:: CAA Pakistan ::

REGULATORY REQUIREMENT:

CARs 1994, Rules 191 and 192 state that an operator shall provide, for the use and guidance of operations personnel, an Operations Manual which must be approved by the CAA and amended or revised as necessary to ensure that information contained therein is kept up to date.

CONTENTS

An operations manual, which may consist of one or more separate volumes, should provide the necessary policy guidance and instructions in a clear, concise manner to the applicant's personnel as to how the operation is to be carried out. Subsequent amendments must also be duly approved by CAA.

APPROVAL OBJECTIVE

The objective of review and approval of an Airline Operations Manual is to substantiate that it

Implements Pakistan Civil Aviation Rules, Air Navigation Orders, and does not conflict with the regulations of any other state where operations will be conducted.
Provides clear, complete, and detailed instructions, policies, and procedures so that operational staff are fully informed of what is required of them. Procedures should be effective and represent sound safety philosophy. Through the proper use of tilts material it is expected that personnel will be able to perform their duties to a high degree of precision, thus resulting in safe and efficient operations.
Presents necessary guidance and instructions to personnel in a suitable and convenient format.
Outlines standardized procedures for all crew member functions; and
Is updated regularly.

MANUAL ORGANIZATION

In order to accomplish the above requirements and effectively organize policy and instructions, that portion of an operator's overall manual system, which applies specifically to operations personnel, is typically divided into several volumes such as:

A Basic Operations Manual (BOM) or Flight Operations Manual (FOM) which contains general guidance for flight crew members regarding company organization, policies, procedures, and aspects of flight operations which are applicable to all aircraft types which the company may operate.
Aircraft Operating Manuals (AOM)-(AFM) which are specific to aircraft types and contain such information as operating limitations, aircraft equipment and systems, normal, abnormal, and emergency operating procedures and checklists, and performance data.
A Cabin Crew Manual which contains general and specific information regarding cabin attendant policy and duties, cabin safety procedures, and information concerning cabin configuration and emergency equipment aboard the types of aircraft operated.
Minimum Equipment Lists and Configuration Deviation Lists which contain guidance regarding the operation of aircraft with inoperative equipment of missing components.
A Flight Operations Officer or Dispatcher Manual which contains information regarding operational control of aircraft and Dispatcher duties and procedures.
A Mass and Balance Manual which contains information regarding aircraft loading and CG considerations.
A Route Manual which contains en route charts, aerodrome approach plates, information about communications facilities, navigation aids, air traffic services, etc; and
A Training Manual that contains descriptions of approved training courses, flight manoeuvres, training procedures, and qualification requirements for company flight operations personnel.
Security Manual.
Flight Safety Programmed or Accident Prevention Procedure Manual.
Ground Handling Procedure Manual.

Note: The above list is presented as an example of one method of organizing the wide range of information required of an airline, and is not intended to be all-inclusive or typical of every operator. The overall manual system may be organized in any manner that adequately provides guidance concerning important aspects of the carrier's operation.

REVIEW REQUIREMENTS

Operator's operations manual or manual system is reviewed for approval to ensure that it contains information in sufficient detail to permit all flight operations personnel to perform their duties safely and efficiently. The following areas are evaluated:

ORGANIZATION AND READABILITY:

The manual or manuals should be organized so that information specific to various employee positions and types of operations is easy to locate, clear, concise, and unambiguous. Tables of contents should be detailed enough so that specific subject areas may be easily and expeditiously located. Type quality, illustrations, and graphics should be clear and readable. Poorly copied pages from manufacturers' data or from other operators' manuals shall not be acceptable.

VALIDITY AND ACCURACY:

Technical information contained in manuals such as weight and balance change, performance charts, limitations, etc. should accurately reflect data provided from the manufacturer or have been developed through the use of accepted and approved methods.

CONTINUITY:

Information presented in the various sections or volumes of a manual should be consistent with each other.

CURRENCY AND CONFORMITY:

Information contained in manuals should reflect current company organization, equipment, procedures, and policies; ICAO standards and recommended practices, CARs, and technical data. The manual(s) should be easy to update and contain a list of effective pages.

DISTRIBUTION AND AVAILABILITY:

The operator should have an effective system for distributing and updating manuals. There should be no question as to who has responsibility for entering changes in specific manuals. The state of the operator should be provided with a copy.