Six practical habits
Know the standard
Review the operator’s current line-check scope and normal procedures.
Prepare the route
Study airports, weather, NOTAMs, alternates and operational threats.
Fly normally
Use the same SOP discipline and cross-checks expected on every sector.
Show CRM
Share plans, invite monitoring, communicate changes and manage workload.
Correct small errors
Recognise, state and recover without letting one error drive the next.
Protect judgement
Choose the safe operational decision even when it is less convenient.
Understand what is being assessed
A line check normally examines the complete line operation, including pre-flight and post-flight procedures, use of equipment, pilot flying and monitoring duties, CRM and operational decision-making as defined by the operator.
Use the operator’s current guidance as the syllabus. Informal recollections of what a checker once preferred are less reliable than published standards and recent training feedback.
Prepare without creating a performance persona
Thorough route preparation is useful; rehearsing unusual phrases or techniques is not. The check should show the safe pilot you are on an ordinary day.
Brief threats and decisions concisely. When workload rises, use the crew, automation and time available rather than trying to conceal difficulty.
Recover professionally
A small mistake does not have to become a poor sector. Acknowledge it, correct it using the SOP and restore shared situational awareness.
If you are unsure, ask. If conditions no longer support the plan, change it. Examiners need to see judgement and resilience, not an impossible absence of imperfection.
- 01Reviewcurrent standard, recent feedback and check scope
- 02Prepareroute, aircraft, weather, NOTAMs and threats
- 03Operatenormal SOP, CRM and sound decisions
- 04Recoveridentify, correct and continue without compounding
Operational summary only. Apply the current approved procedure and see references below.
Final flight-deck prompt
Final flight-deck promptIf this were an ordinary sector with no checker present, what would the safe, standard action be?
