PA.I.H.K3· K

ADM frameworks

Aeronautical decision-making frameworks

This element is the ADM toolkit — five FAA-published frameworks that turn pilot judgment from a personality trait into a learnable, teachable skill. None of them is the right framework. Each fits a different decision: PAVE for the day's risk scope, IMSAFE for self-assessment, 3P for the in-flight tempo, DECIDE for thinking through a complex call, and 5P for periodic re-evaluation. The skill is reaching for the right one at the right time.

Pilots who say "I have good judgment" usually do not. Pilots who say "I run IMSAFE before every flight, PAVE during planning, and 3P every time something changes" usually do. The frameworks are the difference.

what ADM is, and what it is not

AC 60-22 frames ADM as the systematic approach to consistently determining the best course of action — and as a learnable skill, not a personality trait. The accident record shows pilot judgment errors falling into patterns. The five hazardous attitudes (anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, resignation, taught in the human-factors risk element (R1)) are the pattern names; the frameworks are the countermeasures .

Two related terms travel with ADM. Crew Resource Management (CRM) is the multi-pilot doctrine: use every resource available — other crew, ATC, charts, automation, manuals — to make better decisions than any one person could. Single-Pilot Resource Management (SRM) is the same idea adapted for the single-pilot environment, where "the crew" means the pilot plus ATC plus automation plus the chart plus any qualified passenger help. CRM and SRM are not separate frameworks from PAVE or IMSAFE — they are the attitude you bring to all of them .

preflight: PAVE for risk scope, IMSAFE for self

Two frameworks own the preflight phase, and they nest: IMSAFE is the self-check that fits inside PAVE's Pilot letter. Run both, in that order — IMSAFE first to ground or clear yourself, then PAVE to see the rest of the day's risk picture.

Pilot — am I current, proficient, medically fit, and rested? (IMSAFE nests here as the self-portion.)

Aircraft — airworthy, current on inspections, equipped for the operation, fueled for the route plus reserves, within W&B.

enVironment — weather along the route and at destination/alternate, airspace, runways and lighting, terrain, time-of-day.

External pressures — get-there-itis, passenger pressure, schedule, financial pressure, ego. The category pilots most often skip.

External pressures is the letter pilots most often skip — because naming the pressure feels like admitting it works on you. It does. Naming it is the first defense.

IMSAFE, nested inside PAVE's Pilot letter:

Illness — am I sick today, including a head cold that could trigger sinus block on descent?

Medication — am I on any prescription or OTC medication that could affect cognition or reactions? For specifics, AME, not Google. (See the substances element (K2).)

Stress — am I under stress (work, family, the trip itself) that could narrow attention or push me toward bad decisions?

Alcohol — within 8 hours of any consumption? Under 0.04 BAC? Clear of "under the influence," including hangover? Personal margin above the 91.17 floor?

Fatigue — am I rested for the flight ahead, including any sleep debt from earlier in the week (acute + chronic)?

Eating and hydration — am I fueled and hydrated for the duration?

Any honest "no" answer is a self-grounding signal. 14 CFR 61.53 makes the self-grounding duty regulatory, not optional, when a known condition affects safe operation.

in flight: 3P for tempo, DECIDE when you have minutes, 5P for periodic re-check

Three frameworks fit the in-flight phase, and they cover three different decision speeds.

3P — Perceive what just changed (gauge, weather, ATC, passenger).

3P — Process the implications for the current plan.

3P — Perform the adjustment (heading, altitude, request, decision).

3P is the seconds-scale cycle — the tool when something just shifted and needs an action now.

DECIDE — Detect that a change has occurred.

DECIDE — Estimate the need to counter or react to the change.

DECIDE — Choose a desirable outcome.

DECIDE — Identify actions to control the change.

DECIDE — Do the necessary actions.

DECIDE — Evaluate the effect of the action — closes the loop.

DECIDE is the minutes-scale framework — the tool for a diversion question, a continue-or-land call, a route reconsideration. The explicit Evaluate step is what distinguishes DECIDE from acting on a hunch.

5P — Plan: is the route, route weather, fuel plan, and alternate still good?

5P — Plane: is the airplane still operating normally? Engine instruments, fuel state, systems?

5P — Pilot: is IMSAFE still clean? Fatigue, hydration, comfort?

5P — Passengers: any change in passenger condition, comfort, or pressure?

5P — Programming: is the avionics state correct — autopilot mode, GPS route, transponder code?

5P is the periodic re-check — every ~15 minutes in cruise or at each waypoint. Catches slow drift that 3P and DECIDE miss because neither is event-triggered.

the chooser

Knowing the frameworks is not the same as knowing when to reach for which. The chooser is the actual skill.

