Definition
A category of Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) software that provides static aeronautical information and reference material whose misuse or malfunction would have minimal impact on the safety of flight. Type A applications include items such as flight crew operating manuals, aircraft flight manuals, minimum equipment lists, airport diagrams in non-interactive form, and other static documents. Type A software requires only operator authorization for use and does not require formal FAA Aircraft Evaluation Group assessment.
Plain English
EFB software that displays fixed reference documents — manuals, checklists, static charts — where a glitch or wrong information would not directly endanger the flight. It is the lowest-risk category of EFB software.
Context Anchor
Seen in Electronic Flight Bag guidance when software on a tablet or installed display is being grouped by how much the pilot may rely on it in flight.
Why Pilots Care
Type A applications usually need only basic operator approval and pose lower risk than interactive apps because they cannot alter flight-critical data.
Analogy
A Type A application is like a reference book in the cockpit: useful to consult, but not something you steer the airplane by.
Intuition Check
“Type A” does not mean best, strongest, or most advanced here. It is a safety-use category that means the application is lower-risk and not meant for critical in-flight decision-making.
Example Sentence 1
The operator listed the aircraft flight manual and company operations manual as Type A software applications on the EFB.
Example Sentence 2
Approach plates stored as Type A software applications remain static images that the pilot can scroll and zoom but cannot modify.