Team-Based Human Factors: Crew Resource Management


Crew Resource Management (CRM)

In most aspects of professional flying, two or more crew members work together to safely accomplish a flight. The inherent complexity of modern aircraft combined with the busy nature of modern air traffic control requires this flight crew to work together seamlessly, whether operating a military aircraft on missions or a commercial airliner flying hundreds of passengers around the world.

(Author's UC-35 after an instrument approach to a foreign airfield with icing and thunderstorms in the area)

Both the FAA (PHAK, 2016) and the United States Army (FlightFax, 2020) find that pilot error of some kind is a factor in approximately 80% of accidents. Having a second set of eyes can reduce the risk of an error resulting in an accident and assist the pilot in command in aeronautical decision making. Additionally, good Crew Resource Management will divide tasks appropriately to lessen the workload and prevention saturation.

Crew Resource Management begins with preflight preparation and continues all the way to the hotel or the end of the trip. All crewmembers work together to plan the flight, assess any risks of weather, enemy threat, Notices to Airmen, and a host of other factors. In-flight, they are responsible for ongoing risk assessment and mitigation for any changing circumstances. In the Army, we utilize three rules to assist in impartial decision making:

  • The Two Challenge Rule - If one crewmember is not performing as they briefed, not staying on a set heading or altitude, or otherwise not responding, the pilot not flying will query once. If there is not response, or the deviation is not remedied, the pilot not flying will query again. If there still is not corrective action, the pilot not flying will announce taking the controls to return to standard. There is an allowance for a zero-challenge rule, if the aircraft is in imminent danger (ie near midair). 
  • Most Conservative Response - When the crew members disagree about a course of action and there can be no settlement, the crew will follow the most conservative option. 
  • Sterile Cockpit - Below 10,000 feet (unless cruising below 10,000 feet) or in the terminal area, all conversation amongst the crew will be limited to that essential for the flight. 

(CRM lessons learned are a large reason for the improved safety of airliners today)
As with most aviation rules and practices, these standards are written in blood. In 1972, a Eastern Airlines Lockheed L1011 Tristar crashed in the Florida Everglades after a missed approach from Miami International. The cause of the missed approach was an inoperative nose wheel indicator, so the crew could not be certain the nose gear was down and locked. The crew established a holding pattern over the Everglades and went to work troubleshooting the gear, working to see if the issue was with the landing gear, or the light bulb. As one crewmember went down into the aircraft avionics bay to verify the gear was down, the other pilots attempted to replace the bulb in the cockpit to check if the bulb was just burnt out. However, during the confusion, the control yoke was moved, disconnecting the autopilot. The crew was so focused on the light that no one was flying the aircraft. The mistake was realized when the Radar altimeter (which measures height above ground) went off, by which point it was too late (Lee, 2018).

Good crew resource management requires crew to double check other's performance and ensure there is no question about what is ahead. First and foremost, FLY THE AIRPLANE. The Army has begun a review of its aviation tasks for response to emergencies with an emphasis on the old adage, Aviate, Navigate, Communicate (FlightFax, 2020). Fly the Aircraft, Ensure the aircraft is going where you want it and out of danger, and then communicate with ATC and the crew. THEN troubleshoot the problem.

References

FlightFax (2020, January) FlightFax - 85. Retrieved from: https://safety.army.mil/Portals/0/Documents/ON-DUTY/AVIATION/FLIGHTFAX/Standard/2020/Flightfax_85_January_2020.pdf

Lee, Bob (2018, February 26) Flight 401 Down in the Glades. Flamingo Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.flamingomag.com/2018/02/26/flight-401/

Federal Aviation Administration (2016) Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. Retrieved from: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/04_phak_ch2.pdf




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