Ground school lesson
Aeronautical decision making
Almost every accident chain has a moment where a different decision would have broken it. ADM is the FAA's toolkit for finding that moment while it is still cheap.
What you will be able to do
- Screen a flight with the PAVE checklist.
- Work a developing situation with the DECIDE model.
- Catch the five hazardous attitudes in your own head and apply the antidotes.
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Step 1 of 3
PAVE: screening the flight
Before any flight, four risk buckets, looked at honestly:
Letter The questions P — Pilot IMSAFE, currency, and am I proficient in this aircraft for this flight? A — Aircraft Airworthy, inspected, fuelled, within weight and balance, right machine for the job? V — enVironment Weather, wind and its gust spread, density altitude, terrain, daylight left, airport suitability. E — External pressures Who is waiting, what have I promised, and what is quietly pushing me to go? External pressure is the sleeper. A passenger with a dinner reservation has ended more flights badly than any carburettor. Naming the pressure out loud strips most of its power.
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Step 2 of 3
DECIDE: working the problem aloft
When something changes in flight, a structure beats improvisation:
The DECIDE model
- Detect that something has changed.
- Estimate the significance: is this a nuisance or a threat?
- Choose a desirable outcome: often simply “on the ground, uneventfully”.
- Identify the actions available.
- Do the best one.
- Evaluate: is it working, or is it time for the next option?
The most useful ADM habit in a gyroplane is the pre-decided divert: because you planned an alternate in the flight-planning lesson, “Choose” already has an answer sitting in your kneeboard.
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Step 3 of 3
The five hazardous attitudes
Attitude Sounds like Antidote Anti-authority “The rules do not apply to me.” Follow the rules; they are usually right. Impulsivity “Do something, quickly!” Not so fast. Think first. Invulnerability “It will not happen to me.” It could happen to me. Macho “I can do this.” Taking chances is foolish. Resignation “What is the use?” I am not helpless. I can make a difference. These read as caricatures until you hear one in your own head at the hangar with weather moving in. The skill is recognition: name the attitude, say the antidote, then run PAVE again with clear eyes. That closes this course's judgement thread: personal minimums, IMSAFE, PAVE, DECIDE, and the honesty to use them.
Check yourself
3 questions. Pick an answer to see whether it is right and why.
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In PAVE, what does the E stand for?
External pressures, the waiting passenger, the schedule, the promise, are the risk factor pilots most consistently underweight. Naming them defuses them.
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The thought "I have flown in worse than this" is closest to which hazardous attitude?
That is macho: proving capability. The antidote is "taking chances is foolish," followed by an honest re-run of the numbers.
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In the DECIDE model, what follows detecting a change?
Detect, then Estimate: how serious is this? Acting before sizing the problem is the impulsivity trap wearing a checklist costume.
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FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, chapter 2, Aeronautical Decision Making, and FAA Risk Management Handbook (public domain).