A320 ECAM Handling Philosophy — Alert Levels, Task Sharing and Actions
ECAM does not fly the aircraft. It tells you what has failed, ranks it by urgency, and gives you an ordered list of things to do about it. Everything that goes wrong in an ECAM scenario goes wrong because a crew actioned faster than they flew, or actioned an item they had not confirmed. Understanding the philosophy matters more than memorising any individual procedure.
- 1. ECAM handling philosophy
- 2. Visual circuit
- 3. Precision approach — ILS and GLS
- 4. Non-precision approaches — VOR, NDB, LOC, RNAV LNAV
- 5. RNP approaches — LNAV/VNAV and LPV
- 6. RNP AR operations
What ECAM is, and what it is not
ECAM stands for Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor. It is a monitoring and alerting system, not an automation system. It detects failures, classifies them by urgency, displays them in priority order, and presents the corrective actions as a checklist the crew works through.
What ECAM does not do is take action on its own. It does not shut down an engine, close a bleed, or reconfigure a bus. Those reconfigurations that happen automatically (electrical bus transfers, hydraulic PTU activation) are done by the system's own controllers, not by ECAM. ECAM simply tells you they have happened.
ECAM also does not know what the aircraft is doing. It has flight phase awareness for inhibition purposes, but it does not know that you are 300 ft on final with a crosswind. The judgement about when to start actioning is the crew's alone, and that judgement is the single most important element of ECAM handling.
Display architecture
ECAM presents on two displays in the centre instrument panel:
- E/WD — Engine/Warning Display (upper): Primary engine parameters (N1, EGT, N2, fuel flow), fuel on board, slat and flap position indication, and the warning, caution and memo message area. This is where failure titles and the actions to take are displayed.
- SD — System Display (lower): Synoptic pages for each system (ENG, BLEED, PRESS, ELEC, HYD, FUEL, APU, COND, DOOR, WHEEL, F/CTL), plus the CRUISE page and the STATUS page. On a failure, the relevant system page is called automatically.
The computers behind the displays
| Computer | Quantity | Function |
|---|---|---|
| FWC — Flight Warning Computer | 2 | Generates warnings and cautions, aural alerts, and synthetic voice messages. Determines flight phase. Drives message priority and inhibition logic. |
| SDAC — System Data Acquisition Concentrator | 2 | Gathers system data from sensors and sends it to the FWCs and DMCs. Handles data for amber cautions and SD page content. |
| DMC — Display Management Computer | 3 | Drives the display units themselves — generates the symbology shown on E/WD and SD. |
Alert levels
ECAM classifies every alert into one of three levels, and the level determines the colour, the aural, the master light, and above all what the crew is expected to do about it.
Level 3 — Warning (red)
- Configuration or failure requiring immediate action
- Colour: red
- Aural: CRC (continuous repetitive chime) or specific sound
- Master WARN light: flashing red
- Examples: ENG FIRE, CONFIG, DUAL HYD LO PR, EXCESS CAB ALT
Level 2 — Caution (amber)
- Failure requiring crew awareness but no immediate action
- Colour: amber
- Aural: SC (single chime)
- Master CAUT light: steady amber
- Examples: single hydraulic system low pressure, single generator fault, pack fault
Level 1 — Advisory (amber)
- Degradation of redundancy only
- Colour: amber
- Aural: none
- Master light: none
- Displayed on E/WD only. No immediate operational effect.
Two further categories sit outside the three levels:
- Advisory (pulsing parameter): A parameter on an SD page drifting out of its normal range pulses green to draw attention. The SD page is called automatically. There is no aural and no master light. It is a "watch this" indication rather than a failure.
- Memo: Green messages on the E/WD reminding the crew of normal configuration items — SEAT BELTS, NO SMOKING, APU AVAIL, ANTI ICE. Memos in amber indicate a configuration item that should not normally be active at that phase. ⚑
Aural alerts
| Aural | Meaning | Cancel |
|---|---|---|
| CRC — continuous repetitive chime | Level 3 warning | MASTER WARN pushbutton |
| SC — single chime | Level 2 caution | Self-cancelling (single tone) |
| Cavalry charge | Autopilot disconnect | Second press of sidestick AP disconnect pushbutton |
| Triple click | Attention-getter for a flight control law change or mode reversion | Self-cancelling |
| Continuous horn | Landing gear not down configuration warning ⚑ | Per configuration or gear extension |
| Synthetic voice | PRIORITY LEFT/RIGHT, DUAL INPUT, RETARD, SPEED SPEED SPEED, STALL, WINDSHEAR, and EGPWS callouts | Condition-dependent |
Colour conventions on the E/WD
| Colour | Used for |
|---|---|
| Red | Level 3 warning titles. Configuration or failure requiring immediate action. Also the red LAND ASAP message. |
| Amber | Level 2 caution titles and Level 1 advisories. Also the amber LAND ASAP message. |
| Blue | Action line items — the things the crew is to do. Also limitations shown on the STATUS page. |
| Green | Normal operation values and memo messages. |
| White | System page titles and sub-system labels on the SD. |
| Magenta | Messages relating to inhibition and to particular conditions. ⚑ |
Flight phase inhibition
The FWCs determine the current flight phase and inhibit certain alerts during critical phases, so that a caution about a galley bus does not compete for attention during rotation. The A320 has ten flight phases. ⚑
| Phase | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical power on | First engine start |
| 2 | First engine start | Last engine start |
| 3 | Last engine start | Takeoff power application |
| 4 | Takeoff power | 80 kt |
| 5 | 80 kt | Liftoff |
| 6 | Liftoff | 1,500 ft AGL (or a time limit) |
| 7 | 1,500 ft AGL climb | 800 ft AGL on approach |
| 8 | 800 ft AGL approach | Touchdown |
| 9 | Touchdown | 80 kt |
| 10 | 80 kt on rollout | Engine shutdown / a time limit after |
During the inhibited phases, T.O. INHIBIT and LDG INHIBIT memos are displayed on the E/WD to tell the crew that alerting is suppressed. When the phase ends, any suppressed alert that is still valid is displayed.
