Definition 1 of 2
Definition
The standards, rules, or tests against which something is measured, judged, or evaluated. In aviation, criteria are the specific conditions that must be met for an aircraft, procedure, pilot, or piece of equipment to be considered acceptable, airworthy, or compliant.
Plain English
The yardsticks used to decide whether something passes or fails, meets the rules, or is good enough to use.
Context Anchor
Seen in aviation handbooks, regulations, checklists, training standards, and personal flight-planning decisions.
Derivation
From the Greek 'kriterion,' meaning a means of judging or a standard for deciding. The same root gives us 'critic' and 'critical.' Knowing this helps because criteria are literally the points on which a judgment is made.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots constantly check whether conditions meet criteria — weather minimums for an approach, currency criteria for carrying passengers, performance criteria for takeoff. If the criteria aren't met, the action isn't legal or safe.
Intuition Check
Do not treat criteria as just opinions or preferences. In aviation, criteria are the stated points or conditions used to decide whether something meets a required standard.
Example Sentence 1
The aircraft met all the certification criteria for instrument flight.
Example Sentence 2
Technicians check the engine against published criteria to decide if the compressor blades can remain in service.