Arrival, descent and approach setup

Before descent, brief the runway, approach type, minimums, frequencies, vertical constraints and missed approach. Check the forecast, fuel, landing configuration and arrival in the flight plan.

For FMS path descent, select the next cleared lower altitude when authorised. Read the FMA and vertical deviation.

On an ILS: verify the selected approach, frequency, course, source and published intercept. With FMS as the active source, check that the appropriate LOC1 or LOC2 preview is displayed before pressing APP. Watch the FMA and deviations for localizer and glideslope capture.