Record a flight clearance

A flight clearance is the recorded decision that a job may fly. You take it in the Record flight clearance dialog, which lists every finding the PDRA-01 evaluator raised, in three groups, and makes you deal with each one by name. The evidence is re-evaluated on the server when you press the button — the dialog is not the decision, the server write is.

Before you start

Who may record a clearance. Two routes, and being assigned to the job on its own is not one of them:

• You are assigned to the job and your assignment is a pilot role — either the pilot system role, or a role whose name contains “pilot”.
• Or you hold the Manage flight logs permission.

Anyone else gets a permission error. Note this is separate from overriding: recording a clearance and authorising an override are two different permissions.

To override a blocking check you also need the Approve flight-release overrides permission. Without it the dialog still lists the blockers, but as read-only Blocker pills rather than tickboxes.

In Regulated operating mode you additionally need Approve flight-release overrides to accept any confirm-tier finding. In Solo and Team modes the releasing pilot accepts their own.

Steps

1. Open the Record flight clearance dialog

   On the job, select the Flight release readout in the header band. It shows the current verdict and opens the dialog directly. From Safety, you can also select a job in the Upcoming rail on the Readiness tab and press Record clearance.

2. Read the Blocking group

   The heading reads Blocking (N). These stop the flight. Each row shows the finding, its rule code, any evidence, and a link to the exact record that will clear it. Fix what you can — the links go to the failing pilot, airframe or form, not to a section index.

3. Tick each Confirm to proceed finding you accept

   The heading reads Confirm to proceed (N). The flight can go ahead, but every one of these must be ticked before the button enables. Your acceptance is recorded against the decision by rule code, so the record says what you saw and accepted rather than carrying one blanket “continue anyway” flag.

4. Read the Advisory group

   The heading reads Advisory (N). Advisory findings never gate a flight and have no tickbox. They are shown because they are worth knowing.

5. Write the reason, if one is asked for

   A text box appears only when there is at least one blocking finding. Its label is Override justification when you have ticked any blocker, and Operational reason when you have not. Explain why the operation is continuing and what controls are in place.

6. Press the button

   It reads Record clearance, Record with override, or Blocked by N checks. See below for what each means. A toast confirms the outcome — for example “Cleared recorded” or “Cleared with conditions recorded”.

Options

Overrides are per-check, never blanket

When you hold Approve flight-release overrides, each blocking finding gets its own tickbox. The dialog says so: “Overrides are per-check — you do not have to override anything you are not accepting.” Tick only the blockers you are formally accepting. Leaving one unticked in Enforced mode is what makes the button read Blocked by N checks.

Ticking a check records you as its override approver for the next two hours. Once that window passes the clearance stops being valid, whatever the evidence says. Overrides are audited at critical severity.

The three button states

Button reads	When	Enabled
Record clearance	No blocking findings, or blocking findings in Advisory mode with no override ticked	Once every confirm finding is ticked and any required reason is written
Record with override	You have ticked at least one blocking finding	Once every confirm finding is ticked and the justification is written
Blocked by N checks	Enforced mode, with N blocking findings not covered by an override	Never — the button is disabled

Advisory mode versus Enforced mode

The Release gate setting decides what a blocking finding does.

• Advisory — you can record a clearance past a blocking check without an override. The decision is logged as a continuation, at warning severity, and the reason box is required.
• Enforced — a blocking check cannot be cleared without a named user holding Approve flight-release overrides recording an expiring justification for that check. Confirm-tier findings are unaffected.

A decision is judged under the mode it was made in. Switching the organisation to Enforced does not retroactively invalidate clearances already recorded. See Safety settings.

What happens next

The new decision becomes the job’s current clearance and supersedes any previous one, which is marked “Superseded by a newer flight-release decision”. The Readiness tab updates to one of five outcomes.

Outcome	Shown as	Detail line	Meaning
released	Cleared	—	Recorded with no blocking finding outstanding and no override
released_with_advisory	Cleared with conditions	Accepted findings recorded	Recorded past a blocking finding in Advisory mode
released_by_override	Cleared with conditions	Authorised override recorded	Recorded with at least one per-check override
not_released	Not cleared	—	No current decision exists for this job
invalidated	Needs recheck	—	A decision exists but is no longer valid

Troubleshooting

The clearance says Needs recheck. The decision is still there, but something changed. The Readiness tab prints the reason beside the outcome. Seven validity states are possible.

State	Reason shown	What to do
valid	—	Nothing. The clearance stands.
no_current_release	No current flight-release decision has been recorded.	Record a clearance.
evidence_regressed	The finding summary, then "this changed after the clearance was recorded, so it needs rechecking."	Open the named finding, clear it, then record a new clearance.
evidence_changed	Compliance evidence changed after this flight-release decision was recorded.	Record a new clearance. Only decisions taken before per-check snapshots land here.
override_expired	The exceptional flight-release override has expired.	Record a new clearance with a fresh override, or clear the blocker.
invalidated	The stored reason, or "The flight-release decision was invalidated."	Record a new clearance.
decision_not_releasable	This decision does not carry a current authorised override for every blocking check.	A new blocker appeared under Enforced mode. Override it or clear it, then record again.

The button will not enable and no override is ticked. Every finding in Confirm to proceed (N) must be ticked, and if there is a blocking finding, the reason box must have text in it.

There are no tickboxes on the blocking findings. You do not hold Approve flight-release overrides. The findings show as Blocker pills instead. In Advisory mode you can still record a decision past them with a written operational reason; in Enforced mode you need someone who holds the permission.

Screenshot pending

Open a job whose readiness has at least one blocker and one confirm finding, signed in as a user holding Approve flight-release overrides. Open the Record flight clearance dialog from the job header Flight release readout. Capture the whole dialog showing the Blocking (N) section with tickboxes, Confirm to proceed (N), Advisory (N), the Override justification box with text in it, and the primary button reading Record with override.

Screenshot pending

Set the organisation Release gate to Enforced in Safety > Settings. Open the same job's Record flight clearance dialog signed in as a user WITHOUT Approve flight-release overrides, so the blocking findings render as Blocker pills rather than tickboxes. Capture the footer and the Blocking section, with the primary button reading Blocked by 2 checks and greyed out.