B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Confusion; Training / Qualification; Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy; Manuals
I have a concern that I feel can only be addressed with this [safety report]. I am aware that there is a training evaluation critique; but feel my concern would not be addressed as the training department does not see this as a safety issue. My goal in this [safety report] is not to condemn or accuse any one person or department but to bring light to a cultural issue that is leading to a degradation of safety and nonstandard operations.I attended training to complete my Line Operational Evaluation (LOE) and I had 3 different instructors who were all knowledgeable and professional but there is one safety concern I have. ALL 3 instructors said it was acceptable to call Flight Level Change 'FLITCH'. This is a deviation of our Flight Manual (FM). Our FM it demonstrates our V1 cut procedure and it calls for the PF to say 'Flight Level Change' upon reaching minimum maneuvering speed. The training department has an obligation to keep the operation safe and standard. This is the only switch that has 2 acceptable names in the flight deck. My 3 days of training were hindered when the instructors said 'FLITCH' and when my sim partner said it as well. When 'FLITCH' was called during my training it made me pause and become confused for a moment hindering me as an effective monitoring pilot. This is a safety issue when our training department gives line pilots the option to call functions of the MCP more than one thing. To finish I would like to state that each instructor acknowledged that this option of deviation was confusing for me because I am not used to hearing it and attempted not to say 'FLITCH'. This admission itself indicates this procedures should not be allowed. I would like our fleet training team to enforce 'flight level change' as the only acceptable call for this function as it is already in our FM.
The pilot reported that nonstandard phraseology for a critical flight management switch was being used by instructors in the training center environment. The phraseology used was a slang term; and does not comport with the airline's Flight Manual.