; his attention is focused on looking outside and on the instruments. On checklists, the sections that are processed by heart are usually marked with a bar.

In the crash of American Airlines Flight 1420 in Little Rock , a small mistake by the pilots contributed significantly to the deaths of many people: As a result of the distraction caused by a thunderstorm, the spoilers , among other things, were not activated.

Checklists are often available in paper form, but also electronically with EFIS / glass cockpits .

Checklists are usually always processed in full. If the processing is interrupted (for example by an incoming radio message that must first be processed), it must be worked through again from the beginning to ensure that no point is overlooked.

There are checklists for normal flight operations and for emergency procedures. The latter are intended to prevent pilots from overlooking something or taking wrong measures when responding to an incident. For example, there is a checklist for landing gear problems ( Abnormal Landing Gear Extension checklist ) or for engine failures ( Engine Failure Checklist ) , which is intended, among other things, to ensure that the wrong engine is not shut down. The so-called QRH ( Quick Reference Handbook ) contains all important checklists for technical problem and emergency situations as well as emergency procedures such as EICAS warning messages, engine fire / destruction or initiation of an emergency descent and the like.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. cf. e.g. § 48 Operating Regulations for Aviation Equipment (LuftBO)
  2. Flight accident data and report American Airlines Flight 1420 in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  3. ^ Federal Office for Aircraft Accident Investigation (Ed.): Bulletin . Accidents and disruptions in the operation of civil aircraft. June 2010, p. 28 ( available online (PDF) [accessed January 27, 2012]). available online (PDF) ( memento of the original dated August 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bfu-web.de
  4. BOAC 712 air crash. In: pilotfriend.com. Retrieved January 27, 2012 (English).
  5. ^ Federal Office for Aircraft Accident Investigation (Ed.): Bulletin . Accidents and disruptions in the operation of civil aircraft. February 2010, p. 15 ( available online (PDF) [accessed January 27, 2012]). available online (PDF) ( memento of the original dated August 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bfu-web.de
  6. "What exactly is a QRH?" - Aviation Stack Exchange accessed May 25, 2016