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FAA Safety Briefing - Jul-Aug 2025
Reproduced for study. Always verify against the official GACAR at gaca.gov.sa.
12 Subverting
Safety Drift18 Essential Ingredients for
Risk Management22 Y ou Never Roam Alone
July/August 2025
for Safer Skies
U.S. Department
of Transportation
Federal Aviation
Administration
ISSN: 1057-9648
FAA Safety BriefingJuly/Aug 2025Volume 64/Number 4
Sean Duffy Secretary of Transportation
Chris Rocheleau Acting AdministratorTina Amereihn Acting Associate Administrator for Aviation SafetyLarry Fields Executive Director, Flight Standards ServiceTom Hoffmann EditorJames Williams Associate Editor / Photo EditorRebekah Waters Associate EditorNicole Hartman Associate EditorPaul Cianciolo Associate Editor / Social MediaJamie Harvey and Sunghee Cho Art Director
Published six times a year, FAA Safety Briefing, formerly
FAA Aviation News, promotes aviation safety by discussing current technical,
regulatory, and procedural aspects affecting the safe operation and maintenance of aircraft. Although based on current FAA policy and rule interpretations, all material is advisory or informational in nature and should not be construed to have regulatory effect. Certain details of accidents described herein may have been altered to protect the privacy of those involved.
The FAA does not officially endorse any goods, services, materials, or products of
manufacturers that may be referred to in an article. All brands, product names, company names, trademarks, and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
The Office of Management and Budget has approved the use
of public funds for printing FAA Safety Briefing.
Contact Information
The magazine is available on the internet at: www.faa.gov/safety_briefing
Comments or questions should be directed to the staff by:
•Emailing: SafetyBriefing@faa.gov
•Calling: (202) 267-1100
•Tweeting: @FAASafetyBrief
Subscription Information
The Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office sells FAA Safety Briefing on subscription and mails up to four renewal notices.
For New Orders:
Subscribe via the internet at https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/faa-safety-briefing, telephone (202) 512-1800 or toll-free 1-866-512-1800, or use the self-mailer form in the center of this magazine and send to Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Washington, DC, 20402-9371.
Subscription Problems/Change of Address:
Send your mailing label with your comments/request to Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Contact Center, Washington, DC 20408-9375. You can also call (202) 512-1800 or 1-866-512-1800 and ask for Customer Service, or fax your information to (202) 512-2104. ABOUT THIS ISSUE…
The July/August 2025 issue of FAA Safety Briefing focuses on many of the important safety issues highlighted during the FAA’s recent “call to action” meeting for general and business aviation. Feature articles emphasize some key reminders to help improve NAS safety, like how to combat complacency, mitigate risk, improve communications, and avoid safety drift.
(Cover photo taken at EAA AirVenture 2024)
bit.ly/m/FAASB
www.faa.gov/Safety_Briefing
July/August 2025 18Avoiding Tangles with TFRs
The TFR Essentials and How to Evade Them
by James Williams
15Cockpit Convos How to Stay On Course and Avoid Communication Complications
by Nicole HartmanDEPARTMENTS
2 Jumpseat: an executive policy
perspective
3 ATIS: GA news and current events
5 Aeromedical Advisory: a checkup on
all things aeromedical
27 Checklist: FAA resources and
safety reminders
28 Drone Debrief: drone safety roundup
29 Nuts , Bolts, and Electrons:
GA maintenance issues
30 Vertically Speaking: safety issues for
rotorcraft pilots
31 Flight Forum: letters from the
Safety Briefing mailbag
32 O n Final: an editor's perspective
Inside back cover
FAA Faces: FAA employee profile
18 Pack a Safety Sandwich Before Every Flight
Essential Ingredients for Risk Management and Flight Performance
by Tom Hoffmann
20 National GA Award Winners
Top 2025 General Aviation Professionals Recognized
22 You Never Roam Alone
Putting Single Pilot Resource Management to Work
by Susan ParsonThe FAA Safety Policy Voice of Non-commercial General Aviation
12Subverting Safety DriftProper Checklist Usage Combats Complacency
by Rebekah Waters
2 FAA Safety Briefing
JUMPSEATan executive policy perspective
In early March, Acting Administrator
Rocheleau, along with many FAA
colleagues, aviation industry partners,
and labor organizations, convened
a special “call to action” meeting
to discuss ideas on how to make general and business aviation safer.
The meeting was called in response
to recent safety incidents and pro-vided an opportunity to explore some
proactive measures for systemic
improvement in the national airspace
system (NAS).
Discussion topics ranged from how
to refocus attention on safety manage-ment systems to ways to identify and
mitigate “safety drift” in the system. After some productive collaboration,
the group established several steps
that we believe will positively impact
industry safety and which we plan
to implement rapidly. (Y ou can find more about the meeting at faa.gov/
GA-action and in the FAA ’s press
release at bit.ly/CTA_PR).
Among these steps are plans to
communicate several key safety reminders through various outlets
in the FAA and the GA community.
This would include information on topics like combating complacency
and improving communications. We chose this issue of FAA Safety
Briefing to help amplify many of
these efforts. It’s our hope that these pages will help you sharpen your
skills in some areas and expand your
knowledge in a few others.
For starters, we take a look at
the importance of enhanced pilot awareness before and during flight, particularly regarding Notices to
Airmen (NOTAMs) and temporary
flight restrictions (TFR). The feature
“ Avoiding TFR Tangles” provides
several tips to enhance your airspace awareness and avoid being in the
wrong place at the wrong time.
A common thread of accidents
is what’s known as safety drift, a gradual deviation from established
safety procedures and best practices.
Disciplined checklist usage is a good
way to keep complacency at bay and is the focus of the feature “Subverting
Safety Drift. ” Y ou can also read in
our Vertically Speaking department
how scenario-based training, which
immerses pilots in realistic scenarios and encourages active decision-mak-
ing, is another effective means of
preventing safety drift.
In the feature “Cockpit Convos, ”
we cover the importance of speaking “plane-ly” and provide tips for fine-tuning your aviation phraseology
and radio skills. This is particularly
critical in busy airspace where there
may be a mix of VFR and IFR traffic.
Another way to improve safety is to
have the right tools at your disposal. This issue takes an in-depth look at
some tools that help you assess oper -
ational risk before flight and analyze
your performance post-flight. We also
explore how incorporating a scalable
safety management system (SMS) can
help formalize your decision-making process and better engrain safety into
your operations.
The FAA's General and Business
Aviation Call to Action serves as a critical step in addressing current
safety challenges and driving what we
need to focus on next. The initiative
also signifies a broader shift towards a more proactive and collaborative
approach to aviation safety and will
help us strive for a culture of contin-
uous improvement. We encourage
you to read on and find new ways to stay sharp and elevate safety on your
next flight.
Lastly, I’ d like to call your attention
to this year’s National General Aviation Award winners: Flight Instructor
of the Y ear Adam Boyd , Aviation
Technician of the Y ear Samuel “Beau” Hardison, and FAASTeam Representative of the Y ear Josselyn
Slagle . Please join me in congratulat-
ing these airmen for this prestigious
honor and be on the lookout for them
this July at AirVenture. Be sure to go to
GeneralAviationAwards.com to learn
more about their amazing achieve-
ments, as well as how to nominate a deserving airman you know next year.
Safe flying!LARRY FIELDS, FLIGHT STANDARDS SERVICE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ELEVATING GENERAL AVIATION SAFETY
July/August 2025 3
ATISGA news and current events
Laser Strikes Continue to be
Dangerously High
Pilots reported 12,840 laser strikes to
the FAA last year. While that is a 3%
decrease from 2023, the numbers are
still too high.
Shining a laser at an aircraft poses
a serious safety threat and is a federal crime. Lasers can incapacitate pilots,
many of whom are flying airplanes
with hundreds of passengers. Pilots have reported 328 injuries since
the FAA began tracking laser strike
reports in 2010.
To identify trends, the FAA ’s visu-
alization tool (bit.ly/49swuJX) shows laser-strike data from 2010 to present
and highlights trends by geographic
area, per capita data, time of day, and year. The FAA shares the information
with the public to draw attention to
the dangerously high rate.
The FAA strongly encourages
people to report laser strikes to the FAA (bit.ly/reportlaser) and local law
enforcement agencies. If you encounter a laser illumina-
tion event during flight, remember to aviate, navigate, and communicate, in
that order. For more tips on what to
do if you get “lased, ” visit
bit.ly/BlindedLight.
FAA Accelerates Modernization of
NOTAM Service
The FAA is accelerating the modern-
ization of a new Notice to Airmen
(NOTAM) service this year, much
earlier than originally planned. The
FAA used a streamlined, innovative vendor challenge to cut through red
tape to get this critical work done as
fast as possible.
NOTAMs communicate temporary
changes such as runway closures, air -
space restrictions, and obstructions to
pilots and flight planners. More than 4
million NOTAMs are issued annually.
The modernization will provide
near-real-time data exchange, enabling efficient data flows and
better stakeholder collaboration. The
system will be securely hosted in the cloud and have a scalable and resilient
architecture.
A major NOTAM system outage in
January 2023 highlighted the fragility of the system and the need to speed
up the modernization. The FAA
selected CGI Federal, Inc., to work on modernizing the NOTAM system
and deploying the service. CGI is
currently on an accelerated schedule
to deliver the NOTAM Modernization
Service by July 2025, and the FAA is
targeting deployment of the opera-tional service by September 2025.
Risks Associated with Visual
Approaches SAFO
The FAA recently published a Safety
Alert for Operators (SAFO 25001)
to remind air carrier operators and
pilots of risks associated with visual approaches.
As the National Airspace System
(NAS) continues to grow in use
and complexity, efforts have been
ongoing to prevent unsafe operations such as runway incursions, unsta-
ble approaches, altitude and route
deviations, and runway identification errors. Considering recent events, the
FAA identified the need to ensure all
operators and pilots understand and
evaluate the risks associated with the
acceptance and execution of visual approaches.
To mitigate risks associated with
complex operations, operators and pilots should consider strategies such as:
• Methodologies for assuring increased vigilance while operating
at airports with published visual AVIATION NEWS ROUNDUP
JULY
Over Water
Pilot OperationsAUGUST
Inflight Weather
Information Resources#FLYSAFE GA SAFETY ENHANCEMENT TOPICSPlease visit bit.ly/FlySafeMedium for more information on these and other topics.
4 FAA Safety Briefing
ATIS GA news and current events
flight rules (VFR) routes in the vicin -
ity of approach and departure paths.
• Requesting an instrument
approach to reduce the likelihood
of misalignment with VFR traffic,
runways, or taxiways and maintain
a stabilized approach.
• Communicating “UNABLE” to
ATC if there is inadequate time to
recalculate landing performance,
reconfigure avionics, brief the new
approach procedure, or stabilize
the approach.
• Maintaining an active visual scan to avoid potential conflicts.
Review this SAFO and others at
bit.ly/4eciUx4.
FAA Supports AOPA National Pause
for GA Safety
On April 1, the Air Safety Institute,
with support from more than two
dozen other organizations and the
FAA, launched the National Pause for
General Aviation Safety. Over a six-
month period, pilots are being asked to take a few minutes to focus on
safety and review a variety of videos,
courses, and articles that cover every type of GA flying. Pilots are encour -
aged to visit GAsafe.org to learn more.
