Transition checks
 

What procedures do you or your airline use to ensure that QNH or QNE are set through transitions? How many incidents are reported through not setting one or other on the way down/up. (If this is sensitive please email me)
I am in flight safety for a major airline and have had some incidents reported and want some ideas for a fix, not a silver bullet.
Examples I have had are resetting the altimeter once cleared through transitions, (not allowable under our countries rules,) checking the subscale is set correctly when levelling off, and setting the altitude alert to chime when approaching transitions. Any others would be carefully considered and greatfully received.

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I will fly in a helicopter when birds grow wings out of their heads.

effesseh, I tried to post a considered reply to your thread, also querying why it had been locked. Dumb s..t that I am, I didn't realise that it had been sent from Rumours to Tech Log. A hundred lashes.
For my trouble I got a quite snotty email from Danny, basically saying that I was some kinda idiot for not looking elsewhere for your posting.
That's twice in 24 hours that I have been insulted by people in these columns. The first was some one who could not get his/her head around what I was saying in Godzone about 60 hour duty weeks. In that case I had the right of reply and the insultee probably looks a bit silly. Sarcasm I have occasionally been guilty of in these pages, insults and flippancy, not. Sorry to get off what you wanted which was input on altimetry.
Perhaps Danny will do me the courtesy of reposting my contribution here? Or has it been consigned to the ether?

Check-in :

I think your contribution is still in a thread in R&N, albeit locked.

I suspect a small amount of cut-and-paste will rectify the situation - Danny must be rushed off his feet, what with flying for a living then admin of this BBS.

"What procedures do you or your airline use to ensure that QNH or QNE are set through transitions?"

I guess this would depend on the degree of sophistication of your aircraft. With glass cockpits, a quick software change can add bells and whistles and flashing lights to the cockpit environment as you near or pass through transition (without presetting your altimeters). Modern Flight Management Computer databases invariably have transition alt/ht information for various airports and this data is used, for example, by the EFIS/EICAS displays on our airline's 747-400s to generate messages/visual warnings if the pilots forget to set their altimeters.

Perhaps this info is of no help to you and your particular situation, but....

Rgds.
Q.

We set the altimeter at transition and then, on the way down, it is called for again in our approach checks.

In other words, the checklist calls for it twice. I thought it was stupid, until one night it worked!

On climb-out we set "standard" when cleared to a flight level and we cross check our alts then. We then have another altimeter check passing FL100. The standby altimeter is left on QNH until approaching FL100 on the main alts, at which point it is also set to standard, prior to the FL100 altimeter check. On the way down, a similar thing. As soon as we have the destination wx/ QNH we set it on the standby alt. When cleared to an altitude we set QNH on the main alts, and do an altimeter cross check. Passing 10,000/ FL100 we have another alt check.
It seems to work. In addition to all this, in the Airbus the altimeter setting will flash at you if the two main alts are set differently or you are passing transition.
I think this pretty much solves the problem and I can't recall any problems.