← Unit 5 · Mission and Crew Checklists
Mission phases and handoffs
12 min
0/1 practice
- Break a mission into phases with checklists.
- Use explicit handoffs.
A mission moves through phases: plan, load out, brief, preflight, launch, execute, land, postflight, transfer data, return equipment. Each phase ends in a known state the next phase starts from.
When responsibility moves from one person to another — the equipment lead hands the batteries to the pilot, the pilot hands the data card to the data manager — it's said out loud and recorded. PreFlighted's handoff step asks who received it.
Knowledge check
Why record who received a handoff?
Finish every practice activity to complete this lesson.