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A B737 captain noted some new first officers are making a verbal call 'speed checks' before moving the flap hand during approach. The procedure is non standard and distracting.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1291942 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201509 |
| Local Time Of Day | ZZZ |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
More and more lately; first officers (first officer) are making the call 'speed checks' before moving the flap handle; after being asked for a configuration change during approach. This is a non-standard term; is not in the books; violates sterile cockpit rules; and distracts the pilots during critical phases of flight. For a while I thought it was a one-off call; but more and more lately; most new first officer are making the call. When asked why; they claim that's how they are trained. Some of these first officer are previous pilots from another carrier; some are [armed forces] folks; but all are relatively new and claim to have been trained to verbalize the term 'speed checks'. There is nothing in our manuals about saying 'speed checks'. In fact; our aom specifically requires pilots to repeat verbatim that when 'flaps 5' is called; to repeat 'flaps 5'. Not say 'speed checks; flaps 5'. Publish a briefing bulletin and emphasis in training the use of standard terminology; or change training and publications to reflect what the first officer are doing; I'm easy; just pick one.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B737 Captain noted some new first officers are making a verbal call 'Speed Checks' before moving the flap hand during approach. The procedure is non standard and distracting.
Narrative: More and more lately; First Officers (FO) are making the call 'Speed Checks' before moving the flap handle; after being asked for a configuration change during approach. This is a non-standard term; is not in the books; violates sterile cockpit rules; and distracts the Pilots during critical phases of flight. For a while I thought it was a one-off call; but more and more lately; most new FO are making the call. When asked why; they claim that's how they are trained. Some of these FO are previous Pilots from another carrier; some are [armed forces] folks; but all are relatively new and claim to have been trained to verbalize the term 'Speed Checks'. There is nothing in our manuals about saying 'Speed Checks'. In fact; our AOM specifically requires Pilots to repeat verbatim that when 'flaps 5' is called; to repeat 'flaps 5'. Not say 'speed checks; flaps 5'. Publish a briefing bulletin and emphasis in training the use of standard terminology; or change training and publications to reflect what the FO are doing; I'm easy; just pick one.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.