Definitions

[dashtrasher]

Anyone have a useable definition for the following terms in their FOM,POH,QRH, FSM etc..

Land as soon as possible

Land as soon as practical

Land at the nearest suitable airport


Thanks

 

[kevdog]

That's just the company putting all responsibility on the Captain, or the FO if the Captain just had a heart attack.

 

[Lear70]

These terms are usually undefined in the last 4 FOM's I've seen, but according to several FAA inspectors I've talked to about it, here's the order they SHOULD be referred to and what they mean:

1. Land as soon as practical.

Normally used in an abnormal situation that presents no immediate danger to the aircraft but that has no immediate solution and if left unchecked, could result in an emergency situation. Considering weather, airport facilities (crash, fire, and rescue - CFR), and available company facilities (if you work at a 121 pax airline that means one served by your carrier or your flag parent if you're at a regional), you should find an airport that satisfies all these conditions well, notify your company, then land. Also referred to as "nearest airport IN POINT OF TIME", because if a suitable airport is closer to you than your destination, continuing on to your destination when your checklist says "Land as soon as practical" will get you violated, not to mention possibly hurt or killed if the problem worsens.

2. Land at the nearest suitable airport.

This is used when a situation has become an "emergency", and you need to get it on the ground before it becomes an imminent safety of flight risk. Some problems might include an engine/apu fire that has been extinguished, etc. The idea being that you need to find an airport with CFR that may or may not be served by your company, but you need to get down somewhere in case the problem worsens.

3. Land as soon as possible.

This is a full-blown emergency that is an imminent safety of flight risk. Some problems might include an inextinguishable fire, deteriorating flight control problem, uncontrollable fuel balance problem that is worsening, etc. The point here is that you need to put the airplane on the ground NOW and get the h*ll away from it. Pick Podunk, Iowa airport, or whatever, even if it doesn't have CFR but it DOES have the weather and runway length to land without going off the end of the runway and you can evacuate your passengers (and yourself), "put that bad chicken on the ground"! If there's an airport with CFR within a mile or two of the same distance your "podunk" airport will be, that's fine, but don't fly an extra 5, 10, or 15 minutes just to find a CFR equipped field, just land ASAP!

In scenario 3 above, there's many things you can do to help have some type of CFR-equivalent assitance. Tell ATC which airport you're going to put it down at and ask them to call the local police who will contact the local fire department (ATC has an emergency scenario to do exactly that). You can also, IF you have time (which you most likely won't), call your company and tell them what's going on, where you're landing, and ask THEM to call the local cops/fire. In an emergency, contacting your company is a nice touch, but not required.

Hope this helps...