Definition
The continuous, systematic scanning of flight instruments and outside references to maintain an accurate picture of the aircraft's attitude, performance, and position. A proper crosscheck involves moving the eyes from one instrument or reference to another in a deliberate pattern, interpreting what each is showing, and confirming that the indications agree with each other and with the desired flight condition.
Plain English
Looking at your instruments and outside the aircraft in a steady, repeating pattern so you always know what the airplane is doing and whether everything matches up.
Context Anchor
Used when discussing how pilots maintain an accurate picture of what the aircraft is doing and what is happening around them.
Derivation
From 'cross' (to go back and forth across) and 'check' (to verify). The word captures the action: the eyes move back and forth across multiple sources, verifying that each agrees with the others.
Why Pilots Care
Catches discrepancies that could lead to loss of situational awareness or incorrect flight decisions.
Intuition Check
Do not read crosscheck as simply “check again.” In aviation, it means compare one source of information against another source to confirm they agree.
Example Sentence 1
During the climb, she maintained a steady crosscheck between the attitude indicator, airspeed, and altimeter to make sure the aircraft was performing as expected.
Example Sentence 2
During the ILS approach the instructor reminded the student to crosscheck altitude against the glideslope indication.