A Complete Manual for Conducting International Flight Operations

Oceanic Operations Flight Plan Entry

Navigation System Flight Plan Entry for Oceanic Operations

FMS flight plan entry requires discipline and attention. It is a process that should not be rushed regardless of whatever time crunch might be occurring. The reason the flight plan entry is so critical is that the aircraft will be operating outside radar coverage and there will be no ground based means of identifying navigational errors as a result of an improper fix being loaded into the navigation computer.

Flight Plan Entry Best Practice

The recommended best practice for flight plan entry is as follows:

1

First, the master document shall be reviewed for its currency. Once the accuracy is reviewed, the crewmember shall write “Master Document” at the top in order to prevent inadvertently using a flight plan that may not be current or accurate. It is also an ICAO recommended practice that only one master document be present in the cockpit at all times.

2

Second, once a fix is loaded into the flight plan, the crewmember shall circle the fix on the master document. As fixes are loaded, the course and distance shall be compared against the flight plan.

3

Third, it is recommended that crewmembers have a pilot other than the pilot who entered the flight plan review the FMS inputs with the flight plan and once again checking bearings and distances.

FMS Example

In this example, the fixes have been loaded into the FMS as indicated by the circle to the left of the fix. They have also been verified for the bearings and distances. When the aircraft enters oceanic flight, the circle will receive a cross mark when the course and distance is re-verified prior to crossing each oceanic fix and will receive an additional cross mark when the fix is crossed. This shall be conducted for all oceanic waypoints.

 

Revision date: July 29, 2015

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