scope:

Purpose and Scope

a. This manual prescribes general flight and operating instructions and procedures applicable to the operation of all naval aircraft and related activities. This manual is not intended to cover every contingency that may arise and every rule of safety and good practice. To achieve maximum value, the contents of all directives cited must be studied and understood. Routine interpretation and procedural questions should be referred to appropriate type wing/type command or MAG/MAW NATOPS offices for resolution prior to referral to a cognizant command (COG)/Naval Advisory Group (NAG). Where the need arises, special instructions or waivers will be issued by COMNAVAIRFOR or CMC as applicable.

b. Directives cited in the text of this manual are identified by the basic number, for example OPNAVINST 8000.16B will be identified as OPNAVINST 8000.16. Appendix C lists the specific version of each directive used in the preparation of the current manual. It is the responsibility of the user to determine the current status of any directive being used.

c. In the tactical environment, military exigency may require on-site deviations from instructions/procedures contained here. The existing risk of deviation must continually be weighed against the benefit of deviating from this manual. Deviation from specified flight and operating instructions is authorized in emergency situations when, in the judgment of the pilot in command, safety justifies such a deviation.

d. It is often not feasible to completely specify all situations or circumstances under which provisions of this manual shall apply; therefore, wording such as "normally," "etc.," "usually," and "such as" is employed. Words or clauses of that type shall not be used as loopholes nor shall they be expanded to include a maneuver, situation, or circumstance that should not be performed or encountered by the aircraft in question.

e. To increase combat readiness and improve flight safety, the scope and operation of the NATOPS program, conduct of NATOPS evaluations, NATOPS change recommendation procedures, and NATOPS Review procedures are discussed in Chapter 2.