The inspection checklist used by officials covers 54 items in total, including:
- Operational Requirements
- Safety/Cabin
- Aircraft Condition
- Cargo
- General
There are four different classifications for findings that are determined based on seriousness and the amount of time given to rectify the issue. The categories are defined as:
- CAT G / General Remark: Observations that are not safety-relevant, such as a Certificate of Registrations format that does not match Annex 7 guidelines.
- CAT 1 / Minor: Non-compliance with minor influence on safety. Examples include not carrying copies of registration, licenses, and more onboard. Minor findings can also be issued for damaged wall panels and missing or expired first aid kits.
- CAT 2 / Significant: Non-compliance with significant influence on safety such as incorrect items on the flight plans, wrong equipment codes, and inaccurate flight rules indicated.
- CAT 3 / Major: Non-compliance with major influence on safety. These can include findings for not computing weight & balance calculations or not having enough fuel onboard to meet reserve requirements.
Getting Prepared
Before planning your next flight, a quick check of your account settings can be the best prevention against some types of SAFA findings. Common findings can include not having enough fuel indicated on your flight plan or even not labeling the fuel correctly. In the following sections, we will cover the most common type of flight plan-related findings and how to prevent them.
Fuel Requirements
SAFA Inspection Item A13(A6-I-4.3.6.3 (page 44) outlines the fuel requirements that are taken into consideration for a flight plan to be considered compliant:
- Taxi Fuel - Ensure you have a default taxi fuel set in the tail profile on the ARINCDirect website. This field can be modified on the Create Flight Plan page as needed in case you are expecting a longer or shorter taxi based on your departure airport.
- Trip Fuel - Burn to destination.
- Contingency Fuel (Reserve) - To meet the SAFA requirement GA aircraft should have a 5% reserve or a minimum of 5 minutes indicated on the flight plan.
- Final Reserve - For turbine aircraft, 30 minutes of holding fuel at 1500 ft above the airport will meet the requirement.
Route to Alternate
SAFA inspection teams will check to ensure that your burn to alternate includes enough fuel to perform a missed approach procedure (MAP), climb to the expected cruising altitude, fly an “expected” route, and then conduct a descent approach to the alternate airport. The “expected” route is key here since it stipulates your route to alternate should include a Standard Instrument Departure (SID) or MAP and Standard Arrival (STAR). This also means that you should not be using a direct route to your alternate. Ensuring compliance is as easy as navigating to the Flight Plan Preferences under the My Account tab. Select the option as shown below and be sure to then save the preference: