Definition
Checklists presented on a digital device — such as a tablet, electronic flight bag, or built-in cockpit display — instead of on paper. They list the steps a pilot must complete for a specific phase of flight or situation, and often allow each item to be checked off on screen as it is completed.
Plain English
A checklist that lives on a screen rather than a piece of paper. The pilot taps or scrolls through the items instead of reading them off a printed card.
Context Anchor
Pilots encounter electronic checklists during preflight, before takeoff, in cruise, before landing, and when using a cockpit display or tablet to follow normal or emergency procedures.
Derivation
Electronic comes from electron, the tiny charged particle involved in electricity. Checklist means a list used to check that needed actions have been done. Together, the term points to a checklist carried and used through an electrically powered device.
Why Pilots Care
They lower the risk of skipping critical steps, update easily when procedures change, and can link with aircraft systems for added safety.
Intuition Check
Electronic does not mean automatic. An electronic checklist displays and may track the list, but the pilot still has to perform and confirm each action.
Example Sentence 1
During preflight, the student opened the electronic checklist on her tablet and worked through each item before starting the engine.
Example Sentence 2
During the approach briefing the crew reviewed the electronic checklists to ensure landing configuration steps were complete.