Narrative:

I have always been one to never endingly read the operations manual (OM) and other documents. A couple of weeks ago I was re-reading the cold weather operation section and stumbled across a paragraph that really threw me off. In the 737 OM; I read [a section of the OM relating to winter ops] and was shocked that I never saw that before. Over the last two decades on the md-80; I never recall that being the case. Long story short; I contacted two of my best friends that are now 737 check airmen for their help. I also contacted my dispatcher on a couple of flights where freezing precipitation was a factor. He forwarded this finding to his safety rep as well. They immediately began to review other op mans for this newly added restriction. I was told that the 767/757 also had this new restriction. I have since learned that messages are now appended to the flight plan that clarify the situation on freezing rain and other precipitation.for the record; I have never seen more conflicting confusion information on a topic of such importance. It needs to be clear and concise. Easy to follow along and easier to understand. The entire winter ops ...ice ...cold weather section is not any of this. Also; and probably more importantly; every time something is updated in any of our manuals on the ipad; you basically have no idea what was changed/modified/deleted. This has been a complaint of mine since the inception of the ipad. The ipad screen may say 'data current'; you're ready to fly'; in my humble opinion; I beg to differ. I look to the front of the manual for what has changed in the highlights section; and there are comments like; section updated; paragraph deleted; note updated. It is now impossible to keep track of important safety of flight information. In the 'old days' we could make and keep notes in the margin and review changes. Not anymore. I have brought this up long ago; but was brushed aside.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 Captain found the new cold weather section of his operations manual to be very confusing; especially the section on freezing precipitation.

Narrative: I have always been one to never endingly read the Operations Manual (OM) and other documents. A couple of weeks ago I was re-reading the cold weather operation section and stumbled across a paragraph that really threw me off. In the 737 OM; I read [a section of the OM relating to Winter ops] and was shocked that I never saw that before. Over the last two decades on the MD-80; I never recall that being the case. Long story short; I contacted two of my best friends that are now 737 Check Airmen for their help. I also contacted my Dispatcher on a couple of flights where freezing precipitation was a factor. He forwarded this finding to his safety rep as well. They immediately began to review other Op mans for this newly added restriction. I was told that the 767/757 also had this new restriction. I have since learned that messages are now appended to the flight plan that clarify the situation on freezing rain and other precipitation.For the record; I have NEVER seen more conflicting confusion information on a topic of such importance. It needs to be clear and concise. Easy to follow along and easier to understand. The entire winter ops ...ice ...cold weather section is NOT any of this. Also; and probably more importantly; every time something is updated in any of our manuals on the iPad; you basically have NO idea what was changed/modified/deleted. This has been a complaint of mine since the inception of the iPad. The iPad screen may say 'Data Current'; You're Ready to Fly'; in my humble opinion; I beg to differ. I look to the front of the manual for what has changed in the highlights section; and there are comments like; Section updated; paragraph deleted; note updated. It is now impossible to keep track of important safety of flight information. In the 'old days' we could make and keep notes in the margin and review changes. NOT ANYMORE. I have brought this up long ago; but was brushed aside.

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.