The Use and Design of Flightcrew Checklists and Manuals

Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference Center;Civil Aerospace Medical Institute1991PDFTech ReportTurner, J. W.Huntley, M. Stephen, Jr.John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)EG & G DynatrendUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation AdministrationManualsFlight crewsAircraft operationsSurveysAviation safetyChecklistNormalEmergencyAbnormalReadabilityInterruptionsManualsConformanceDOT/FAA/AM-91/7FAOE2/A0180FInal Report September 1988 - January 1990A survey of aircraft checklists and flight manuals was conducted to identifyimpediments to their use and to determine if standards or guidelines for. theirdesign were needed. Information for this purpose was collected through the reviewof checklists and manuals from six Part 121 and nine Part 135 carriers, review ofNTSB and ASRS reports, analysis of an ALPA survey of air carrier pilots, and bydirect observation in air carrier cockpits.fThe survey revealed that some checklists and manuals were difficult to locate andwere poorly designed for use in the cockpit environment, the use of checklists byflight crews was not always well defined, the use of checklists interfered withother flight operations, and flight operations often made it difficult to usechecklists effectively.The report contains recommendations for the formatting and content of checklists andmanuals, their use by flightcrews, and areas of research relevant to checklistdesign.119