Every pilot has a responsibility
to themselves, their loved ones, the industry, and the public, to be as conscientious, disciplined, and delib-
erate about general aviation safety as
possible. Whether flying recreational, corporate, or for the greater good,
safety is at the heart of every flight.
By participating in the pause,
you are joining thousands of other
GA pilots who have committed to sharpening their focus in areas rele-vant to how they fly.
As a bonus, earn WINGS credit
after successfully completing a
15-question GA safety quiz. Visit
GAsafe.org for more information.
Improving the Airman
Medical Process
Aviation stakeholders representing
pilot groups and aviation organiza-tions heard the welcome news that
the FAA will move quickly to evaluate
their suggestions on how to improve the airman medical certificate process
during a listening session held at the
FAA headquarters building.
Stakeholders offered a host of cre-
ative ideas for improving the process, including:
• Create a plain-language version of the Guide for Aviation Medical
Examiners so pilots can better
understand requirements.
• Clarify confusing questions on medical certificate application forms.
• Encourage pilots to report medical conditions by providing informa-
tion about how long it takes to
resolve common issues.
• Identify the top five diagnoses by age group and provide information
on how to address them, using flow
charts or checklists.
• Create a webpage with QR codes that lead to information on
common conditions.
• Recruit pilots to do video testimoni -
als about how their conditions were resolved.
Visit bit.ly/FAAMedProcess and
this issue’s Aeromedical
Advisory department for
more information on the
event.
2025 AirVenture
Procedures
The FAA published the
Oshkosh 2025 Notice — a must-read for anyone flying an aircraft to AirVenture. The document outlines procedures
for many types of aircraft that fly
to Oshkosh for the event, as well as aircraft that land at nearby airports.
Air traffic control (ATC) will once
again have the option to assign tran-
sition points approaching Oshkosh
from the west to east to ease holding and congestion. These points are
Endeavor Bridge, Puckaway Lake, and
Green Lake. They will be announced on the arrival ATIS when ATC acti-
vates them, which will be at times of
highest traffic.
What you need to know:
• Maintain 90 knots until entering downwind at Oshkosh
• New depiction of gravel pit/begin-ning descent over gravel pit (any
portion) when arriving to Runway 27
• Addition of a QR code on the
NOTAM cover that directs to the
EAA “Flying In” web page
• References to mass arrival schedule,
transient helicopter operations, and
the EAA Seaplane Base
To ensure safe operations on arrival
and departure, go to bit.ly/OSHnotice
to download the Notice. NOTICE
Preflight Planning ................................ .. 1-4
VFR Arrival ........................................... 5- 14
IFR/VFR Departure ............................. 15-16
Oshkosh Airport Notes .......................... 17
Turbine/Warbird Arrival ......................... 18
Seaplane Base ........................................ 19
Helicopter Arrival/Departure .................. 20
Ultralight Arrival/Departure ................... 21
Fond du Lac ....................................... 22-23
Appleton ............................................. 24-25
IFR Arrival/Departure ........................ 26-29
Flight Service Info .................................. 30
EAA.ORG
This notice does not supersede
restrictions contained in other FDC
NOTAMs.
Special Flight Procedures Effective Noon CDT July 17 to Noon CDT July 28, 2025
July/August 2025 5
AEROMEDICAL ADVISORYa checkup on all things aeromedical
DR. SUSAN NORTHRUP , FAA FEDERAL AIR SURGEON
Recently, Dr. Brett Wyrick, the Deputy
Federal Air Surgeon, and I had a
chance to address aviation stakehold-
ers, including representatives from
airline unions, business aviation,
and general aviation. I discussed our challenges, successes, and some of
our current initiatives to improve the
medical certification process. The stakeholders had the opportunity
to offer suggestions on how we can
better serve the aviation commu-
nity. For this issue, I would like to
update you on our efforts to improve MedXPress.
In 2012, the FAA transitioned
from a paper-based application for medical certification to a web-based
platform, MedXPress (medxpress.faa.
gov), used by both the applicant and
the aviation medical examiner (AME)
AME. MedXPress was designed solely as a portal for airmen to submit
their applications. This offered many
advantages, including improved legi-
bility, near instantaneous transmission
time, and the opportunity for pilots to find information regarding medical
conditions and evaluations before
going to the AME. We recognize that this can be challenging though.
Recent enhancements have added
functionality. The airman can now
check the status of an application
review when the airman has received a deferral from their AME or when the
FAA has requested additional informa-
tion. The AME can also upload docu-ments for review directly to the FAA.
We are working on expanding both the
size and number of documents that the
AME can upload.
While these enhancements have
been well received, airmen have requested additional capabilities,
like those seen in modern electronic medical records (EMR) used in clinical practice. Additionally, the airman and AME communities have
requested features such as the ability
to review prior applications and auto-fill information fields between
examinations, especially those that
do not change (e.g., date of birth, past
medical history, etc.). We in the Office
of Aerospace Medicine would also like to expand visibility of uploaded
medical records, communications
between the individual and the FAA,
and electronic submittal of supple-
mental medical information to more than just the current AME. We would
also like to be able to authorize clini-
cians other than the AME of record to review medical records, with the
consent of the individual, of course.
The process to develop a new, modern
platform is underway, and we hope
to have many features in place by the end of next year. At the same time,
we will be implementing new security
features necessary to protect airmen medical information.
The new MedXPress is envisioned
to be a full-featured portal for airmen
medical certification. Our goal is
to provide airmen access to their medical records with visibility of
information comparable to current
EMRs and the current paper-based
medical record. Correspondence will
be received electronically, mitigating the transit and processing time for
paper-based correspondence. We will
continue paper notifications for the foreseeable future, as this is a statutory
requirement dating back to the 1950s.
Nonetheless, electronic communica-
tions should also significantly reduce
the likelihood of communications crossing in the mail. Once the new
system is mature, pilots and AMEs will be able to electronically upload
FAA-requested documentation, such as detailed clinical progress notes and
test results, directly to the FAA.
We also envision improving the
approach to how airmen fill out FAA
Form 8500-8. We plan to embed links in the online application form that take
the applicant directly to the section
of the AME Guide that outlines what information is needed for consid-
eration. While the AME Guide is
intended for physicians, this should aid
the pilot when communicating to their
personal physicians what information will be needed for review. We have also
developed a pamphlet to guide the
pilot through the medical application
process. This will complement the
checklist recently developed by our industry partners. View the pamphlet
at bit.ly/AMEKnowB4Ugo (PDF).
Our goal is to help the airman,
working together with their AME, to not only understand what information
they must provide, but also obtain and
provide it early, preferably at the time
of application. Whenever possible, we want the airman to leave the AME
office with an issued medical certif
icate. In cases where the AME must defer to the FAA, the new MedXPress
will assist the airman in submitting a
complete application, speeding up the
review process.
Look for more information in the
coming months as these efforts mature.MEDXPRESS ENHANCEMENTS
FAA SAFETY CENTER FORUMS
July 21–26, 2025
0830 – 0945 1015 – 1130 1200 – 1330 1400 – 1530 1600 – 1715
MONDAY
JULY 21Resilience in
Unexpected
Weather
Dr. Ian Johnson
FAASeaplane Decision
Making
Air / Land / Water
Operations
Steve Guetter
Advanced Flight
Training Suspected
Unapproved Parts
Roy Resto
AIM Solutions
ConsultingFlying In the
Colorado
Mountains
Bill Standerfer
Colorado Pilots
Assoc.The Next Chapter
in Pilot Deviation
Investigations
Lee Stromenger
FAAJoin us for
daily forums
at the FAA
Safety Center.
WINGS: BK1 WINGS: BK2 AMT: 1.0 WINGS: BK3 WINGS: BK3
TUESDAY
JULY 22What’s in the Bag?
Is it Dangerous
Goods?
Victoria Lehman
FAAHow to Talk to ATC
Heather McNevin
ATO RetiredAircraft Battery
Airworthiness
Chris Holder
Concorde BatteryAeromedical
Update
Dr. Susan Northrup
FAASatellite
Navigation
Resiliency: Being
Prepared Counts
Dr. Vince Massimini
SixT’s / MITREWhat’s
Replacing
Avgas?
Find Out
Tomorrow!
WINGS: BK3 WINGS: BK3 WINGS: BK3
AMT: BK3 1.0 WINGS: BK3 WINGS: BK3
WEDNESDAY
JULY 23How to Avoid a
Fighter Intercept
Trevor Boswell
NORADJust Because It’s
Legal, Doesn’t
Mean It’s Smart
Sarah Rovner
FAA Designee US Transition to
Unleaded Avgas
Chris D'Acosta
Swift FuelsStraight Talk
About Aviation
Safety
John & Martha
King SchoolsNo SessionSeaplane
Transition
Tomorrow!
WINGS: BK3 WINGS: BK3WINGS: BK3:
AMT: 1.0WINGS: BK1
THURSDAY
JULY 24General Aviation
Awards
*CFI of the Year
*AV Tech of the
Year
*FAASTeam Rep of
the YearThe Fun and
Challenges of
Flying Seaplanes
Steve Guetter
Advanced Flight
Training*No Session*
Meet the FAA
Administrator
@ Theater in the
WoodsAircraft Tire Care
and Maintenance
Mary Beth Widak
Goodyear TireAccident
Investigation
Updates
Pat Hempen
AirHempen Cons GA Awards and
Theater in the
Woods Today!
WINGS: BK2 *No Session*WING: BK3
AMT: 1.0WINGS: BK3
FRIDAY
JULY 25Oil and Oil Filter
Analysis:
An Overview
Wayne Odegard
AvLabReturn SAFELY to
the Airport After
Engine Failure
on Take Off
Dr. George Bolon
Win Air Aviation Weather or
Not to Fly
Jeff Arnold
Leidos Flight ServiceSecrets Only Pilots
Know About
Airports
Tom Slater
FAASTeam RepDecision Making
in a Crisis
CDR Kirk Lippold
Lippold Strategies LLC “Make Better
Decisions
Through
Education”
day!
AMT: 1.0 WINGS: BK3 WINGS: BK1 WINGS: BK2 WINGS: BK1
SATURDAY
JULY 26Aircraft in
Distress:
Unexpected MX
Enroute
Tom Slater
FAASTeam Rep ODPs and SIDs
Ed Verville
FAA DesigneeCan Weather
Aggregation
Benefit GA Pilots?
Gary Pokodner
FAAUAS vs Manned
Aircraft in the
Airspace
Greg Reverdiau
Pilot InstituteZero to 16
Degrees,
An AOA story
Mark Korin
Alpha Systems Seaplane
Base Forums
Monday thru
Friday ONLY!
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FAA Forums Open Daily at 8:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted.
SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
For updates, scan the QR code to the right or go to AirVenture forums at bit.ly/FAA Forums.
