Aeronautical Decision Making

Crew Resource Management (CRM)

While Crew Resource Management focuses on remote pilots operating in crew environments, many of the concepts apply to single-pilot operations which lead to the development of Single-Pilot Resource Management (SRM). SRM is defined as the art and science of managing all the resources available to a single pilot, prior to and during flight, to ensure the successful outcome of the flight.

Single-Pilot Resource Management includes the concepts of Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM), risk management (RM), task management (TM), automation management (AM), controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) awareness, and situational awareness (SA). SRM training helps the pilot maintain situational awareness by managing the automation and associated aircraft control and navigation tasks, which enables the pilot to accurately assess and manage risk and make accurate and timely decisions.

Crew Resource Management (CRM) is the effective use of all available resources involved with an in-flight operation to includes human, hardware, software and all information, prior to and during the flight operation. A remote PIC may incorporate the visual observer(s) and other crewmembers to provide “situational awareness” pertaining to local auto and pedestrian traffic, airspace, weather, and aircraft loading and performance. Checklists ensures procedures are followed, and prevent the remote pilot from relying on short or long term memory for repetitive tasks.

Good communications is also tantamount with all crewmembers so changes in the operating environment can be quickly and effectively communicated, whether by direct line of verbal communications or via walkie-talkies. In addition to a visual observer, the remote PIC may assign someone to monitor and control all tasks given to each crewmember to ensure that one member of the team doesn’t become overburdened. This individual is called the task manager.

There also might be someone to monitor air traffic on a VHF radio, another person assigned to listening to weather briefings, another person assigned to visually monitor the physical presence of air traffic, and yet another person monitoring pedestrian traffic. When adapting crew resource management concepts to a flight operation, CRM is thereby integrated into all phases of the operation.

Situational Awareness describes the accurate perception and understanding of all the factors and conditions that affect safety before, during, and after flight.An extreme case of a pilot being overtaxed, or “getting behind the aircraft,” can lead to the operational pitfall of loss of situational awareness. Getting behind the aircraft is an expression that simply means: losing your situational awareness and mental control, where the aircraft kind of gets ahead of you.

Risk management, as part of the Aeronautical Decision-Making process, relies on situational awareness, problem recognition and good judgment to reduce the risks associated with each flight. When a remote pilot relies on short and long-term memory for repetitive tasks, one of the most neglected items a remote PIC forgets about is the checklist. Checklist in aviation is always used, especially in all manned pilot operations. To avoid missing important steps, always use checklists…consistent adherence to approved checklists is a sign of a disciplined and competent pilot.

Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM)

Aeronautical Decision Making is a systematic approach to the mental process used by pilots to consistently determine the best course of action in response to a given set of circumstances… it is what a pilot intends to do based on the latest information he/she has.  The importance of learning and understanding effective ADM skills cannot be overemphasized as despite all of the changes in technology to improve flight safety, one factor remains the same: the human factor which leads to errors.

To effectively understand ADM is to also understand how personal attitudes can influence decision-making, and how those attitudes can be modified to enhance safety in the operation of an sUAS. It’s important to understand the factors that cause humans to make decisions, and how the decision-making process not only works, but how it can be improved. Steps for good decision-making are:

• Identifying personal attitudes hazardous to safe flight.
• Learning behavior modification techniques.
• Learning how to recognize and cope with stress.
• Developing risk assessment skills.
• Using all resources.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of one’s ADM skills.

ADM is a systematic approach to the mental process used by pilots to consistently determine the best course of action in response to a given set of circumstances.

Risk Management: Safety is an important element for a remote pilot to consider prior to operating an unmanned aircraft system. To prevent the final link in the accident chain, a remote pilot must consider the methodology of risk management. Once appropriate risk controls are developed and implemented, then the flight operation can begin. Remote pilots are expected to develop risk acceptance procedures, which should include the likelihood of an event happening and the severity of the situation. Once established, the acceptability of risk can be evaluated using a risk matrix as shown:

Unacceptable (Red): where combinations of severity and likelihood cause risk to fall into the red area, the risk would be assessed as unacceptable and further work would be required to design an intervention to eliminate that associated hazard or to control the factors that lead to higher risk likelihood or severity.
Acceptable (Green): where the assessed risk falls into the green area, it may be accepted without further action. The objective in risk management should always be to reduce risk to as low as practicable regardless of whether or not the assessment shows that it can be accepted as is.
Acceptable with Mitigation (Yellow): where the risk assessment falls into the yellow area, the risk may be accepted under defined conditions of mitigation. An example of this situation would be an assessment of the impact of an sUAS operation near a school yard. Scheduling the operation to take place when school is not in session could be one mitigation to prevent undue risk to the children that study and play there. Another mitigation could be restricting people from the area of operations by placing cones or security personnel to prevent unauthorized access during the sUAS flight operation.

Risk Management

The goal of risk management is to proactively identify safety-related hazards and mitigate the associated risks, and risk management is an important component of ADM. And when a pilot follows good decision making practices, the inherent risk in a flight operation is reduced, or even eliminated. The ability to make good decisions is based upon direct or indirect experience and education, and the formal risk management decision-making process involves six steps:

• Identifying the Hazards
• Assessing the Risks
• Analyze the Controls
• Make Control Decisions
• Using the Controls
• Monitor the Results

Hazardous Attitudes

Two defining elements of ADM are hazard and risk. Hazard is a real or perceived condition, event, or circumstance that a pilot encounters. When faced with a hazard, the pilot makes an assessment of that hazard based upon various factors. The pilot assigns a value to the potential impact of the hazard, which qualifies the pilot’s assessment of the hazard-risk. Therefore, risk is an assessment of the single or cumulative hazard facing a pilot; however, different pilots see hazards differently (i.e.: an experienced remote pilot may perceive an oncoming flock of flying geese quite differently than that of a newly certified remote pilot).

Hazardous Attitudes and Antidotes

Being fit to fly depends on more than just a pilot’s physical condition and recent experience, as attitudes can greatly affect the quality of decisions. Attitude is a motivational predisposition to respond to people, situations, or events in a given manner. Studies have identified five hazardous attitudes that can interfere with the ability to make sound decisions and exercise authority properly: anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation.

Hazardous attitudes contribute to poor pilot judgment, but can be effectively counteracted by redirecting the hazardous attitude so that correct action can be taken. Recognition of hazardous thoughts is the first step toward neutralizing them. After recognizing a thought as hazardous, the pilot should label it as hazardous, then state the corresponding antidote. Antidotes should be memorized for each of the hazardous attitudes so they automatically come to mind when needed.

1. Anti-Authority: Don’t tell me! – This attitude is found in people who do not like anyone telling them what to do. In a sense, they are saying, “No one can tell me what to do.“ They may be resentful of having someone tell them what to do, or may regard rules, regulations, and procedures as silly or unnecessary. Of course, it’s always your prerogative to question authority if you feel it is in error, but don’t be anti-authority. Antidote: Follow the rules. They are usually right.

2. Impulsivity: Do it quickly! – This is the attitude of people who frequently feel the need to do something, anything, immediately. They do not stop to think about what they are about to do; they do not select the best alternative, and they do the first thing that comes to mind. Antidote: Not so fast. Think first.

3. Invulnerability: It won’t happen to me! – Many people feel that accidents happen to others but never to them. They know accidents can happen, and they know that anyone can be affected, but they never really feel or believe that they will be personally involved. Remote pilots who think this way are more likely to take chances and increase risk. Antidote: It could happen to me.

4. Machismo or Macho: I can do it! – Remote pilots who are always trying to prove that they are better than everyone else are thinking, “I can do it…I’ll show them.” Pilots with this type of attitude will try to prove themselves by taking risks in order to impress others. Many times, the basic drive for a pilot to demonstrate the right stuff, can have an adverse effect on safety by generating tendencies that lead to dangerous practices. While this attitude is thought to be a male characteristic, women are equally susceptible. Antidote: Taking chances is foolish.

5. Resignation: What’s the use? – Remote pilots who think, “What’s the use?” do not see themselves as being able to make a great deal of difference in what happens to them. When things go well, the pilot is apt to think that it is good luck. When things go badly, the pilot may feel that someone is out to get them or attribute it to bad luck. The pilot will leave the action to others, for better or worse. Sometimes, such pilots will even go along with unreasonable requests just to be a “nice guy.” Antidote: I’m not helpless. I can make a difference.