Before engine start — PAVE for the day's risk scope. IMSAFE for self-readiness, nested under Pilot.
At each major waypoint, or every ~15 minutes in cruise — 5P to catch slow drift in Plan/Plane/Pilot/Passengers/Programming.
When something changes and needs an action in seconds — 3P. Perceive, process, perform.
When something changes and you have minutes to think — DECIDE. The Evaluate step makes it the right tool for diversions and continue-or-land calls.
At every layer — CRM/SRM. Use the resources you have: ATC, automation, manuals, qualified passenger help, the chart on your knee.

Lay them side-by-side and the chooser becomes visible — each framework's phase, tempo, and scope in one view that the individual-framework sections above cannot show by themselves.

Framework	Phase	Reach for it when	Tempo	Scope
PAVE	Before engine start	Preflight planning	Minutes — at the desk	The day's whole risk picture
IMSAFE	Before engine start	Self-assessment	Seconds — every flight	The pilot — nested under PAVE's P
3P	Something just shifted	A quick in-flight cycle	Seconds	One change, one response
DECIDE	You have time to think	A deliberate in-flight decision	Minutes	A complex decision with room to evaluate
5P	Nothing triggered it — just check	Periodic re-evaluation	Every ~15 min in cruise, or each waypoint	Catches slow drift

The individual H2s above teach what each framework is; the table teaches what each framework fits.

Personal minimums, hazardous attitudes, and the bending pattern live in the human-factors risk element (R1) — where these frameworks are applied under stress .

ADM PRACTICE · PA.I.H.K3

Preflight weather call

Read the situation, pick the framework you would reach for, pick the decision — then reveal.

1. Situation

Situation

You're planning a 200 nm VFR cross-country. Departure shows VFR, but the destination TAF forecasts MVFR ceilings (BKN 1,500) deteriorating to IFR (OVC 800) within 3 hours of your arrival window. You have an upcoming family event at the destination. Weather along the route is currently clear but trends are downward.

ADM frameworks are tools, not boxes — several can apply to the same scenario. The “correct” framework here is the most direct match: the one whose categorization makes the decisive axis explicit fastest. The others aren’t wrong, just less efficient. (AC 60-22 carries the full doctrine; the framework table above teaches the frameworks statically.)

Step through a scenario: read the situation, pick the framework you'd reach for, pick the decision, then reveal. The reveal shows the correct framework with reasoning AND — if your pick was different — why your framework was "less direct" for this scenario. Four scenarios cover the preflight / in-flight diversion / emergency / ATC change spread.

worked examples

Scenario 1 — marginal weather on a planned flight.

Two days before a planned weekend cross-country, the forecast shows VFR but with a marginal afternoon ceiling and possible afternoon thunderstorms.

Run PAVE during planning. Pilot: IMSAFE clean — rested, no medications, no alcohol, no stress, hydrated. Aircraft: current, fueled with reserves to alternate. enVironment: the marginal letter — afternoon ceilings could push you below your personal minimums; thunderstorms could close the route. External pressures: a hotel reservation at the destination, a friend expecting a pickup. The pressures are real and they are pushing toward "go." Naming them is the first defense; widening the en-route margins (earlier departure, larger fuel reserve, lower personal-minimums threshold for the alternate) is the second; committing to a clean go/no-go check the morning of is the third. Decision: go-conditional on a morning-of weather and IMSAFE re-check; brief the passenger that this is the plan; pre-commit to a divert airport. This is PAVE doing its job — surfacing the risk picture before the day forces a decision.

Scenario 2 — a deteriorating ceiling 60 nm out.

Cruising VFR at 4,500 ft, a routine 5P check 45 minutes in catches the ceiling along the route trending down — METARs at two airports along the route now reporting 1,500 broken. Your route works at 4,500; a 1,500-ft ceiling does not.

Run 3P first because the situation needs an action this minute. Perceive: ceiling along the route is now below your altitude. Process: if you continue, you will be in cloud, illegal VFR, possibly inadvertent IMC. Perform: request a lower altitude from ATC, plan a 180, or plan a diversion. Then transition to DECIDE because the diversion question has minutes of horizon. Detect: the deterioration is real and progressing. Estimate: probably another hour of worse, then improvement. Choose: divert to an airport that's currently VFR and behind the weather. Identify: nearest suitable behind you with services; brief the diversion. Do: request the divert from ATC, brief the passenger, fly the diversion. Evaluate: once on the ground, debrief — did 5P catch this early enough? Could PAVE have flagged it before launch? Decision: divert behind the weather, debrief on the ground. 3P got the airplane into a safe state; DECIDE handled the longer decision; 5P caught the slow drift that triggered both.