July/August 2025 7
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8 FAA Safety Briefing
Growing up in the rearguard of Gen X, I got to expe-
rience the world before and after many changes:
the Cold War, the internet, smartphones, and many
others. This doesn’t just apply to world history and social trends but to aviation as well. I’ve seen general aviation
(GA) airplanes go from being almost always aluminum construction to the most produced model of aircraft having
a composite airframe. Glass cockpits went from being the
near exclusive preserve of fighter jets and new airliners to being broadly available in GA. Earning my instrument
rating in 2001, I feel like I was perhaps the last pilot to do
so without extensive use of GPS. While GPS existed, it
wasn’t the dominant form of navigation it is today. There
was still a very sharp distinction between VFR and IFR GPSs, with the latter being somewhat rare. Although the
year 2001 stands out in my memory for a more significant
event as well, it brought about another major change, both for aviation and the world.
The changes to aviation stemming from 2001 are too
numerous to mention here. Our focus for this article is on
temporary flight restrictions or TFRs. While TFRs certainly
existed long before 2001, they were not as visible a part of my flying experience. For example, I spent some of my pre-
2001 flying time in the Washington, D.C., area, and you
could actually fly VFR in the area below class B airspace
between Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Reagan
National Airport (DCA) without talking to anyone. It's hard to imagine doing that today.
There are a variety of reasons why we need TFRs. With
increased safety and security concerns, in addition to growing NAS usage, TFRs have become a fact of flying. It's worth taking some time to learn about what they are and
how we can safely avoid them. Let’s take a closer look.
Map to Knowledge
The best place to start our journey of learning is Advisory
Circular (AC) 91-63D, Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR)
and Flight Limitations. This AC provides both immedi-
ate definitions and a good list of references for you to dig
deeper if needed. So, what is a TFR? While there are a
variety of types, a TFR is defined as a regulatory action issued via the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system to
restrict certain aircraft from operating within a defined
area, on a temporary basis, to protect persons or property in the air or on the ground. But the dimensions of a TFR
and its other properties will vary based on the specific cir -
cumstances. The controlling regulation will also vary based on the type of TFR being issued. Avoiding TFR Tangles
The TFR Essentials and How to Evade Them
By James Williams
A TFR is defined as a regulatory action
issued via the NOTAM system to
restrict certain aircraft from operating
within a defined area, on a temporary
basis, to protect persons or
property in the air or on the ground. (Civil Air Patrol photo)
July/August 2025 9
Under Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR),
there are seven different types of TFRs controlled by seven
different parts of the regulations:
• TFRs in the vicinity of disaster/hazard areas (91.137),
• TFRs in National Disaster Areas in the state of Hawaii
(91.138),
• emergency air traffic rules (91.139),
• flight restrictions in the proximity of the President and other parties (91.141),
• flight limitations in the proximity of space flight opera-tions (91.143),
• management of aircraft operations in the vicinity of aerial demonstrations and major sporting events
(91.145),
• and special security instructions (99.7).
They broadly fit into the categories of security (91.138,
91.141, 91.145, and 99.7) or separation (91.137, 91.139, and
91.143).
Secure Space
One of the primary goals of the national airspace system (NAS), alongside efficiency, is safety, which includes the
safety of those not participating on the ground. And this
goes double for large events with lots of people crowded into
a small area. Those concerns aren’t just for innocent actors
but for more malevolent ones as well. This is also true when dealing with VIP movements, where proper security calls for
the exclusion of non-participating aircraft from certain areas
that are not covered by static restricted or prohibited areas.
Given the nature of these security TFRs, you have a
very high likelihood of being intercepted (more on that later). While these violations are almost always innocent
mistakes, the assigned military and law enforcement units
cannot take that risk and must treat each one seriously and respond accordingly. This reinforces the need to increase
awareness of these TFRs and avoid them, especially if you
fly in an area where they are common.
A screenshot of the FAA's TFR website.
10 FAA Safety BriefingSeparation for a Cause
Another key driver of TFRs is to separate aircraft from
hazards, potential hazards, emergency response, or system
issues. Disaster areas are a common reason for a TFR,
and they may represent not only a direct hazard to safety
but also a hazard to the first responders in the air and on
the ground. The hazard doesn’t need to be a large-scale disaster; it could be something smaller, like a local police
department using drones or helicopters for law enforce-
ment operations, or a missing persons search. In addition to TFRs in some emergency response situations, the FAA
may employ Airspace Coordination Areas (ACA) to
coordinate beyond normal TFR boundaries. An ACA is
an advisory for very specific circumstances — a heads up
about an unusual situation and/or congestion that pilots should be aware of. An ACA does not restrict airspace but
provides pilots important guidance.
Space operations, which are covered by section 91.143,
are another increasingly common reason for TFRs. The rapid growth of the commercial space industry has led to
a massive increase in the number of space launches from
12 in 2014 to 157 in 2024, which in turn leads to more,
much-needed TFRs. The development of new space launch systems is extremely complex and technically challenging.
The FAA works to lower the impact of these operations
on the larger aviation community (see Let’s Give ’ em Some
“Space” from our May/Jun 2023 issue at bit.ly/44FsnIy), but there are safety risks from allowing non-participating aircraft too close to space operations. The FAA may also designate
Debris Response Areas (DRA) to protect aircraft from potential debris falling from spacecraft during launch. These
are generally only activated if there is an anomaly during the
launch and end once the debris has fallen to Earth.
Emergency air traffic rules covered by section 91.139 are
restrictions that pertain to the FAA being unable to operate the air traffic control system. This would be in response to
an emergency situation or condition and would be issued
with immediate effect. When normal flight operations consistent with the required levels of safety could be con-
ducted, this would sunset.
All of these are examples of TFRs that are designed
to keep you and other participants safe by keeping you
apart. But with the nature of the circumstances that give
rise to some of these TFRs, you may find yourself unin-
tentionally stumbling into one of these areas, and possibly A little prevention goes a
long way towards warding off
TFR entanglements.
(Civil Air Patrol photo)
July/August 2025 11
LEARN MORE
AC 91-63D, Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) and Flight Limitations
bit.ly/AC91-63D
TFR website
tfr.faa.gov“Give’ em Some Space” – FAA Safety Briefing, May/Jun 2023
bit.ly/44FsnIyFlight Service
1800wxbrief.comNorth American Aerospace Defense Command’s GA webpage
norad.mil/General-Aviationeven intercepted by government aircraft. In that case, you
should follow the published intercept procedures in the
Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) section 5-6-13
(bit.ly/AIM5613). Regardless of whether it’s a separation or security TFR, you may be intercepted if you violate the
protected airspace.
Enjoying a Tangle-Free Life
No one likes getting a phone number to call after a flight, much less an unscheduled air show with you as the show
center. To avoid situations like these, let’s break things down
into two layers that I’ll call strategic awareness and tacti-
cal avoidance. Strategic awareness is predicated on a more
general awareness of your environment. Looking at the kind of events or installations mentioned above, consider how they
interface with your flights. For example, is there an active
spaceport near you? This used to be largely limited to people in Florida or California, but in the last few years, more and
more spaceports are conducting regular launches, and some
are co-located with airports. Another example would be
events or disasters in your area or along your common routes.
Where is the Super Bowl this year? Is there an active recovery operation from a storm that recently hit your area? These
and many other questions like them can prime your brain to
think about such things and flag them for later.
On the tactical avoidance level, you should keep those
strategic concerns in mind and apply them as part of your briefing and planning process. For example, if there is a
local spaceport, does it have a launch planned in the vicin-
ity of your flight, and can you reroute to avoid it? Is there a large event that you may want to plan around? In the case
of natural disasters, it’s important to remember that they
can have an impact on logistics and supplies like fuel. So,
planning a wide berth from such events can avoid TFRs
and improve your refueling stop experience.
When it comes to planning, the easiest way to avoid
entanglements is to use a system that employs official FAA data — most of the major electronic flight bag (EFB) and planning systems do. We can’t make specific recommen -
dations for a private service, but we can recommend using 1800wxbrief.com as the contract provider for FAA ’s Flight
Service. Another FAA resource is tfr.faa.gov. This site allows you to search by a number of criteria or to view a map of TFRs if you want to check your route of flight at a glance.
With our initial planning done, there are a few more
things we can do to decrease tangles. If you are instru-
ment rated, you can opt to fly IFR. In addition to reduc-ing airspace issues, you also get a chance to practice IFR
procedures. For VFR pilots, it’s a good idea to use flight
following when available. Using EFB systems may provide
additional support, but pilots should understand how the
features are implemented and what the update rate is. TFRs can pop up with little to no notice, which is why it is handy
to be in touch with ATC if possible.
No one wants to get intercepted. It’s stressful and poses a
risk to your pilot certificate and ratings as a rule. As we can see, a little prevention goes a long way towards warding off
entanglements. Working on our strategic awareness can in
turn inform our tactical avoidance and planning. The idea
isn’t to add any significant amount of effort to your plan-ning process but to help understand what kind of circum-
stances or events might trigger a TFR and let that “run in
the background” for when you are planning your flight. While TFRs may be a bigger part of aviation today, we also
have much better technology to help avoid them. The ulti-
mate goal is a safe, smooth, tangle free flight.
James Williams is an FAA Safety Briefing associate editor and photo editor. He is also a pilot
and ground instructor.
Two Air Force F-16 fighter jets from the District of Columbia Air National Guard practice intercepting a small Civil Air Patrol aircraft during a training exercise. (Civil Air Patrol photo)
12 FAA Safety Briefing
We’ve reached the midpoint of the year. How are your
New Y ear’s resolutions going? If you’re like most
people, you’ve likely drifted away from the good
habits you established in January and back into your old ways without even noticing. The same thing can happen
with the practices and procedures that keep us safe while flying. This gradual deviation from established safety proce-
dures and best practices — or safety drift — is a subtle foe.
Drifting Towards the Danger Zone
Safety drift slowly chips away at good habits and estab-
lished safety practices. It’s not usually caused by intentional
recklessness — rather, it results from small compromises
made over time. In his article “The Safety Space and
Practical Drift, ” Bob Baron, president and chief consultant
of The Aviation Consulting Group, describes safety as a continuum with baseline performance on the left, accidents
on the right, and a “safety space” in between. Pilots can
unknowingly drift across this space when factors like time pressure and overconfidence combine and allow compla-
cency to override safety norms. Let’s imagine a scenario
that illustrates how even the safest pilots can drift into the
danger zone without noticing.
Sean is a very safe pilot with thousands of flight hours
and a spotless record. Today, he’s flying to a business meeting on a tight schedule. He leaves home with just
enough time for a proper preflight, but traffic is bad. He checks his GPS and sees that the traffic will only add a few
minutes to his trip. It's not too bad; he might still make it.
Arriving at the airport a few minutes late, he starts his
preflight inspection. He decides to skip the checklist and do
it from memory. It will be okay — just this once. But deep down, he knows this is becoming a pattern. I’ll be fine, he
thinks. I’ve pulled it off every other time.
During takeoff, his stomach drops. The control wheel
won’t move aft. He doesn’t have time to wonder how
he could have forgotten to remove the control lock. He quickly tries to remove it on the go, but it seems to be
stuck. Time has run out. He aborts takeoff and crashes
through a fence, stopping just short of some trees. Realizing how close this call was, he wonders what went
wrong. How could such a seasoned pilot like him miss
something so basic?
The answer: complacency. Complacency is a feeling of self-satisfaction, often
without awareness of potential dangers. It creeps in grad-
ually, especially when everything seems to be going right.
