ICAO-Aligned
Terms primarily defined at the ICAO level (Annexes, Doc series) and adopted similarly by national authorities worldwide.
Operational(3)
ATC (Air Traffic Control)
Air Traffic Control (ATC) is the ground-based service provided by qualified controllers to direct aircraft on the ground and through controlled airspace for the primary purposes of preventing collisions, organising and expediting the flow of air traffic, and providing advisory information and assistance, governed internationally by ICAO Annex 11 (Air Traffic Services) and ICAO Doc 4444 (PANS-ATM), and in the United States by FAA Order JO 7110.65 (Air Traffic Control) and 14 CFR Part 65 (controller certification).
RNP (Required Navigation Performance)
Required Navigation Performance (RNP) is the ICAO Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) specification, defined in ICAO Doc 9613 (PBN Manual), that requires the aircraft to maintain a specified lateral navigation accuracy with onboard performance monitoring and alerting, distinguishing RNP from the related RNAV (Area Navigation) specification in which monitoring and alerting are not required.
Stabilized Approach Criteria
Stabilized approach criteria are the operator-defined performance gates an aircraft must satisfy by a specified altitude (typically 1,000 ft AAL in IMC, 500 ft AAL in VMC) — codified in ICAO Doc 9870 (Manual on the Prevention of Runway Excursions), FAA AC 120-71 / 91-79, and EASA AMC1 ORO.GEN.110 — below which the approach must be discontinued via a missed approach if any criterion is unmet.
Training(3)
KSA Grading (Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes)
KSA grading is the legacy training-assessment model that graded pilot performance against three taxonomic categories — Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes — and which Competency-Based Training and Assessment has progressively replaced with competency- and observable-behavior-based grading.
Observable Behaviours (OBs)
Observable behaviors (OBs) are the specific, third-party-visible actions that demonstrate a pilot competency in operation — the unit at which Competency-Based Training and Assessment is actually graded.
Threat and Error Management (TEM)
Threat and Error Management (TEM) is the safety-management framework — developed from Line Operations Safety Audit data at the University of Texas Human Factors Research Project — that describes how flight crews identify threats, prevent or trap errors, and manage undesired aircraft states in normal line operations.