Common DPE questions

Ideal answer
Aeronautical decision-making is the systematic approach to consistently determining the best course of action in response to a given set of circumstances. AC 60-22 is the foundational FAA document; FAA-H-8083-2 extends it. The reason the FAA frames it as a learnable, teachable skill rather than a personality trait is that the accident record consistently shows pilots making judgment errors in patterns — not random failures, but the same patterns repeated. The five hazardous attitudes (anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, resignation) are pattern names; PAVE, IMSAFE, 3P, DECIDE, and 5P are countermeasures. A pilot who runs the frameworks consistently makes fewer of the patterned errors than a pilot relying on judgment alone. The DPE wants me to name the AC, frame ADM as a skill rather than a trait, and name at least two frameworks by their use.
Key points to mention
- AC 60-22 = foundational FAA ADM document
- FAA-H-8083-2 (Risk Management Handbook) extends it
- Skill, not trait — judgment errors form patterns
- Five hazardous attitudes are pattern names
- Frameworks are countermeasures: PAVE, IMSAFE, 3P, DECIDE, 5P
- Consistent framework use beats reliance on raw judgment
REF: AC 60-22; FAA-H-8083-2
Ideal answer
PAVE is the preflight risk-scope checklist: Pilot, Aircraft, enVironment, External pressures. Pilot — IMSAFE goes here as the self-assessment sub-check; am I current, proficient, medically fit, hydrated, rested. Aircraft — is the airplane airworthy, current on inspections, properly equipped for the flight (day/night/IFR), fueled for the route plus reserves, within weight and balance. enVironment — weather along the route and at destination and alternate, airspace, runways and lighting, terrain, time-of-day. External pressures — the get-there-itis pressure, passenger pressure, schedule pressure, financial pressure, ego pressure. The point is to surface each category before the flight so I see the full risk picture and can decide which margins to widen. PAVE is the *scope* of the day's risk; IMSAFE is the self-portion specifically. The DPE wants me to name PAVE's four letters, treat IMSAFE as nested under the Pilot letter, and call out external pressures explicitly because they are the category pilots most often skip.
Key points to mention
- PAVE = Pilot, Aircraft, enVironment, External pressures
- Pilot includes IMSAFE as the self-assessment sub-check
- Aircraft = airworthy + current + equipped + fuel + W&B
- Environment = weather + airspace + runways + terrain + time
- External pressures = the often-skipped category
- PAVE = scope; IMSAFE = self-portion specifically
REF: AC 60-22; FAA-H-8083-2
Ideal answer
IMSAFE is the personal-readiness checklist run before every flight. Illness — am I sick today, even with a mild cold that could trigger a sinus block on descent. Medication — am I on any medication that could affect cognition or reactions, including OTC; the answer for any specific medication is the AME, not Google. Stress — am I under stress from work, family, or the trip itself that could narrow my attention or push me toward bad decisions. Alcohol — am I within 8 hours of any consumption and clearly not under the influence, with margin above the 91.17 floor as my personal minimum. Fatigue — am I rested for the flight ahead, including any sleep debt from earlier in the week. Eating and hydration — am I fueled and hydrated for the duration of the flight. Any 'no' answer is a self-grounding signal. 14 CFR 61.53 makes this duty regulatory, not optional, when a known condition affects safe operation. The DPE wants me to walk each letter and name the AME redirect on M.
Key points to mention
- IMSAFE = Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Eating/hydration
- Run before every flight
- M includes OTC; AME is the source on specifics (K2)
- A: 91.17 floor + personal margin
- F: includes acute (today) + chronic (sleep debt)
- Any 'no' = self-grounding signal under 61.53
REF: AC 60-22; FAA-H-8083-2; 14 CFR 61.53
Ideal answer
Both are in-flight decision frameworks but they fit different situations. 3P — Perceive, Process, Perform — is the quick, repeating cycle: notice what changed, evaluate the implications, act. It is short enough to run in seconds and is the right tool when something just shifted and the decision needs to be made now (a deteriorating ceiling, an unexpected vector, a passenger comment). DECIDE — Detect, Estimate, Choose, Identify, Do, Evaluate — is the more sequential model for a decision with time to think: a diversion question, a continue-or-land call, a route reconsideration. It walks the same intellectual ground but more deliberately, with an explicit Evaluate step that closes the loop. The rule of thumb is 3P for the next 30 seconds, DECIDE when you have minutes. 5P (Plan, Plane, Pilot, Passengers, Programming) is the periodic re-evaluation — typically every 15 minutes or at each major waypoint — and complements both. The DPE wants me to know that the frameworks are a toolkit and to name a use for each.
Key points to mention
- 3P (Perceive/Process/Perform) = quick repeating cycle, seconds-scale
- DECIDE (Detect/Estimate/Choose/Identify/Do/Evaluate) = deliberate, minutes-scale
- Rule of thumb: 3P for the next 30 seconds, DECIDE when you have minutes
- 5P = periodic re-evaluation (~15 min or each waypoint)
- Frameworks are a toolkit; reach for the one that fits
- Name a use for each
REF: AC 60-22; FAA-H-8083-2

1 of 5

Multiple choice

PAVE stands for:

★ Next up

PA.I.H.R1 · Human-factors risk management

This element is the synthesis hub for Task H — the four risk-management strands that turn the aeromedical encyclopedia (K1), substances regulations (K2), and…

Continue to PA.I.H.R1 →Back to area