Dispatch & Departure Briefs

“Noooooo!!! If you’re on the ground, stay on the ground!” Dr. Bill

Departure briefs are an integral part of any flight. You will see them listed in checklist in the “before takeoff” section. The purpose is to talk about how you will depart the area and deal with unexpected emergencies. For a good safety culture, you need to create healthy habits. Doing a proper departure brief is one step in that direction.

To be fair, my departure briefs differ greatly between general aviation (GA) and corporate flying. In GA, I’m living a less standardized environment and the person sitting next to me could be a professional pilot, a student, or a non-pilot. In my corporate job, however, I am always sitting next to a professional who works out of my same standard operating procedures (SOPs). If you end up flying corporate, I'll recommend you review your SOPs to align with company policies and their SMS.

Here, let’s cover GA.

Most of my risk management, aeronautical decision making, and area familiarization, occurs “before” I even get in the plane. I now make my students review risks (91.103 information) using a dispatch sheet on the ground. This way we can discuss the flight as a whole before stepping on the ramp.

I do my departure brief at the runway while holding short. I want to “brief” my departure as close as possible to actual takeoff to keep my memory fresh.

Pre-Flight Briefing

If a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) asks you "what do you need to go fly"?, you can discuss these four things (which summarize PAVE):

1. Certificates. Do you have your documents? And the airplane's documents?

2. Currency. Are your pilot privileges current? Is the airplane's maintenance?

3. Proficiency. Are you actually “ready” to go fly? That’s risk management.

4. Fit to Fly. Are physically and psychologically ready to fly? That’s risk management, too.

I developed a "dispatch sheet" template for VFR students. The format is based on compliance with 91.103. Although that regulation is mandated for IFR flight, the AIM provides guidance to apply it to VFR as well. Its purpose is to help you your thoughts. That’s really it, no magic intended. If you wish to learn more about it, read this article. 

Departure Brief Items

My departure brief is divided in two sections: Nominal (i.e., Normal) and Off-Nominal (i.e., abnormal, emergency).

Nominal:

1. Confirm position (runway, taxiway intersection, etc.)

2. Confirm method of entering the runway (turn left or right if intersection)

3. Review V-speeds (rotation, climb, cruise climb transition using 1000 ft AGL altitude converted in MSL) and flap manipulation

4. Obstacle Departure Procedures, if applicable

Example: “I’m holding short of runway 19 at Charlie intersection. I will turn left onto the runway, rotate at 55 knots, climb at 75 and transition at 85 above 1,300 ft to perform out climb checklist. Given the obstacles to the east, we will climb runway heading until reaching 2,000 ft.”

This may change a bit whether you’re flying under VFR or IFR, but this is in a nutshell, my departure brief. Note that I keep the information relatively concise so that I’m less likely to forget. Also, all altitudes are in MSL, not AGL (the only exception is if you have a rad alt).

Off-Nominal:

1. Review On-ground emergency Procedures

2. Review Airborne engine-loss emergency procedures for straight-in descent

3. Review Airborne engine-loss emergency procedures for turning descent (to field, other runway, etc.).

Example: “If something happens on the ground, we stay on the ground. If something happens below 1000 ft, we will land straight ahead, looking 30 degrees to the left or the right. There is a large golf course and fields off to our right. If something happens above 1000 ft, given the winds I will make a left turn to join left downwind runway 28 or possibly land opposite direction, if altitude and conditions permit”.

Here is a video where we discuss two departure briefs, one at KSAV and one at KRBW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLXAogo1use5XaoaxJP3BYbeWrCT-DmIZv&v=SZ891vg58go

Departure briefs are a topic of huge discussion and depend on a multitude of factors, including pilot proficiency. My on-ground emergency brief is extremely short. As a stage check instructor, I’ve heard the most overly-complicated and verbose briefs of all time, mostly with useless (or obvious) information.

Sub-optimal example (I don’t recommend you do this): “If I lose the engine on the takeoff roll I will

- go throttle to idle [ok, if the engine is dead not sure that matters, but I agree]

- apply brakes [we're not going to just roll aimlessly down the runway?]

- clear the runway on taxiway A [what if you lose your engine after A? Or immediately when you add power and don’t have enough energy to roll down there?]

- contact ATC” [Cause clearly they won’t know]

This is so overly complicated that overloads cognition and decision making. Who cares what taxiway you will clear at. Just focus on staying on the ground and being safe.

I need to mention, however, that students need to be taught all the things listed above. I don’t believe they belong in a departure brief. Again, be reasonable about this. The Director of the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) gave a lecture at Redbird 2026 and described a checkride where she heard a student say on the departure brief “I’ll apply max braking” in case of an on-ground emergency. She correctly pointed out that it may not be safe to apply maximum breaking, especially if you’re at a high ground speed! So obviously students need to be taught about proper procedures and technique.

I will also add that the departure brief needs to work for you... add a personal touch to make sure your brain clicks. My way works for me, and I believe it’s a good basis for future “SOP-based” departure briefs.

Concerning the airborne emergency, the altitude at which a pilot should attempt to turn around, is a context-specific situation. You should be familiar with the area and know prominent landing locations in case of an emergency. You should also know your airplane (THAT airplane, not just the model) and understand how it behaves in certain situations. What is a good altitude for the impossible turn? Is it even a good idea to do so given climb speeds and climb rate? Please take those things into consideration. For a any emergency landing, pilots should also know by memory the forced landing emergency checklist.

In summary, departure briefs should not be just a rote memory item. It needs to be thought out. Thinking about wind direction, airplane performance, and so forth are all great elements of a good departure brief.