Chapter 3. Pilot Briefing
Section 1. General
Pilot briefings are the translation of weather
observations and forecasts, including surface, upper
air, radar, satellite, and PIREPs into a form directly
usable by the pilot or flight supervisory personnel to
formulate plans and make decisions for the safe and
efficient operation of aircraft. These briefings must
also include information on NOTAM, flow control,
and other items as requested.
3-1-2. PREDUTY REQUIREMENTS
Before assuming pilot briefing duties, familiarize
yourself sufficiently with aeronautical and
meteorological conditions to effectively provide
briefing service. This includes:
a. General locations of weathercausing systems
and general weather conditions.
b. Detailed information of current and forecast
weather conditions for the geographical area(s) of
c. Aeronautical information; for example, NOTAM, special use airspace (SUA), temporary flight
restrictions (TFR), ATC delays, etc.
Pertinent facility directives
3-1-3. PREFLIGHT BRIEFING DISPLAY
Provide a preflight briefing display for specialist/pilot use. The contents and method of display must be
based on individual facility requirements; for
example, available equipment and space. Additional
displays, as required, must be provided to ensure
availability of information at all positions. At the
discretion of facility management, provide a separate
display for pilot use. All material in such displays
must be current.
3-1-4. WEATHER DISPLAY PRODUCTS
a. The weather graphic display should include, but
not necessarily be limited to, the following analysis,
prognosis, and data products:
1. Weather Depiction.
2. Surface Analysis.
3. Forecast Winds Aloft.
4. Freezing Level Graphic.
5. GAIRMET Graphic.
6. 12 and 24hour Low Level Significant
7. 12, 24, 36, and 48hour Surface Prognosis.
8. High Level Significant Weather Prognosis.
9. *Current Icing Product (CIP).
10. *Forecast Icing Product (FIP).
11. *Graphical Turbulence Guidance (GTG).
12. National/Regional Radar Mosaics.
13. Radar Echo Tops.
14. Radar VAD Wind Profiles.
15. Visible/IR Satellite Imagery.
16. Constant Pressure Charts.
Denotes weather products that are supplementary. They
may only be used to enhance situational awareness. When
discrepancies are noted, the specialist must base their
decision on the primary weather product.
b. Map features. (See FIG 311.)
c. Precipitation and obstruction to vision. (See
Map Features Chart
Precipitation and Obstruction To Vision Chart
d. Interpret and summarize weather radar displays
1. Use all available radar data and PIREPs to
determine intensity, tops, area of coverage, movement, etc.
Pilot Controller Glossary (P/CG) Term, Precipitation Radar Weather
2. Identify data obtained from sources other
than radar display by source and time of observation.
3. Define area of coverage in relation to VORs,
airways for the route structure being flown, airports
or geographic points to assist the pilot in relating
coverage to route of flight or destination.
"A broken line of light to heavy echoes covers an area
along and three zero miles east of a line from the Crazy
Woman V-O-R to the Riverton VOR. Average tops
between twosix thousand and threefour thousand. This
line is increasing in intensity. Movement has been from
northwest to southeast at three zero knots. The line
includes an extreme echo one five miles in diameter on
Victor Two Ninetyeight fortyeight miles southeast of the
Worland VOR, tops four three thousand. There are no
known echoes within threezero nautical miles of Victor
Eightfive or Victor Two Ninetyeight south at this time."
3-1-5. FORECASTS, WARNINGS, AND
a. Use only weather forecasts, warnings, and
advisories issued by a National Weather Service
(NWS) office, including Center Weather Service
Units (CWSUs), the U.S. military, foreign governments, or graphics systems owned/leased by the FAA
or provided through a FAA-contracted service
b. Use the OUTLOOK section of WSTs to provide
information on where convective activity is
expected. Use the Convective Outlooks (ACUS01
KWNS) to extract pertinent forecast information
regarding the convective activity.
c. When an NWS forecast requires an amendment
or correction, request assistance from the appropriate
3-1-6. UNAVAILABILITY OF DATA
Use all available means to obtain the data required to
brief pilots. If a complete briefing cannot be provided
due to circuit problems or missing data, inform the
pilot of this fact. Brief to the extent possible. Advise
the pilot of the time you expect the data to be
3-1-7. TYPE OF BRIEFING TO BE
Provide the pilot with the type of briefing requested
(standard, abbreviated, or outlook). When it is not
clear initially which type briefing is desired, provide
the first one or two items requested, and then
ascertain if the pilot would like a standard briefing. If
a standard briefing is requested, conduct the briefing
in accordance with para 3-21. If the pilot does not
desire a standard briefing, provide either an
abbreviated briefing in accordance with
paragraph 322 or an outlook briefing in accordance
with paragraph 323.
3-1-8. LOGGING PILOT BRIEFINGS
a. Pilot briefings must be logged and retained in
accordance with FAA Order 1350.15, Records
Organization, Transfer, and Destruction Standards.
Briefings must be logged in operational systems
when possible but may be logged manually if needed
for operational efficiency.
b. Operational systems must, as a minimum,
automatically record the facility/sector, date,
position, time, and specialist identification for each
logged briefing. In addition, enter the following
1. Departure and destination.
2. Aircraft identification. (The pilot's name may
be substituted for the aircraft identification, if
3. Remarks, as applicable, to indicate OTLK
(outlook briefing), AB (abbreviated briefing), and/or
c. To manually log pilot briefings, use one of the
following FAA forms:
1. FAA Form 72332, Pilot Briefing Log. Use a
separate form each day. Two or more forms may be
used simultaneously at different operating positions.
Complete boxes 1 through 3 on each form. Enter
appropriate data in columns 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (if pertinent),
and 9. If the pilot's name is known, it may be
substituted for the aircraft identification. As
applicable, enter OTLK (outlook briefing), AB
(abbreviated briefing), and/or VNR in column 8.
2. FAA Form 72331, Flight Plan Form. Check
the “pilot briefing” block, fill in specialist's initials,
and note the time started. As applicable, also enter
AB, OTLK, and/or check the VNR block.
3. FAA Forms 72335, Inflight Contact Record,
or 723021, Flight Progress Strip. Enter PB in block
14 if a briefing is provided. As applicable, also enter
AB, OTLK, and/or VNR in the same block.
See Appendix B for FAA forms.
d. Where audio recorders are used, facility
management may limit entries on pilot briefing
records to those required for facility use.
e. Where fastfile recorders are used and the pilot
states the source of a briefing on the recorder, it must
be entered in the remarks field of the flight plan.