Mitigating Risk

One way to mitigate risk is to perceive hazards by incorporating the PAVE checklist into preflight planning to have a simple way to examine for risk prior to each flight. Once a pilot identifies the risks of a flight, he/she needs to decide whether the risk, or combination of risks, can be managed safely and successfully.

P = Pilot in Command – The pilot is one of the risk factors in a flight. The pilot must ask: Am I ready for this flight? in terms of experience, recency, currency, physical, and emotional condition. The IMSAFE checklist provides the answers.

ILLNESS – Am I sick? Illness is an obvious pilot risk.
MEDICATION – Am I taking any medicines that might affect my judgment or make me drowsy?
STRESS – Am I under psychological pressure from the job? Do I have money, health, or family problems?
ALCOHOL – Have I been drinking within the past 8 to 24 hours?
FATIGUE – Am I tired and not adequately rested?
EMOTION – Am I emotionally upset?

A = Aircraft – What limitations will the aircraft impose upon the trip? Is this the right aircraft for the flight, am I familiar with and current in this aircraft, and can this aircraft carry the planned load/equipment?

V = EnVironment – How is the weather for a particular flight; what is the current ceiling and visibility; is weather may be different than forecast; are there any thunderstorms present or forecast; icing, temperature/dew point spread? The evaluation of terrain is another important component of analyzing the flight environment and checking NOTAMs for TFRs.

E = External Pressures – External pressures are external influences that create a sense of pressure to complete a flight, often at the expense of safety. Factors that can be external pressures include the desire to demonstrate pilot qualifications or to impress someone; the pilot’s general goal-completion orientation; is the remote PIC emotionally and professionally experience to fly?

Managing external pressure is the single most important key to risk management because it is the one risk factor category that can cause a pilot to ignore all the other risk factors. Remember, the remote PIC is responsible for determining whether any crewmember is fit to perform the operation.  If advice is needed concerning illness-related flights, remote pilots should contact an Aviation Medical Examiner.

Mitigating Risk

Use the DECIDE model can also help remote pilots continually evaluate each operation for hazards and to analyze risk:

DETECT the fact that a change has occurred.
ESTIMATE the need to react to or counter the change.
CHOOSE the desirable outcome for the flight or situation.
IDENTIFY the actions to control the change successfully.
DO take the necessary actions.
EVALUATE the effects of the action to react to or counter the initial change.

The six elements of the Decide Model represent a continuous loop decision process which can be used to assist a remote pilot in the decision making process when he/she is faced with a change in a situation that requires a judgment. This Decide Model is primarily focused on the intellectual component, but it can have an impact on the motivational component of judgment as well. If a remote pilot practices the Decide Model in all decision making, its use can become very natural and could result in better decisions being made under all types of situations.

Situational Awareness

Situational awareness is the accurate perception and understanding of all the factors and conditions within the five fundamental risk elements (flight, pilot, aircraft, environment, and type of operation that comprise any given aviation situation) that affect safety before, during, and after the flight. Maintaining situational awareness requires an understanding of the relative significance of all flight related factors and their future impact on the flight. When a pilot understands what is going on and has an overview of the total operation, he or she is not fixated on one perceived significant factor. Not only is it important for a pilot to know the aircraft’s geographical location, it is also important he or she understand what is happening.

Obstacles to Maintaining Situational Awareness
Fatigue, stress, and work overload can cause a pilot to fixate on a single perceived important item and reduce an overall situational awareness of the flight. A contributing factor in many accidents is a distraction that diverts the pilot’s attention from monitoring the aircraft.

Workload Management
Effective workload management ensures essential operations are accomplished by planning, prioritizing, and sequencing tasks to avoid work overload. As experience is gained, a pilot learns to recognize future workload requirements and can prepare for high workload periods during times of low workload. When a work overload situation exists, a pilot needs to stop, think, slow down, and prioritize. It is important to understand how to decrease workload.

Congratulations! You’ve completed Lesson 10 on Aeronautical Decision Making. Be sure to click the COMPLETE button below to register your progress.

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