What is the difference between Normal Law and Direct Law in terms of aircraft protections?

• A. Normal Law provides full protections; Direct Law provides direct control with minimal or no protections, typically in degraded FBW conditions.
• B. Direct Law provides full protections.
• C. Both provide full protections.
• D. They are the same.

Answer: (A)

Normal Law includes flight envelope protections that actively keep the airplane within safe limits: it guards against excessive bank and pitch, prevents stall or uncommanded full-stake maneuvers, and maintains safe load factors and speeds. It also provides automatic trim and protection during configuration changes, so the airplane behaves within a predictable, protected envelope even if the pilot pushes inputs aggressively.

Direct Law moves toward direct control of the surfaces with minimal or no envelope protections. When the system degrades to Direct Law, the flight control computers stop enforcing those automatic safeguards, and the pilot’s inputs map more directly to surface movement. This leaves the aircraft more exposed to entering unsafe regimes unless the pilot manages the controls carefully.

So the best description is that Normal Law provides full protections, while Direct Law provides direct control with minimal or no protections, typically in degraded FBW conditions. The other statements don’t fit because Direct Law does not offer full protections and the two modes are not the same in terms of safety envelopes.