Risk And Benefit

I much appreciated Robert Wright's May 2018 article, Risk Assessment Tools. We use a version of a flight risk assessment tool in our flying club, and while I agree that numerical values should not be the sole criteria for the go, no-go decision, the process does provide a checklist of sorts for decision-making. The most valuable risk assessment tool I use is not found on any web site or aviation app, but is the application of a simple philosophy: If I have to analyze a go, no-go decision for more than a few seconds, it is a sure sign that the risk requires serious mitigation or a willingness to stay safely on the ground.

Editorial Staff

Friday, June 22, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Prolonged analysis of a go/no-go decision should signal a need for serious risk mitigation or opting out of the activity.
Aviation risk management discussions are incomplete without considering the "benefit" side, necessitating a comprehensive "risk-benefit" analysis where potential rewards clearly outweigh the risks.
While useful as checklists, numerical risk assessment tools should not be the sole criteria for making flight decisions.

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I much appreciated Robert Wright’s May 2018 article, “Risk Assessment Tools.” We use a version of a flight risk assessment tool in our flying club, and while I agree that numerical values should not be the sole criteria for the go, no-go decision, the process does provide a checklist of sorts for decision-making. The most valuable risk assessment tool I use is not found on any web site or aviation app, but is the application of a simple philosophy: If I have to analyze a go, no-go decision for more than a few seconds, it is a sure sign that the risk requires serious mitigation or a willingness to stay safely on the ground.

David Fisichella
Falmouth, Mass.