General aviation pilots are especially vulnerable due to the routine and repetitive nature of many flights and a strong
reliance on positive past experiences. After all, “nothing’s
Subverting
Safety Drift
PROPER CHECKLIST USAGE
COMBATS COMPLACENCY
By Rebekah Waters
July/August 2025 13gone wrong in years” can lull even the most experienced
pilot into skipping steps.
Some factors that contribute to complacency include:
Repetition and routine: The more often we do some-
thing successfully, the more likely we are to believe we
can skip steps without consequence.
Familiarity bias: Long-term comfort with equipment
or procedures can reduce vigilance.
Success-based shortcuts: Repeatedly getting away with
unsafe practices reinforces the belief that such short-
cuts are “safe enough. ”
Cognitive overload or distractions: Time pressure, goal
fixation, “get-home-itis” or multitasking can lead to omissions and careless mistakes.
When complacency takes hold, pilots might ignore or
miss crucial steps in any phase of flight. This could include
not checking NOTAMs or conducting thorough weather
briefings; forgetting to set trim or flaps as required; or skip-
ping pre-landing checks.
If you’re thinking — this would never happen to me,
consider the old adage: If you think it can’t happen to you, it already has. We’ve all had those “just this one time” or
“everything worked fine last time” thoughts. If safety drift is inevitable, what can we do about it?
Combating Complacency
Complacency, in general, is a dangerous mindset, and in aviation, it can have deadly consequences. Enter check-
lists: aviation’s greatest defense against human error. The
widespread use of formalized checklists began after the
crash of a prototype Boeing B-17 on Oct. 30, 1935. The
pilots forgot to disengage the elevator gust locks, and the plane crashed during takeoff. This tragedy led directly to
the development of the first flight checklist — a structured
tool to ensure critical items aren’t missed during any phase of flight. Today, checklists serve several vital functions:
Standardization: Checklists ensure every safety step is
completed consistently, regardless of the pilot’s experi-
ence, fatigue, or distractions.
Memory aid: Even the best memory can fail under
pressure. Checklists provide a reliable backup.
Safety reinforcement: Checklists anchor pilots to a
systematic, methodical process.
Drift correction: Using checklists helps realign pilots
with established procedures, minimizing safety drift.
Basically, checklists are a fundamental part of flight
safety and your number one tool when it comes to combat-
ing complacency.
During preflight, a checklist ensures pilots inspect an
aircraft’s components and systems for proper operation and structural integrity and allows them to verify airworthiness.
On taxi and during flight, they help ensure the airplane
and engine are functioning properly and are configured
appropriately for each phase of flight. Checklists provide important structure to the things we check often, usually in
a prescribed order of priority. Bottom line: Checklist usage
is a sound and proven way to reduce errors and improve flight safety.
If your checklist use has been waning, pull them back
out and use them every time you fly, for every phase of
your flight. If you’re starting from scratch, consider review-
ing your aircraft’s Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH). It is likely to include checklists for preflight, engine start,
taxi, cruise, descent, landing, and shutdown. Go one step
further by developing personal check-
lists tailored to your flying habits,
environment, or aircraft quirks. The FAASTeam’s “ Advanced Preflight”
guide is an excellent example of this
(bit.ly/FAAST_pamphlets). Never rely solely on memory — even for tasks
you’ve done hundreds of times. The
importance of using physical checklists
cannot be overstated. As Jennifer Caron,
former copy editor of this magazine, puts it, “Checklists are your friends — use them!”
During preflight, a checklist ensures pilots inspect an aircraft’s components and systems for
proper operation and structural integrity. (Photo by Oscar Socarras)
bit.ly/FAAST_pamphlets
LEARN MORE
FAASTeam Notice: NOTC3401, A Check Up on Checklist Customization
bit.ly/3EOjpBv
FAASTeam Activities, Courses, Seminars & Webinars
bit.ly/47y9rOLAdvanced Preflight After Maintenance Factsheet
bit.ly/47B4u7S (PDF)Flying Proficiency in 57 Seconds, 57 Seconds to Safer Flying Video
bit.ly/FlyingProficiencyHighway to the Safety Zone
Safety drift is a slow process. But proper checklist prac-
tices get you back on the highway to the safety zone.
Incorporating checklists into a broader safety mindset is
essential. Training, mentoring, and ongoing education rein-
force the importance of discipline in safety. Programs like the
FAA ’s WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program provide pilots with tools to recognize hazards, manage risks, and ensure their
operations are the safest possible. Go to bit.ly/WINGSPPP to
learn more about this important safety resource.
Call To Action
Combating complacency and staying in the safety zone is everyone’s responsibility. At the General and Business
Aviation Safety Call to Action in early March, Acting FAA
Administrator Chris Rocheleau reminded us:
“Safety is a collective effort that requires constant,
proactive collaboration among all stakeholders. Compla-
cency is the enemy of safety, and we need to be vigilant
to address emerging risks before they become problems. ”
What steps can you take today to answer this call to action?Use the manufacturer’s checklists from your aircraft’s
POH and augment them with your own. Don’t take safety shortcuts — especially under pressure. Take time to reflect
on near-misses and learn from others’ stories. Revisit the
FAASTeam safety resources regularly.
If you’re still thinking “this doesn’t apply to me, ” con-
sider this story from FAA employee, Jean Hardy. Hardy is a commercial pilot and flight instructor with seaplane, instrument, and multiengine ratings who works for the FAA ’s Training and Certification Group in the General
Aviation and Commercial Division. She earned a Wright
Brothers Master Pilot award in 2024 for 50 years of safe
flight operations. Even Hardy is not immune to safety drift.
When asked about using checklists, she shared this story:
“I learned a valuable lesson about the importance of
checklists the hard way. I once forgot to remove the pitot tube cover on my Pitts S-1C. Missing that on my preflight meant I had no airspeed indication for the whole flight.
I really sweated the entire time, especially during the
landing. Landing a Pitts is like spitting on a hot griddle —
and with no airspeed indication? Terrifying. Never again
will I skip using a checklist!”
Everyone is susceptible to safety drift. Make checklists
your copilot, so you’ll always stay in the safety zone!
Rebekah Waters is an FAA Safety Briefing associate editor. She is a technical writer-editor in
the FAA’s Flight Standards Service.
14 FAA Safety Briefing
July/August 2025 15
It’s not uncommon for my teenage daughter to come
home from school and tell me that she “ate her AP
English presentation” or to reply with “it’s giving” when
I ask for her thoughts on my new shirt [insert confused emoji]. While we’re both technically speaking the same
language, the communication process breaks down when I can’t comprehend her feedback. If I can’t decipher what she
meant through context clues, I often have to ask follow-up
questions to make sure I understand. Typically, we have a good laugh about it (mostly her laughing at me) and con-
tinue with our day. And while it’s not the most efficient way
to communicate, the meaning eventually gets delivered,
and there are no consequences (besides my bruised ego)
because of our messaging mix-up. But the same cannot be said regarding aviation communication.
Vocabulary and mutual comprehension between the
sender and receiver during all the phases of flight are para-mount in aviation. So, let’s take a look at the basic elements
of aviation communication. And for those of you interested
in the translation, my daughter did well on her presenta-
tion and liked my outfit.
The Language of Aviation
Although English was made the common language of
world aviation in 1951, accidents and incidents where
communication was a contributing factor are still common
today. Even at the highest levels of proficiency in the flight
deck and air traffic control (ATC) facility, there can be
misunderstandings.
No nation speaks it, but all pilots and air traffic control-
lers must understand it — the language of aviation. The cockpit and ATC facility are complex systems characterized by numerous concurrently operating and interacting com-munication channels between people and between people
and machines/computer systems. Needless to say, there’s a
lot going on and many opportunities for misunderstand-ings. Air traffic controllers use voice over radio to commu-
nicate with pilots to fulfill their responsibility for maintain-
ing the safety and efficiency of air traffic. And pilots should follow the instructions and clearances issued by air traffic
(unless the instructions and clearances have potentially
negative occurrences and put the aircraft in danger).
Effective pilot-air traffic communication depends on
the appropriate use of aviation vocabulary
(i.e., phraseology per the Pilot/Controller Glossary,
(bit.ly/PilotControllerGlossary) by both pilots and air traffic controllers). To maximize the capacity of the communication channel while reducing the risk of mis-
understanding, pilots and controllers must use standard
aviation phraseology. When air traffic provides verbal
commands to the pilots, the pilots must repeat all instruc-
tions that could affect the aircraft's motion, such as altitude, speed, or direction instructions. This repetition
of the air traffic clearances by the pilot (readback) pro-
vides instant feedback to the controller that their message
has been understood and accepted. If not, the controller
should immediately correct any discrepancies the read-back reveals.
Messaging Mistakes
Communication errors in the cockpit can have serious consequences for flight safety and performance. They
can result from various factors, such as language barriers,
workload, stress, fatigue, noise, distractions, or lack of
How to Stay on Course and
Avoid Communication Complications
Cockpit ConvosCockpit Convos
By Nicole Hartman
16 FAA Safety Briefingstandardization. Here are a few of the most common com-
munication errors and how to avoid or mitigate them.
Language Issues
One of the most obvious sources of communication errors is the language barrier. Although English is the global aviation
language, it might not be the native tongue for all pilots.
This could lead to misunderstandings, misinterpretations,
or incomplete transmissions. Fluency in English is not a
requirement; however, pilots must be proficient in English as a “general spoken medium” (i.e., a specified level of vocab -
ulary and grammatical knowledge). To prevent language issues, you should use plain and clear language, avoid speak-ing too quickly, avoid slang or jargon, repeat or confirm
important information, and ask for clarification if in doubt. Phraseology Errors
Another common communication mistake is the incorrect
or inconsistent use of aviation vocabulary and phraseology.
Aviation Phraseology is the standardized set of words and
expressions used in aviation communication to convey
specific meanings and instructions. It is designed to reduce
ambiguity and enhance efficiency. However, some pilots and controllers may deviate from the standard aviation
phraseology, either intentionally or unintentionally, which
can create confusion or errors. Ironically, this can be a challenge for native English speakers who might become
complacent with their words. To avoid phraseology errors,
you should review the Pilot/Controller Glossary and never
use jargon or slang in air traffic communications. Regular
training and reinforcement of proper phraseology can also be valuable to maintain a safe and efficient communica-
tion environment. Check out the FAA ’s From the Flight
Deck video that explores some of the words and phrases
you might encounter when operating on the surface of
an airport or preparing to land (bit.ly/3FYZgFX). This
phraseology video is the highest viewed piece in the series,
garnering 50K views and highlighting the importance of
this topic.
Call Sign Confusion
Confusion or misidentification of call signs can also lead to communication issues. Call signs are the unique identifiers
assigned to each aircraft. They are essential for coordinat-
ing and managing air traffic. However, sometimes call signs
can be similar or identical, which can cause pilots or air
traffic controllers to respond to the wrong transmission or miss their own. To prevent call sign confusion, you should
use the full call sign when initiating a transmission, listen
carefully for your call sign, and report any call sign similar -
ity or duplication.
Readback Errors
Readbacks can also present a challenge. Readbacks are the verbal confirmations of instructions or information
received from controllers or other pilots. They are crucial
for ensuring mutual understanding and compliance.
