Definition
A list of standard items a pilot completes before and during the descent from cruise toward the destination airport, used to prepare the airplane, the pilot, and the cockpit for arrival. Typical items include reviewing weather and field conditions, setting altimeters, planning the descent point and rate, briefing the approach and landing, configuring fuel and mixture as needed, and confirming radios and navigation aids for arrival.
Plain English
A short, written set of checks the pilot runs through when leaving cruise altitude to make sure the airplane and the plan are ready for landing.
Context Anchor
Used near the end of the en route portion of a flight, before or during the airplane’s planned move down toward the airport.
Derivation
Descent comes from the Latin descendere, meaning “to climb down” or “go down.” In aviation, it points to the planned part of flight where the airplane leaves a higher altitude and moves down toward landing.
Why Pilots Care
Completing the descent checklist reduces the chance of overlooking critical steps such as power adjustments, flap settings, or system checks that directly affect safety during the approach.
Intuition Check
Do not think of a descent checklist as just a casual reminder. In flying, it is an aircraft-specific procedure used to confirm important items before the airplane gets close to the airport and landing workload increases.
Example Sentence 1
About 20 miles from the airport, she ran the descent checklist and briefed the approach before starting down from cruise.
Example Sentence 2
During the descent checklist the pilot selected flaps to 10 degrees and confirmed fuel selectors were on the fullest tanks.