16.crm-and-srm. Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Single-Pilot Resource Management (SRM)
Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Single-Pilot Resource Management (SRM) are structured approaches to managing all available resources—both inside and outside the cockpit—to ensure a safe, efficient flight. CRM was developed in the airline environment after a series of accidents in the 1970s and 1980s revealed that fully functional aircraft were being lost not because of mechanical failure, but because flight crews failed to coordinate, communicate, and use the information available to them. The principles proved equally applicable to single-pilot operations, where the lone pilot must perform every crew function alone. SRM is the adaptation of CRM to that environment.
Resources Available to the Pilot
Resources fall into three broad categories:
- Internal resources: the pilot's training, experience, knowledge, judgment, and physical/mental state; ratings and currency; and personal checklists such as the I'M SAFE self-assessment (Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Eating/Emotion).
- Onboard resources: checklists, the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH), avionics (GPS, autopilot, moving map, datalink weather), passengers, and other crewmembers when present.
- External resources: ATC, Flight Service (1-800-WX-BRIEF), Flight Following, ASOS/AWOS, company dispatch, FBO personnel, and other pilots.
A pilot who fails to use any one of these categories is operating with self-imposed limitations.
The Six Core Principles of SRM
The FAA defines SRM as the art and science of managing all resources—both onboard the aircraft and from outside sources—available to a pilot prior to and during flight to ensure a safe, successful outcome. The six elements are:
- Aeronautical Decision-Making (ADM)
- Risk Management (RM)
- Task Management (TM)
- Automation Management (AM)
- Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) Awareness
- Situational Awareness (SA)
A pilot proficient in SRM continuously gathers information, analyzes it, and makes timely decisions—using the 5 Ps check (Plan, Plane, Pilot, Passengers, Programming) at key transition points: preflight, pretakeoff, cruise, pre-descent, and prior to approach.
Task Management
A pilot's mental and physical workload capacity is finite. Tasks should be prioritized using the maxim aviate, navigate, communicate. When workload approaches saturation, lower-priority tasks (programming a GPS waypoint, talking with passengers) must be shed to preserve aircraft control. Effective task management means:
- Anticipating high-workload phases and front-loading tasks (briefing the approach in cruise, not on final).
- Recognizing the early warning signs of overload—falling behind the airplane, missed radio calls, fixation, or omitting checklist items.
- Using the autopilot to reduce workload, not to add complexity.
Automation Management
Automation, properly used, dramatically reduces workload and improves accuracy. Improperly used, it becomes another distraction. The pilot must know:
- What the automation is doing (mode awareness).
- What it is going to do next.
- How to intervene quickly if it fails to perform as expected.
The correct response to an automation surprise is often to disengage and hand-fly, then troubleshoot.
Situational Awareness and CFIT
SA is the accurate perception of all factors affecting the flight—aircraft state, position, fuel, weather, terrain, traffic, and crew condition. Loss of SA is a precursor to nearly every CFIT accident. Defenses include cross-checking position with at least two sources, briefing minimum safe altitudes (MSAs) for each segment, using terrain awareness features on modern avionics, and never descending below a published altitude until established on a segment that authorizes it.
The DECIDE Model
When a problem arises, the FAA recommends the DECIDE model:
- Detect the change.
- Estimate the need to react.
- Choose a desirable outcome.
- Identify actions to control the change.
- Do the necessary action.
- Evaluate the effect of the action.
CRM in a Two-Pilot Cockpit
When another qualified pilot is aboard, CRM adds explicit crew coordination: a clear briefing of pilot flying (PF) and pilot monitoring (PM) duties, sterile cockpit discipline below 10,000 feet, callouts for altitude and configuration changes, and the assertive but professional challenge-and-response when one pilot observes the other deviating. The captain's authority is preserved, but every crewmember has the duty to speak up when safety is at stake.
Example
A single pilot on an IFR flight encounters unexpected icing in cruise. Applying SRM: Detects the change (ice accumulating on the wing). Estimates the need (performance is degrading). Chooses an outcome (exit icing conditions). Identifies options (climb, descend, turn, divert) using onboard resources (POH icing limitations, MEAs) and external resources (ATC for PIREPs and a lower altitude, Flight Watch for tops). Acts (requests a descent), then evaluates whether the ice is shedding. Throughout, the pilot continues to aviate, navigate, communicate—precisely the discipline that CRM and SRM are designed to instill.