However, sometimes pilots may forget, delay, or incorrectly
read back the information, which can result in non-com-pliance, deviation, or conflict. Sometimes you may simply
misunderstand what was said (perhaps due to pronun-
ciation, word stress, rhythm, or intonation). To avoid readback errors, you should always read back instructions
using the exact same words or information that affect your
flight. Use the exact words and phraseology stated by ATC,
and check for ATC acknowledgment. Y ou can refer to
Order JO 7110.65W for phraseology used by ATC (bit.ly/JO_711065).
July/August 2025 17
Expectation Bias
Y ou can increase how fast you hear and improve what you
understand if you know what to expect during a transmis-
sion. Air traffic instructions mostly consist of numbers
preceded by keywords that tell you what the numbers
mean. For example, "climb and maintain..." is always
followed by an altitude assignment. However, be careful that you’re not just hearing what you want (or expect) to
hear. Expectation bias is when a person’s prior knowledge
or expected outcome influences their resulting perceptions, interpretations, and decisions. Make sure you are actively
listening (i.e., listen to comprehend, don’t just wait for your
turn to speak) when receiving messages from air traffic
controllers, and don’t assume you know what they’re going
to say. Listening actively helps to ensure that you fully understand the intent of what is being said.
Interruptions and Distractions
Finally, interruptions and distractions pose significant risks to quality communication. Interruptions and distractions
are any events or factors that disrupt or divert your atten-
tion from the primary task of flying or communicating.
They can be internal or external, such as alerts, alarms,
checklists, passengers, weather, traffic, or personal issues. They can affect your ability to listen, process, or trans-
mit information effectively and accurately. To minimize
interruptions and distractions, you should prioritize and manage your tasks, use sterile cockpit procedures, and
avoid multitasking. Maintaining a focused communication
protocol and emphasizing concise exchanges are crucial to
mitigate these errors and enhance overall aviation safety.
Over
Communicating using slang might work for my daughter
and me at home, but casual dialect is “big yikes” (bad) for
effective communication between pilots and controllers.
By adhering to standardized phraseology and maintaining Commonly Misused Phrases
Copy vs. Roger "Copy" means you've received the message, not that you'll comply with the instruction. "Roger" means
you understand and will comply.
Traffic in Sight vs. Have it on TCAS "Traffic in sight" means you visually see the other aircraft, relieving the controller of separation responsi-bility. Saying "have it on TCAS" is not standard and can create confusion.
Say Again vs. Standby "Say again" is used when you don't understand the message and need it repeated. "Standby" means you're busy and can't respond immediately but will follow up.
Mispronouncing Numbers Using words like "nine" instead of "niner" can lead to confusion with "five." Similarly, using "double" or "triple" instead of pronouncing each digit separately can be misunderstood.
Failing to Acknowledge Frequency Changes Changing frequencies without acknowledging the instruction could leave the controller unsure if the pilot received the instruction, especially if the radio connection is lost.
LEARN MORE
Aeronautical Information Manual, Chapters 2 and 4
bit.ly/RadioComs
FAASTeam Radio Communications Phraseology and Techniques
bit.ly/CommsPhraseology “How to Talk Like a Pilot – The Basic Elements of Aviation, ” FAA Safety Briefing,
Nov/Dec 2025
bit.ly/437Mxgs
“The Importance of Speaking Plane-ly, ” FAA Safety Briefing, Mar/Apr 2025
bit.ly/44K0jXP
From the Flight Deck Live: A Pilot Phraseology Workshop
youtube.com/live/qwA2d2nOeg8
a clear, concise exchange of information, pilots and
controllers can work collaboratively to navigate the
complexities of modern airspace. Safe, efficient communi-
cation is a shared responsibility.
Nicole Hartman is an FAA Safety Briefing associate editor. She is a technical writer-editor in
the FAA’s Flight Standards Service.
18 FAA Safety Briefing
I’m a pushover for a good sandwich. Roast beef and Swiss
on a French baguette is my absolute go-to lunchtime
favorite. Of course, quality ingredients, proper con-
struction, and attention to detail matter when building the perfect sandwich. Skimp on any and you could easily wind
up with a sub-par sub.
While it may be a somewhat quirky comparison, build-
ing a good sandwich and conducting a safe flight share some common ground. Indulge my culinary comparison for a moment if you will.
The Bottom Slice
A sandwich without good bread is just, well … not really worth eating. The bottom slice is particularly important,
serving as the foundation for the rest of your sandwich.
Without it, you may very well have a soggy mess on your
hands. The same can be said for preparation when it comes
to flying. With a good foundation of diligent research and preparation, you’ll be maximizing your chances of having a
safe, efficient, and enjoyable flight.
Risk management is key to building a solid foundation
for a safe flight. Because every flight has some level of risk, it is critical that pilots are able to differentiate, in advance,
between a low-risk flight and a high-risk flight. Pilots must
also be able to establish a review process and develop risk mitigation strategies. A flight risk analysis tool (FRAT) is
an excellent way to accomplish all of this. A FRAT enables
proactive hazard identification, is easy to use, and can
visually depict risk. It is an invaluable tool in helping pilots make better go/no-go decisions and should be a part of
every flight.
What’s critical about a FRAT is that it allows you to
pause and review risk before the Hobbs meter starts
running and the pressure of getting on your way is already swaying you to proceed. Simply running a calculation in
your head might lead you to miss or severely underestimate
risks you could encounter. Our own personal biases can
also work against us, convincing us it’s ok to proceed on a
flight based on previous experience, e.g., “I was able to land just fine with an 18-knot crosswind last time. ” This nor -
malization of deviance can be deadly. A FRAT forces the pilot to instead document the assessment and calculate an actual score that is much harder to deny or cast aside. More
importantly, it lays the groundwork for managing risks
with proactive and recorded mitigation strategies.
So, what does a FRAT look like and how does it work?
FRATs come in different formats. Some might be simple app-based checklists, while others can be more detailed
software applications. The FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam)
has an online FRAT tool (bit.ly/FRAT_Tool) that considers
By Tom Hoffmann
ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS FOR RISK MANAGEMENT AND FLIGHT PERFORMANCEPack a Safety Sandwich
Before Every Flight
July/August 2025 19
27 different conditions you might encounter on a flight and
your ability to safely cope with them based on your individ -
ual skill and experience. Keep in mind that FRATs are not able to anticipate all hazards that might impact a particular
flight, but they do cover many common areas that can help
you get started in effective safety risk management. For example, it may ask you how much rest you’ve had, how
much time you’ve had in the aircraft, and what the weather
conditions are for your destination. Based on your answers, a total risk score is calculated. With many FRATs, your
score will fall into three risk categories: green (low), yellow
(medium), and red (high).Green Means Go: Or Does It?
With a clear in-the-green score, you might be tempted to blast off with unabated zeal. Not so
fast. A FRAT is not meant to make your go/no-go
decision for you. It is merely a tool to help you
plan your flight and think through a more complete range of hazards and risks. When using a FRAT, it’s a good idea to create numerical thresholds that trigger additional levels
of scrutiny prior to a go/no-go decision for the flight. For
example, a score that’s on the high end of the green scale may still warrant further analysis. Y ou should consider
what the highest scoring risks are and attempt to mitigate
those risks.
Yellow: Mitigation Needed
If your score falls in the yellow, try to mitigate some of the higher-scoring items. That might
entail waiting for the weather to improve or
switching to an aircraft you have more experience
with. If the score is still in the yellow, bring in the opinion of a designated “contact” person, such as a flight instructor or an FAASTeam Representative. They may be able to help
you think of ways to further mitigate some of the risks of
your flight.
Red: No-Go
If your score falls in the red zone, you should seriously consider cancelling the flight unless the
risks involved can be safely mitigated. It’s import-
ant not to allow the external pressures involved
with carrying on with the flight (e.g., attending your son’s graduation ceremony) to interfere with your go/no-go decision. Y ou (and your passengers) may be disappointed,
but it’s always better to be wishing you were in the air than
wishing you were on the ground!
Another common tool for preflight risk assessment is
the PAVE checklist, which covers:
• Pilot: The pilot’s physical and mental readiness.
• Aircraft: The aircraft’s condition and suitability for the
flight.
• EnVironment: Weather, terrain, and other external conditions.
• External Pressures: External factors like time con-straints or personal pressures that might influence
decision-making.
Many FRATs incorporate questions that cover PAVE
items, but it never hurts to use both. Employing risk
management tools like these systematically will ensure
you create a foundation of awareness and preparedness for
every flight.
An example of a numerical FRAT.
A FRAT enables proactive hazard identification, is easy to use, and can visually depict risk.
20 FAA Safety Briefing
The Middle Layer
Let’s get back to sandwich building as we’re now ready for
the meat of the matter, i.e., the flight itself. There’s no time
for baloney here. This is where we exercise our skills and
training as pilots to perform at our best while maintain-
ing a keen awareness of our environment. It’s critical to
monitor any changes to our flight and reassess any new hazards. Is there an unexpected change with the weather
at your destination? Is a stronger-than-expected headwind
cutting too closely into your fuel reserves? Do you notice your passenger becoming a bit air sick on their first flight
in a small plane? All of these factors should be considered
on an ongoing basis to ensure a smooth and safe outcome.
And just like sandwich fillings should complement each
other and be well balanced for optimum flavor, so should our inflight tasks and workload. Use technology where
it’s appropriate, but don’t let it consume too much of your
attention from what’s happening outside. Be sure to lever -
age the abilities of your passengers as well — they can help
to lighten your workload greatly by spotting traffic, access-
ing charts, or performing other inflight tasks. Using all the
resources at your disposal helps you focus on priority tasks
and work more efficiently.
The Top Slice
Before we dig into our sandwich, we have the final layer of bread to consider. The importance of this last step can easily be underestimated. In addition to keeping everything together (toasting helps), the top layer also provides a place to add your favorite condiment to enhance the flavor of
your culinary creation. We have a similar opportunity to
add some structural integrity and enhancements to our
flying during our postflight reflection. It’s easy to think
the flight is complete when the headsets come off and the wheels are chocked, but there are still some important steps
that’ll help you make the most of this and future flights.
A careful and honest reflection of your flight perfor -
mance can help you spot areas where you excelled as well as areas in need of some improvement. Think about what
types of challenges you faced and how you reacted. If
you’re able, try using a post-flight debriefing program, like
CloudAhoy or ForeFlight, to record and play back your flight. This will help you get a more complete picture of
your flying and where you might need some practice. For
example, you might see that your airspeed was too high on
some of your approaches or that your glideslope tracking
was a bit erratic. These programs can also “gamify” the learning process by scoring your maneuvers and allowing
you to share them with others.
Another important tool that allows general aviation
(GA) pilots to analyze and share their flight data is the National General Aviation Flight Information Database
(NGAFID). The FAA partnered with academia and indus-
try to create the NGAFID, which allows pilots to analyze
their own flight data from a wide variety of GA operations.
July/August 2025 21
2025 National General Aviation Awards
GeneralAviationAwards.com
Adam Boyd
Certificated Flight
Instructor of the YearSamuel “Beau” Hardison
Aviation Maintenance Technician of the YearJosselyn Slagle
FAASTeam Representative of the YearScan to watch
these remarkable
aviators share
their knowledge,
safety tips, and
experience.
bit.ly/2025GAA
GA Awards.indd 1GA Awards.indd 1 5/2/2025 5:27:44 PM5/2/2025 5:27:44 PMPilots equipped with avionics capable of recording flight
data can upload flight and engine data into NGAFID, e.g.,
data downloaded from a Garmin G1000.
