“I need to check my altitude requirement.”  “....cleared present position direct.....”  Figure 3-9. Altitude management when cleared direct.  to descending on arrival: “…delayed the initiation of the  descent…”; “Aircraft prematurely descended too early…”;  “…late getting down…”; “During a descent…incorrectly  cleared down…”; “…aircraft prematurely let down…”;  “…lost situational awareness…”; “Premature descent  clearance…”; “Prematurely descended…”; “Premature  descent clearance while on vector…”; “During initial  descent…” [Figure 3-9]  Practicing good communication skills is not limited to just  pilots and controllers. In its findings from a 1974 air carrier  accident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)  wrote, “…the extraneous conversation conducted by the  flight crew during the descent was symptomatic of a lax  atmosphere in the flight deck that continued throughout  the approach.” The NTSB listed the probable cause as “…  the flight crew’s lack of altitude awareness at critical points  during the approach due to poor flight deck discipline in  that the crew did not follow prescribed procedures.”  In 1981, the FAA issued 14 CFR Part 121, § 121.542 and  Part 135, § 135.100, Flight Crewmember Duties, commonly  referred to as “sterile flight deck rules.”The provisions in this  rule can help pilots, operating under any regulations, to  avoid altitude and course deviations during arrival. In part,  it states: (a) No certificate holder should require, nor may  any flight crewmember perform, any duties during a critical  phase of flight except those duties required for the safe  operation of the aircraft. Duties such as company required  calls made for such purposes as ordering galley supplies  and confirming passenger connections, announcements  made to passengers promoting the air carrier or pointing  out sights of interest, and filling out company payroll and  related records are not required for the safe operation of  the aircraft. (b) No flight crewmember may engage in, nor  may any pilot in command permit, any activity during  The principal difference between standard instrument  departure (SID) or departure procedures (DPs) and STARs  is that the DPs start at the airport pavement and connect  to the en route structure. STARs on the other hand, start  at the en route structure but do not make it down to the  pavement. This is primarily because STARs serve multiple  runways and sometimes multiple airports.  A STAR is an ATC-coded IFR route established for application  to arriving IFR aircraft destined for certain airports. A STAR  provides a critical form of communication between pilots  and ATC. Once a flight crew has accepted a clearance for a  STAR, they have communicated with the controller what  route, and in some cases what altitude and airspeed, they  fly during the arrival, depending on the type of clearance.  The STAR provides a common method for leaving the en  route structure and navigating to your destination. It is a  preplanned instrument flight rule ATC arrival procedure  published for pilot use in graphic and textual form that  simplifies clearance delivery procedures.  a critical phase of flight that could distract any flight  crewmember from the performance of his or her duties or  which could interfere in any way with the proper conduct  of those duties. Activities such as eating meals, engaging  in nonessential conversations within the flight deck and  nonessential communications between the cabin and  flight deck crews, and reading publications not related to  the proper conduct of the flight are not required for the  safe operation of the aircraft. (c) Critical phases of flight  include all ground operations involving taxi, takeoff and  landing, and all other flight operations conducted below  10,000 feet, except cruise flight.  Standard Terminal Arrival Routes  (STARs)  3-10 