The handling sequence
The sequence below is the standard ECAM handling flow. The exact wording of calls varies by operator, so use your own Operations Manual for the phraseology. The structure and the order do not vary.
Task sharing and calls
ECAM handling is a two-crew activity with a strict division of labour. The Pilot Flying keeps flying and commands; the Pilot Monitoring reads and actions. That division does not swap mid-procedure.
ECAM control panel
| Control | Function |
|---|---|
| CLR | Clears the displayed warning or caution once its actions are complete. If further failures are queued, the next one is displayed. |
| STS | Calls the STATUS page manually. Used after actions are complete and any time the crew wants to re-read limitations. |
| RCL | Recalls warnings and cautions that were previously cleared or cancelled, provided the condition still exists. |
| EMER CANC | Cancels an aural and suppresses that specific caution for the remainder of the flight. Use with care — the caution will not reappear. |
| System page keys | ENG, BLEED, PRESS, ELEC, HYD, FUEL, APU, COND, DOOR, WHEEL, F/CTL. Manual call of any synoptic page. |
| ALL | Cycles through every system page in sequence. Useful during a walkaround of the systems after a complex failure. |
The STATUS page
STATUS is where the failure's operational consequences live. It is not a summary of what broke; it is a list of what the crew now has to work with. It is reviewed after ECAM actions are complete and before any approach briefing is updated.
| STATUS section | Contains |
|---|---|
| LIMITATIONS | Approach speed increments, maximum flap or slat configuration, maximum altitude, maximum speed, autoland availability, and any other restriction now applying. |
| INOP SYS | Every system now inoperative as a consequence of the failure. This is the list that drives the landing performance and diversion decision. |
| PROCEDURE | Any procedure still to be applied, including approach and landing procedures specific to the failed configuration. |
| CANCELLED CAUTION | Cautions suppressed via EMER CANC. Worth reviewing so nothing has been forgotten. |
| MAINTENANCE | Items for the engineers on the ground. No crew action required in flight. |
ECAM and the QRH
ECAM is the primary source for failures the aircraft can detect. The QRH covers what ECAM cannot.
| Use ECAM for | Use the QRH for |
|---|---|
| Any failure the aircraft detects and annunciates | Failures with no ECAM annunciation (unreliable airspeed, certain smoke scenarios, control difficulties) |
| The ordered corrective actions for that failure | Memory items, actioned before ECAM and from memory |
| Resulting limitations and INOP systems via STATUS | Supplementary procedures referenced by the STATUS page |
| System reconfiguration guidance | Landing distance and performance data for the failed configuration |
Memory items come first
A small set of procedures are actioned from memory, immediately, before any ECAM reading. They exist because there is no time to read. Typical A320 memory item procedures include stall recovery, windshear escape, EGPWS terrain escape, loss of braking, and the initial actions for unreliable airspeed. ⚑
The operator's Operations Manual is the authority on which procedures are memory items for your fleet. That list is short by design, and the items on it are the ones to know cold.
Common handling errors
| Error | Why it happens | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Starting ECAM actions too low | The aural is loud and the instinct is to make it stop and fix it | Cancel the aural, fly, climb to a safe height, then action |
| Actioning without confirming | Time pressure, and the ECAM line looks unambiguous | Both pilots physically identify the control before any irreversible action |
| Clearing before actions are complete | Reading the title as the whole message | Work every blue line item until the display clears itself |
| Skipping the STATUS page | The failure feels handled once the actions are done | STATUS is where the approach speed increment and INOP list live. Always review it. |
| Treating amber LAND ASAP as red | Both messages look similar under pressure | Read the colour deliberately. It changes the diversion decision. |
| Both pilots heads-down on the ECAM | Complex failure, natural curiosity | PF flies. Full stop. The PM owns the ECAM. |
| Over-using EMER CANC | A recurring caution is distracting | Suppressed cautions do not return. Use only where the procedure calls for it. |
Key points
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| ECAM displays | E/WD (upper) · SD (lower) |
| Flight Warning Computers | 2 × FWC |
| System Data Acquisition Concentrators | 2 × SDAC |
| Display Management Computers | 3 × DMC |
| Red warning data path | Direct to FWC — bypasses SDAC ⚑ |
| Level 3 aural / light | CRC · flashing red MASTER WARN |
| Level 2 aural / light | Single chime · steady amber MASTER CAUT |
| Level 1 aural / light | None · none |
| Action line item colour | Blue |
| Number of flight phases | 10 ⚑ |
| Minimum height for ECAM actions | 400 ft AGL ⚑ (operator-specific) |
| Red LAND ASAP | Land at nearest airport where a safe landing can be made |
| Amber LAND ASAP | Consider severity; land at nearest suitable airport |
| EMER CANC effect | Suppresses that caution for the remainder of the flight |
⚑ = Verify against your operator's FCOM and Operations Manual. Phraseology, minimum heights, and memory item lists are operator-specific.
Practise A320 questions
ProPilotLicence has 12,000+ DGCA ATPL and CPL practice questions — including a full A320 question bank covering every ATA chapter, verified by active airline captains. Free to start.
Practise A320 questions →