Sierra Pattern — A320 _verified_

: Practicing the traffic pattern, including upwind, downwind, base, and final legs.

In the MCDU (Multipurpose Control and Display Unit), the vertical revision page for the affected waypoint will show a symbol (S) next to the altitude constraint, indicating a "Hard" or "Step" constraint requiring a level segment. sierra pattern a320

The A320's closest near-miss occurred in 1994 over Afghanistan. A Ariana Afghan Airlines A320 ran a tank dry, then the crossfeed failed. The crew descended from FL 330, and the captain manually pumped the fuel by cycling the boost pumps—an ad-hoc Sierra Pattern. They restarted at 12,000 feet. : Practicing the traffic pattern