Devices that record flight data, combined with the
NGAFID, offer an easy and free way for pilots to improve
their flying by visually analyzing flight performance
for trends and changes over time. Depending on your method of recording and collecting data, you can even
use the NGAFID to monitor for airworthiness and
maintenance concerns. Y et another benefit is the ability to compare your data to that of other operators in your class
or type of aircraft.
Note that all data collected from onboard avionics or
a flight data recorder is anonymous and de-identified to
other users and the FAA, so pilots can share their data without any fear of reporting or reprisal. Also note that
the NGAFID is managed by GA community members and
associations, not the FAA.
As part of the FAA ’s Aviation Safety Information
Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) system, NGAFID data also helps the FAA identify safety trends (both local and
systemic) and drive support of targeted safety strategies. Bottom line — your data is helping improve safety for the
entire aviation community. As of April 2025, the NGAFID had amassed nearly 2.6 million hours of flight activity from
more than 730 aircraft, with GA participation continuing
to grow. If you want to learn more about participating
with the NGAFID, go to ngafid.org. A recently added user
manual on the website can help you navigate how to use the system.
The Perfect Safety Sandwich
While I’ve used an admittedly playful comparison here, hopefully the act of solid sandwich building does transfer
into some helpful reminders on what it takes to plan and
execute a safe flight: a solid foundation (preflight planning
and risk mitigation), a quality filling (utilizing skills and
maintaining awareness throughout the flight), and a finish-ing layer (reflection) to properly assess performance and
strive for continuous improvement. These ingredients will
ensure your success in the air — and in the kitchen!
Tom Hoffmann is the editor of FAA Safety Briefing. He is a commercial pilot and holds an A&P
certificate.
22 FAA Safety Briefing
Editor's note: This article first appeared in the Nov/Dec 2019 issue of
FAA Safety Briefing.
Aviation never fails to deliver a powerful “not so fast”
lesson any time we think we’ve got something nailed.
Like many GA pilots, I got accustomed to being the
sole pilot on board. Most of my flying involved being alone
in the airplane or serving as pilot and flight attendant to
my non-flying passengers. I figured I was pretty adept at “single-pilot resource management” (SRM).
My moment of reckoning with the true challenges of
single-pilot operations came just after Thanksgiving one year. I had flown to coastal North Carolina to spend some
quality time with family and, since the weather forecast for
the return trip looked grim, I moved my departure time up
by several hours.
What could possibly go wrong?
First, I was in instrument meteorological conditions
(IMC) shortly after takeoff, but I figured I’ d soon be on top. In fact, I was in the soup for the entire flight.
The ETA conditions at my destination were forecast to
be marginal VFR. But Mother Nature doesn’t read fore-casts. There were many clues that this system was not
behaving as expected, but I still didn’t expect to hear a
pilot ahead report missing the approach to my airport. Things got very busy, starting with the controller’s request for me to “say intentions. ” There was no copilot or auto-pilot to help with basic flying tasks while I sorted through
charts and options. There was no GPS, except for the tiny
first-generation handheld I had recently acquired. I had never flown any of the approaches to Dulles, which was
my only viable option. I had never flown a holding pattern
“for real, ” but I had just copied instructions for holding in
no-kidding IMC. The workload was intense, and I knew it
would take a lot of focus and concentration.
When I was eventually cleared for the approach, I flew
with every bit of concentration and precision I could muster. I broke out of the clouds around 300 feet above
ground level and experienced the incredible “there-it-is!”
relief when I saw the brightly lit runway.
In the most basic terms, I passed the SRM test: I flew
single-pilot, single-engine IFR in IMC and landed without bending metal or rules. In the broader sense, though, there was plenty of room for improvement.
SRM Defined
The FAA Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2) calls SRM the art of managing all the resources, both
those onboard and those from outside sources, to ensure
a successful flight. It is about how to gather information,
analyze it, and make decisions. The pilot must be able to
Putting Single Pilot
Resource
Management
to WorkYOU NEVER ROAM ALONE!
By Susan K. Parson
competently perform a number of mental tasks in addition
to the physical task of basic aircraft control. These include:
• Situational awareness
• Task management
• Automation management
• Risk management
• The aeronautical decision-making (ADM) process
• CFIT (controlled-flight-into-terrain) awareness
The Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge also
offers an observation that became very real to me:
Learning how to identify problems, analyze the infor -
mation, and make informed and timely decisions is not as
straightforward as the training involved in learning specific
maneuvers. Learning how to judge a situation and “how to
think” in the endless variety of situations encountered while flying out in the “real world” is more difficult. There is no
one right answer in ADM; rather each pilot is expected to
analyze each situation in light of experience level, personal minimums, and current physical and mental readiness level,
and make his or her own decision.
That is no small challenge, especially for GA pilots whose
aeronautical experience may be limited. In my flight, which
involved an airplane with no automation, solid training pro-vided a firm foundation for task management and situational
awareness. But I would have been much safer with a struc-
tured approach for gathering and analyzing information for
both preflight and en route decision making.
SRM in Action
One of the most important things I lacked at the time was a set
of personal minimums that, given the soupy conditions at my
departure airport, would have kept me on the ground that day. But let’s say that you launch, like I did. The most valu-
able resources I had that day were external. I had been monitoring weather via an Automated Weather Observing
System (AWOS), but the pilot ahead of me on the approach
provided real-time information that made my divert-to-
Dulles decision pretty easy. While I didn’t need any special assistance from air traffic control (ATC), it was comfort-
ing to know that all the resources they offer were just one
transmission away.
If you have passengers with you, they can assist by
reading checklist items, watching for traffic, and listening to ATC radio calls. Y ou might also teach regular passengers to
assist with switching radio frequencies and basic program-
ming for moving map and multifunction displays. Internal resources also include checklists and verbal briefings.
Onboard equipment constitutes another important
resource. Today’s technology offers an incredible range of
information to assist with overall situational awareness,
navigation, weather information, and much more. The key is to know what information is available and how to access
it without diverting your attention from essential aircraft
control duties.
July/August 2025 23
24 FAA Safety Briefing
To apply the tenets of SRM in a structured way, the Pilot’s
Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge suggests regular eval-
uation of:
• Plan
• Plane
• Pilot
• Passengers
• Programming
The point of the
5P approach is not
to memorize yet another aviation acronym. Instead, you
might simply write these words on your kneeboard or add
a 5P reference to your checklist for key decision points
during the flight. Items to consider include:
Plan: Basic elements of cross-country planning: weather,
route, fuel, current publications, etc. Since any of these factors can change at any time, review and update the plan
at regular intervals.
Plane: Be proficient with all installed equipment
and familiar with performance characteristics and limitations. Monitor systems and instruments in order
to detect any abnormal indications at the earliest
opportunity.
Pilot: The IMSAFE checklist is a handy tool for identify-
ing hazards to your fitness for flight.
Passengers: Passengers can be a great help by performing
2025A PILOT PHRASEOLOGY WORKSHOPWATCH THE EVENTDid you miss the FAA’s Pilot
Phraseology Workshop in May?
Use the QR code to watch and listen to the
presentation. It covers common phraseology mistakes, important safety tips, and ways that pilots and controllers can work together to ensure clear, effective communication for safe takeoffs and landings.
www.faa.gov/flight_decktasks such as those listed above. Be mindful, though, that
passenger needs — e.g., physiological discomfort, anxiety,
or desire to reach the destination — can create potentially
dangerous distractions.
Programming: Electronic displays, moving map navi-
gators, and autopilots can reduce workload and increase
situational awareness. However, be mindful that the task of programming or operating this equipment can create a
dangerous distraction.
Whatever SRM approach you choose, use it consistently
and remember that solid SRM skills can significantly enhance the safety of “crew of you” flights.
Susan K. Parson was a former editor of FAA Safety Briefing. She is a general aviation pilot and
flight instructor.
LEARN MORE
FAA Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 2
bit.ly/AeronauticalKnowledge
FAA Risk Management Handbook
bit.ly/3Qbnmk0 FAA Safety Briefing, Sep/Oct 2019 (Checklist)
adobe.ly/2ZuWKnd“Your Safety Reserve, ” FAA Safety Briefing, Mar/Apr 2015
bit.ly/FAASB-MarApr15
This is the third of a three-part series explaining how the next generation
of unleaded aviation fuels may be authorized for use in specific engines
and aircraft.
This update provides information on the critical role of industry consensus
standards, such as those from ASTM International, to assist in the safe and
consistent production, distribution, and use of aviation fuels.
For more information, visit flyEAGLE.org/updates.
Q: Why is a consensus-based specification for a new unleaded avia -
tion fuel important to pilots and aircraft owners?
A consensus-based specification for a new unleaded aviation fuel undergoes a rigorous peer review of the required properties for the fuel and an assessment
of which test procedures must be applied to determine if the fuel meets the
requirements for its intended purpose. The specification is a governing doc-
ument that is used to assess the quality of the fuel and provides assurances
that it will perform in the aircraft as expected, regardless of where the fuel is purchased.
Industry consensus standards are developed by entities who bring
together representatives and experts in a given field and provide the framework to develop proposed standards with appropriate supporting data,
which is then reviewed, discussed, questioned, and ultimately agreed upon
by reaching consensus. If consensus is not reached, the issues are adjudicated
through an established process with all members of the group having the
opportunity to weigh in on the outcome.
Additionally, the consensus standards development process facilitates the
understanding and acceptance of a fuel across a broad range of aviation and petroleum stakeholders. During the development of the standard, and by reaching consensus, issues (beyond those of airworthiness considered by the
FAA as part of an applicant’s STC application) are surfaced and addressed by
the fuel sponsors. Examples include questions about the fuel’s fit for purpose,
fuel handling and storage characteristics, and cosmetic impacts on aircraft
that may not affect airworthiness, but are of interest to manufacturers, maintainers, and aircraft owners.
Q: Why are consensus standards important to aviation as a whole?
Consensus standards help provide consistency in fuel quality and compatibil-ity with existing infrastructure, facilitating a smooth transition to lead-free
aviation gasoline.
Several stakeholder organizations are directly involved in making the
business and financial decisions to take on the responsibility and risks of
deploying a brand-new fuel. This includes decisions to produce the new fuel by bringing together petroleum and some new chemical compo -
nents per the fuel production specification; distributing the new fuel by transporting via road, rail, and barge infrastructure; storing the new fuel at various transportation connection locations and airports; dispensing
the new fuel into customer GA aircraft ensuring safety and compliance for aircraft and personnel; and providing maintenance and manufacturer continued operational safety, technical, and warranty support. These are
marketplace decisions that must be made by several different stakeholder
businesses that are not related to FAA issuance of a TC, STC, authorization,
or any other approval. Just as FAA must have the information necessary to determine compliance with 14 CFR part 23 airplane and part 33 engine
airworthiness requirements to make its approval decision, producers,
distributors, fixed base operators (FBOs), airports, and engine/aircraft manufacturers require an adequate understanding of a new fuel to make
business decisions on the risks of deployment.
