Rote Understanding and Flight Risk Management

according to the NTSB, and was forced to ditch the airplane in Seattle's Elliot Bay, out of gas.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Monday, July 18, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Aviation risk management training frequently prioritizes rote memorization of acronyms (e.g., PAVE, IMSAFE), leading to a superficial understanding rather than deep comprehension and effective application of principles.
The article argues that true risk management involves moving beyond mere memorization to genuinely recognize, understand, and effectively mitigate the dynamic risks inherent in flight.
While past pilots learned risk management informally from experienced mentors, the industry now relies on structured, acronym-laden tools as the best available method to standardize risk identification and quantification.
For these formal risk management tools to be successful, pilots must achieve a deeper understanding beyond rote recall to reliably assess and mitigate flight risks.

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I recently spent some quality time at a name-brand flight training facility, one which helps pilots at all experience levels meet their certification goals. One morning while waiting for better weather, I meandered to the coffee pot and found a CFI and student engaged in a frustrating-for-both discussion of risk management. In fact, there was violent agreement among them on the need to manage risk, but the student was rebelling at having to memorize various acronyms and explain what they mean.

Before I could get my first coffee sip fully swallowed, the student casually turned to me and asked if I knew what PAVE and IMSAFE stood for, and what they meant. Poor guy had no way to know I edit this magazine but I don’t think he expected my answer: “Yeah, actually, I do know what they mean. But the important part isn’t memorizing acronyms, it’s about recognizing and understanding the risks, then mitigating them.” Which got me to thinking: Are we doing this risk management thing wrong?