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UK Civil Aviation Regulations

These are published by the CAA on our UK Regulations pages. EU Regulations and EASA Access Guides published by EASA no longer apply in the UK. Our website and publications are being reviewed to update all references. Any references to EU law and EASA Access guides should be disregarded and where applicable the equivalent UK versions referred to instead.



Good monitoring can make a difference. This clip summarises all the good strategies that could have reduced the likelihood of any of the incidents shown in the video from occurring.

A summary of additional good monitoring practices is abstracted from the "Monitoring Matters" document:

  • Stay in the loop by mentally flying the aircraft even when the autopilot or other pilot is flying the aircraft
  • Monitor the flight instruments just as you would when you are manually flying the aircraft
  • During briefings include ‘monitor me’ type comments to encourage intervention – ‘remind me if I haven’t asked for the after take-off checks’
  • Provide the occasional monitoring reminders e.g. – ‘make sure that the tail wind doesn't exceed 10 kt’
  • During flight the captain should ensure that the shared mental model remains intact. This can be achieved through:
    • application of TDODAR (Time, Diagnose, Options, Decide, Act/Assign, Review) (agree the plan).
    • expression of intent (I will be flying the descent at 200 kt)
    • Providing a situation update to the PM when he/she has been carrying out a non-monitoring task
  • Manage the workload
    • When the workload gets too high, prioritise which parameters to monitor – don’t multi-task for too long
    • When dealing with emergency situations ensure adequate time and space to enable the continuation of the monitoring tasks
    • Avoid programming the FMS at critical phases of flight
  • Mentally rehearse during low periods of workload, monitoring tasks that will occur in the next phase of flight
  • Make cross checking achievement of the autopilot targets a force of habit
  • Verbalise your observations or check lists (especially if single pilot)
  • At the end of the flight discuss how well the monitoring was carried out – did you both share the same plan
  • When the aircraft is carrying defects that are acceptable in the MELs consider the impact on the monitoring task – make a note (mental or otherwise) of the affected flight parameters, modes or systems that will require more attentive monitoring (discuss this during briefing)
  • When referring to charts/check lists/QRH hold them in a position that facilitates the scanning of flight parameters
  • The PF can put the A/C into a situation where it is unsafe but PM can stop it ‘Never whisper when you know it’s time to shout’