Without consensus standards, each company in the supply chain would
need to individually review testing data and the specifications derived from
that data. This approach is costly, time-consuming, and lacks the benefits of broad industry subject matter expert peer review, input, and oversight.
A successful transition to a new unleaded fuel requires broad acceptance
across the aviation and petroleum industries and relies on rigorous testing,
stakeholder collaboration, and the establishment of robust specifications.
Q: How do industry consensus standards assist in fuel safety and
reliability throughout production and distribution?
Fuel production, distribution, storage, and handling parameters are set by
multiple consensus standards developed through a thorough analysis by
leading experts. These standards, along with industry-supported consensus
specifications, provide confidence in the fuel's composition, properties, and
quality throughout production, distribution, and delivery to the aircraft.
New fuels must be tested not only for engine compatibility but also
for their interactions with materials used throughout the supply chain, including hoses, filters, gaskets, and other fuel system components.
Materials compatibility evaluation serves as due diligence in helping to ensure that fuels do not degrade or contaminate equipment used in
transportation and storage.
Consensus standards can help minimize risks for pilots, aircraft owners,
airports, fuel distributors, and fixed-base operators (FBOs), and help to ensure
that unleaded aviation fuels maintain their integrity from manufacture to aircraft. They also provide a framework for mitigating operational risks, so
that new fuels can be used safely in both existing and newly developed
fueling infrastructures.
Q: What is ASTM International, and what role does this organization
play in the introduction of new unleaded aviation fuels?
ASTM International, an independent, non-government organization, is
a globally recognized standards development body that establishes and
manages technical specifications for a wide range of products, including
aviation fuels. Founded in 1898, ASTM brings together experts from various
industries to create and maintain standards that ensure product quality,
safety, and performance. In aviation, ASTM plays a key role in developing THE ROLE OF INDUSTRY CONSENSUS STANDARDS IN THE APPROVAL AND USE OF
UNLEADED AVIATION FUEL (Part 3)SUMMER 2025 UPDATE
THE PATH TO UNLEADED AVGAS
July/August 2025 25
voluntary consensus standards for aviation fuels, including unleaded avgas,
as well as motor gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and biofuels.
The ASTM standard development process is a collaborative effort
that includes developers, refiners, manufacturers, aircraft and engine
producers, distributors, equipment makers, providers, and users. The
process provides opportunities for chemists and engineers to review the
data that supports either modifications to an existing standard or the development of a newly proposed standard. The review process allows
for challenges to be raised and discussions to be held, facilitating the
development of a standard that is relevant and technically sound with regard to fuel production, performance characteristics, and compatibil -
ity with existing aircraft and the fuel distribution infrastructure. These rigorous assessments are there so that, if the final specification is met,
they will promote safe production of the fuel.
For pilots and aircraft owners, an ASTM fuel production specification —
“ASTM spec” — provides assurances that modifications to an existing spec or to a proposed unleaded fuel specification have been rigorously reviewed in
the context that it can be consistently manufactured and supplied to the end user. ASTM specs also help maintain fuel consistency, reduce potential main-
tenance issues, and protect aircraft engines from incompatibility concerns.
Q: Where else is an ASTM specification found?
Just about every fuel available for purchase today — even outside aviation
— has an ASTM specification, including:
• aut omobile gasoline and ethanol
• tr uck diesel and biodiesel
• home hea ting oil
• kerosene
• jet fuel
• 100LL A vgas • UL94 A vgas
• UL91 A vgas
Further, many regulatory bodies incorporate ASTM standards by reference.
Read the ASTM D910-21 Standard Specification for Leaded Aviation Gasolines
at astm.org.
Q: Does using the consensus standard process take longer than
developing a producer-developed standard?
The consensus process provides data and understanding about a fuel’s com -
position, performance, other important properties, and specific test methods
to measure those properties for peer review. Peer review includes subject
matter experts in fuels development, chemistry, test methods, production,
distribution, aviation manufacturers, and end users.
The peer review process is a vital step because it provides the opportunity
for any stakeholder to review data, ask follow-up questions, and request additional data to allow for a better understanding of a brand-new fuel. It
also provides the opportunity to express confidence and acceptance through a voting process to adopt a new fuel production specification.
A consensus standard can take longer to complete than a producer-devel-
oped standard. There are multiple reasons for this, including:
• T he time it takes to develop a successful standard is determined largely by
the sponsor’s ability to supply appropriate data to support their proposed standard and how thorough and responsive they are to addressing ques -
tions and issues raised through the balloting process.
• C onsensus requires an open and transparent discussion of the data that
supports the proposed change to an existing standard or a newly proposed standard.
• T here is an adjudication process that allows an individual to raise a concern
for consideration by the entire body of volunteers. If the concern is deemed relevant, it must be addressed to the satisfaction of the consensus body.
26 FAA Safety Briefing
Experience a New Level of Safety #ADSB
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
WWW.FAA.GOV/GO/EQUIPADSBVisit the Equip ADS-B Website to:
• Find out if your ADS-B Out equipment is working properly
• Review the top five things pilots should know about their
ADS-B system
• Learn more about the FAA’s Privacy ICAO Address program• See aircraft equipage levels by category• Report an issue with TIS-B, FIS-B, or other aspect of the
ADS-B system
Produced by FAA Communications | 2023-AJM-012
July/August 2025 27
CHECKLIST FAA resources and safety reminders
JAMES WILLIAMS
THE SCALE PROBLEM — HOW SMS CAN WORK FOR GA
“That doesn’t apply to me. ” This is a
favorite retort when trying to avoid
seemingly unnecessary work. We’ve all
said it. I know I have — many times. My
initial response to safety management
system (SMS) was the same impulse. But over time, as I’ve learned more,
I've come to appreciate the connection
between general aviation and SMS. I always saw SMS as something fit for
large operators like airlines or charter
companies. When reading the earlier
academic guidance on SMS, it seemed
like the scale was a nonstarter for your average general aviation (GA) pilot.
When you’re the line pilot, chief pilot,
director of training, director of safety, and CEO all in one, it can make you
feel like you are too small for such
a system. But the scalability of SMS
solves this problem. SMS has four key
components: safety policy, safety risk management, safety assurance, and
safety promotion. I can feel many of
your rolling eyes across time and space,
but I assure you, SMS can work for you.
Downsizing
The four components of SMS are
designed to be more of a concept than a detailed process. The idea
isn’t for the average GA pilot to have
the same process as an airline; it is
to maximize the resources that you
do have by providing a framework. That framework can be updated and
revised to meet current challenges
and learn from previous experiences.
Let’s look at each component and
how it could be implemented in our more austere environment.
Safety policy can be as simple as
a statement of intent, some basic processes, and a set of personal min-
imums. Just writing down what you
normally do would be a good baseline to start from. Y ou’ d be surprised how
much the process of writing things
out reinforces their effectiveness. But with these simple documents
in hand, we can move to the next
component. Safety risk management puts the safety policy into action. Y ou
compare the current (and forecast)
conditions against your personal
minimums and preferably record that
for the next component. Y ou use your processes in conjunction with estab-
lished checklists to provide consistent
performance. Safety assurance is
about making sure the other compo-
nents are working within your SMS. Did your last flight have any issues?
Were there any issues with the policy
or the application of the policy? This feedback is a critical component of
SMS. SMS is a living process. It adapts
to changing conditions and circum-
stances. This is where the final com-
ponent, safety promotion, comes in.
While the first three components
form a closed cycle, safety promotion functions in and around all the steps. Y our safety analysis will likely create
some insights that might be applicable
to more pilots out there, and those
pilots will likely have other insights
you could benefit from. Sharing insights and outcomes from your
SMS with other pilots and hearing
from them allows you to crowdsource
your safety. And this is an excellent
example of safety promotion.
Making it Practical
Free online tools like Google’s
Workspace applications can help you
automate the process of creating and
collecting data. These online tools can
also make it easier to share your systems
and processes. This allows for rapid iteration between you and other users to find flaws or improvements. It also gives you a larger data pool to find issues
faster. This can be especially useful in
environments like type clubs or flying clubs, where similar equipment allows
for good comparisons. For a great
example of this, check out the article
“New Y ear, New (Safer) Operations”
from our Jan/Feb 2024 issue.
As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a
day, and your SMS won’t be either. But you can lay the foundations in an hour or two. Don’t worry about it being
perfect. Perfection is an awesome goal,
but our more immediate objective is
to keep improving every flight. Y our
personal SMS is a great framework for that. Improve your flight, improve
your SMS, improve your flight, and so
on. Soon it will be second nature, and you’ll wonder why you thought it was
such a big hassle.
James Williams is an FAA Safety Briefing associate editor
and photo editor. He is also a pilot and ground instructor.
LEARN MORE
FAA’s SMS webpage
faa.gov/about/initiatives/sms
“New Year, New (Safer) Operations, ”
FAA Safety Briefing, Jan/Feb 2024
bit.ly/4jGejq6 AC-120-92D, Safety Management Systems for
Aviation Service Providers
bit.ly/AC120-92D
28 FAA Safety Briefing
DRONE DEBRIEF drone safety roundupREBEKAH WATERS
DO YOU HAVE A PREFLIGHT CHECKLIST FOR YOUR DRONE?
As this column has established many
times, if you fly a drone, you are a pilot.
And a pilot’s number one job is safe
operations in the National Airspace
System (NAS). But did you know that
safety begins before your drone even leaves the ground? Traditional pilots
are required to complete a preflight
check every time they fly. Remote pilots are encouraged to do the same.
Let’s take a look at what a preflight
checklist is, why you should use one,
and how you can develop your own.
A preflight checklist is a list of
tasks to complete before a flight to ensure the aircraft and pilot are safe
and ready for takeoff. Paying close attention to a preflight checklist slows
you down and helps you focus so
you don’t miss important steps. This
important tool helps reduce human
error and combat complacency. Developing and consistently using a
good preflight checklist helps prevent
accidents and is an important part of
successful drone operations.
While it doesn’t require the use of a
checklist, 14 CFR section 107.49 does require drone operators to conduct a
preflight inspection. This inspection
includes tasks like assessing the oper -
ating environment, including local
weather, airspace restrictions, and
ground hazards, as well as ensuring
that control links are functioning properly, power is sufficient, and
payloads are secure. Manufacturers
may also provide preflight inspection procedures. Even if you don’t operate
under part 107, a preflight inspection
is a necessary step to ensure a safe
flight and make sure you don’t miss
any important steps.
Chapter 7, section 3, of Advisory
Circular 107-2 provides more guid-ance for developing and using a
preflight checklist and lists 23 items
that should be included in a pre-flight inspection. For the purposes of
this article, I’ve broken it down into
three categories: structural integrity, system functionality, and environ-
mental considerations. The struc-
tural integrity portion of a preflight
checklist should focus on the physical
condition of your drone to ensure structural soundness and mechanical
functionality. This includes looking
for wear or damage on the airframe and undercarriage, checking the
propulsion system and propellers, and
making sure registration markings
are displayed and legible. The system
functionality portion ensures that your drone's electronic systems are functioning correctly. This includes
verifying you have adequate power, a
functional display panel, and control link functionality. The third portion
of a good checklist, environmental
considerations, addresses external factors like weather, obstructions, and
airspace. This also includes checking
for people below or aircraft in your
planned operating area. For a detailed
look at this list, you can review the AC at bit.ly/SmallUAS.
