BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE AIR FORCE ...

AFMAN 11-217V1 3 JANUARY 2005 223
emergencies that arise after the aircraft is committed to takeoff or already airborne on
their normal cleared departure. Do not file or plan to fly an SDP as your normal all
engines operating IFR departure routing.
9.15.5.2.1. SDP routings may differ significantly from normal ATC IFR
departure routings due to terrain or other obstacles. Whereas SIDs and ODPs may
include routing optimized for ATC as well as obstacles, SDPs are optimized for
emergency escape routing that will provide the lowest required climb gradient and
do not take airspace or ATC considerations into account. Therefore, SDP routing
can diverge significantly from normal IFR departure routing. ATC may not even
know of SDP existence and query the aircrew on their routing after loss of an
engine if they immediately turn in the direction of their SDP.
9.15.5.2.1.1. SDP routings will not avoid special use airspace.
9.15.5.2.1.2. The first consideration in development of an SDP is for a
straight out escape routing. If this does not provide the optimum climb
gradient due to terrain and/or obstacles, then a turning departure will be
developed. SDPs that incorporate turning departures will account for
performance degradation in the turns IAW the aircraft flight manual. If the
aircraft flight manual does not provide turning performance information, an
appropriate aerodynamically calculated degradation factor will be developed
and applied.
9.15.5.2.1.3. In addition to meeting the requirements of the SDP with one
engine inoperative, you must also meet the published climb gradient for the
normal IFR departure with all engines operating. There are rare cases when
the all engines operating normal IFR departure will be your limiting factor for
departure planning due to divergence or other factors.
9.15.5.2.1.4. When an aircrew plans to use an SDP as their escape maneuver
in the event of engine loss or loss of thrust, thorough planning of the transition
from the normal departure routing to the SDP is critical. In about 10% of
cases, the SDP routing is divergent from the normal IFR departure routing. In
the case of a divergent SDP, crews must carefully consider the terrain and
obstacles between the normal IFR departure routing and the SDP routing to
determine the best course of action in the event of an engine failure after
liftoff. SDP routings and performance data are predicated on losing an engine
at the most critical time, which is at go-no go speed (V1, S1, Go, etc.).
Therefore, if you lose an engine after liftoff, you may have sufficient engineout
performance to remain on the normal IFR routing. Crews must be
cognizant of the point at which it is better to remain on the normal IFR
routing, rather than transition to the divergent SDP. SDPs do not provide for
obstacle clearance between the normal IFR routing and the SDP in divergent
situations. Escape and transition procedures are a key crew coordination
item and must be briefed and understood by all crewmembers prior to
departure.