A comprehensive preflight check-
list is a handy addition to your safety toolbox. For more ideas on what to
include in yours, look for any rec-
ommended preflight checks in the
manufacturer's operating manual that
came with your drone. Developing your checklist is only step one. Step
two is using it every time you fly. No
matter the size of the aircraft or the
type of operation you are conducting,
a preflight checklist helps you fly safer.
Rebekah Waters is an FAA Safety Briefing associate
editor. She is a technical writer-editor in the FAA’s Flight
Standards Service.
A COMPREHENSIVE PREFLIGHT
CHECKLIST IS A HANDY ADDITION TO YOUR SAFETY TOOLBOX.Drone pilots in Alaska preflight their drone before an operation.
July/August 2025 29
NUTS, BOL TS, AND ELECTRONS GA maintenance issuesREBEKAH WATERS
COMBATING MAINTENANCE NORMS
“Never mind the maintenance
manual. My way is quicker. ” How
many times have you thought this?
It might have been what the main-
tainers were thinking when they
used a forklift to support the engine and pylon on a DC-10, rather than
successively accessing and detaching
them, as they were performing main-tenance. During the procedure, the
forklift’s hydraulics leaked and had to
be adjusted from time to time. These
conditions caused a drift down of one
inch per 30 minutes and resulted in a cracked flange in the engine pylon
assembly that was not discovered
before the next flight. The damage resulted in a crash on May 25, 1979,
that killed 271 people aboard the
aircraft and two on the ground. This
tragedy is a harsh reminder of the
dangers of norms.
In the context of “The Dirty
Dozen, ” norms are a group's way of doing a job “better” than the pub-
lished procedure. It could be con-
sidered tribal knowledge, unwritten rules enforced by the group, peer
pressure, or habit. These unwritten
rules of behavior considered accept-able by the group are meant to gain an
advantage or efficiency. People tend
to develop norms to solve problems
that seem to have ambiguous solu-
tions. Expectations also contribute to norms. This could be expectations
that pressure the maintainer to cut
corners and work quicker. But norms can also develop when positive expec-
tations aren’t effectively established
or communicated.
Norms can be positive or negative.
Positive norms that safely improve a process or procedure should be
analyzed and, if no adverse con-
sequences or regulatory issues are identified, added to an official process
or procedure. Negative norms, as the
name suggests, have a negative impact on an organization. They tend to be
ineffective in the long run and lead to
dangerous errors and risk. Examples of negative norms include things like
working without using a maintenance
manual, signing for work not done to
get the aircraft out in time, or having
a “that’s how things are done around here” attitude. Negative norms must
be actively stamped out.
Combating norms is everyone’s
responsibility. This starts with building a safety-first culture. Step
one is to identify your norms. This
is harder than it sounds. Norms are
so comfortable — so ingrained in the culture — that you might not even know they exist. Next, assess your norms. This must be an honest
assessment. If there is a problem,
admit it. Reporting systems are an
important part of this. Make a com-
mitment. Adhere to a just culture that promotes reporting. Always
follow the instructions. If the instruc -
tions are clunky and a workaround
works better, report it. It can be hard
to change procedures, but in the long
run, it’s worth it!
Just because something has become
a norm doesn’t make it right. It’s important to assess and correct norms
often. Walk the talk. Be a positive
influence in the fight against norms.
It can take courage to stand up to the
group and point out that their norm violates the rule or published proce-
dure. But your courage could save lives.
Rebekah Waters is an FAA Safety Briefing associate
editor. She is a technical writer-editor in the FAA’s Flight
Standards Service.
LEARN MORE
“See a Safety Issue? File a NASA Report, ”
FAA Safety Briefing, May/Jun 2023
bit.ly/49NJN8N
POSITIVE NORMS THAT
SAFELY IMPROVE A PROCESS OR PROCEDURE SHOULD BE ANALYZED AND, IF NO ADVERSE
CONSEQUENCES OR REGULATORY
ISSUES ARE IDENTIFIED,
ADDED TO AN OFFICIAL PROCESS OR PROCEDURE.
30 FAA Safety Briefing
VERTICALLY SPEAKING safety issues for rotorcraft pilotsLEAH MURPHY
VERTICAL SAFETY DRIFT
Historically, helicopter operations have
developed a reputation for being high-
risk with limited safety intervention.
While these operations are complex
by nature and typically offer limited
margins for error, the United States Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) has
identified safety enhancements that,
when implemented, can avoid hazard-ous outcomes.
In the air tour industry, safety is
paramount, but there are often chal-
lenges caused by high workload, time
pressures, and public expectations. Implementing a safety management
system (SMS) in these operations
offers significant benefits. An effec-tive SMS goes beyond compliance;
it creates a proactive safety culture
where hazards are continuously iden-
tified, analyzed, and mitigated.
For air tour operators, institut-
ing an SMS helps standardize risk assessment procedures, reinforces
accountability, and ensures that
safety is not left to individual discre-
tion alone. It encourages front-line pilots to report concerns without
fear of reprisal and gives manage-
ment the tools to track and respond to emerging trends before they lead to incidents. For example, routine use of preflight risk assessment forms can flag when operational
pressures are influencing go/no-go
decisions, or when pilots are rou-tinely accepting marginal weather.
Even in well-intentioned operations,
a phenomenon called safety drift can
gradually erode safe practices. Safety
drift occurs when unsafe behaviors, like stretching minimums or skipping
steps, are repeated without immediate
consequences and eventually become
routine. Over time, this normalization
of deviance puts crews at serious risk.
To combat safety drift, helicopter
operators should emphasize sce-nario-based training. Unlike tradi-tional training that focuses on rote
procedures, scenario-based training
immerses pilots in realistic scenarios,
encouraging active decision-making
and judgment. Simulation is a key part of this effort. Simulators allow
pilots to experience mistakes safely,
learn from them, and rehearse better responses. Pilots can be put in realistic
operational situations that provide
pilots opportunities to practice skills
or scenarios otherwise too risky to
perform in the helicopter. Performing
emergency proce-
dures in a simulator,
such as low altitude
auto-rotations,
night vision goggle operations in low
illumination, and
unintended flight into instrument
meteorological
conditions, gives
the pilot and
instructor a safe environment to
learn and respond. Scenario-based learning helps pilots
build cognitive tools to make sound decisions in high-stress environments.
One of the most critical aspects
of flight operations is the go/no-go decision, where internal ambition,
external pressure, or mission urgency
can cause even experienced pilots to
stretch safety limits. When safety drift
creeps in, these decisions become increasingly risky and harder to rec-
ognize as flawed. Through repetitive
training on how to assess weather,
aircraft performance, and operational
limitations, pilots build the confi-dence to say “no” when needed, even
if it’s inconvenient or unpopular. A
conservative mindset does not mean flying less; it means flying smarter,
and with a greater margin of safety.
When combined with the struc-
tured support of an SMS, these lessons
become institutionalized rather than optional. The result is a healthier
safety culture where every go/no-go
call is treated with the care and gravity it deserves.
Leah Murphy is a dual-rated flight instructor and helicopter
air ambulance pilot. She is also an FAA Safety Team Repre -
sentative in Cleveland, Ohio.
LEARN MORE
Overview of SMS
bit.ly/faasms
AC 120-92D, Safety Management Systems for
Aviation Service Providers
bit.ly/AC120-92D
Master Your Mission in a Sim First
Video (The Rotorcraft Collective)
bit.ly/44UNn1a
Just Say No! Video (The Rotorcraft Collective)
bit.ly/437KKH1
Check out our GA Safety
Facebook page at
Facebook.com/groups/
GASafety .
If you’re not a member, we encourage you to join the group of nearly 17,000 participants in the GA community who share safety principles and best practices, participate in positive and safe engagement with the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam), and post relevant GA content that makes the National Airspace System safer.
July/August 2025 31
letters from the FAA Safety Briefing mailbagFLIGHT FORUM
Lose the Laser
The FAA recently shared a story on LinkedIn from a
pilot who was the target of a laser strike (LinkedIn.com/company/faa). Pilots were supportive and quick to share their own experiences with lasers.
It was not a funny experience. I was
lasered for only a blink of time, and it totally blinds you if it enters the wind-shield at a precise and undesirable angle.
— JoseI was lasered in the eye when I was a crew
member on a military training flight. It was not fun getting medical checkups and optometry tests for three days.
— Josh
Having endured several laser events, I
can tell you that they aren't fun. One was quite upsetting, and fortunately, we had just enough warning to duck behind the cockpit structure. In another case, the offender wasn't good at aiming.
— William
Learn about the penalties a perpetrator
can face and how to report a strike at bit.ly/4c4Vhqt.
Treasured Takeoffs
The article “National Treasures” in the Mar/Apr issue (bit.ly/4bEUwnV) high-lighted some of the U.S. ’s hidden gem general aviation airports. Some readers expressed their appreciation for the spotlight on the locations, shared some of their own experiences, and added their own “treasures. ”
Great subject and a nice thought, but
unfortunately, a glaring omission. Scores of GA airports across Alaska are the true backbone of aviation there, and the pipeline to see vistas all of the others put together can’t match.
— Howard
Great article. I am not sure if you are aware
of the pavement condition at Furnace Creek Airport. It has deteriorated to the point that it may be best used by backcountry aircraft. The National Park Service would do well to invest some money and repave this airport and the other paved airport in Death Valley, Stovepipe Wells. I would think that it would allow more visitors to travel to the park and enjoy the lodging near both air -
ports. I am glad I had the opportunity to fly to both of these airports a few years ago. I would not consider it now because of safety and potential aircraft damage concerns.
— Ted
Time to get busy and visit this good
selection of airports! I've been to Sedona, BQ1 of barbeque fame, Cedar Key, and Big Creek. All were memorable.
— Rankin
Love this spotlight on the unsung heroes
of aviation!
— Bluefin Aviation Services
Tire-iffic Tips
Great article [bit.ly/3Y286vS]! Aircraft
tires endure extreme stress during landing and takeoff, making proper maintenance essential for safety. Regular inspections, correct inflation, and proper storage not only extend tire life but also prevent critical failures. A small oversight in tire mainte-nance can lead to significant risks. Thanks for sharing this important reminder!
— Hafiz
Hi Hafiz, thank you for reading and
reaching out! Y our comments inflated
our mood, and we’re pumped that you
found the information valuable 😉.
For more stories and news,
check out our blog “Cleared for Takeoff” at medium.com/FAA.
Let us hear from you! Send your
comments, suggestions, and questions
to SafetyBriefing@faa.gov. You can also reach us on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @FAASafetyBrief.
We may edit letters for style and/or
length. Due to our publishing schedule, responses may not appear for several issues. While we do not print anony-mous letters, we will withhold names or send personal replies upon request. If you have a concern with an immediate FAA operational issue, contact your local Flight Standards District Office or air traffic facility.
32 FAA Safety Briefing
ON FINAL
SITUATIONAL SAVVY
As part of the FAA ’s recent focus on
enhancing general aviation safety, we
are reminding pilots to make use of all
available tools and resources during
pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight
activities. A dedicated webpage at faa.gov/GA-action conveniently lists
many of these resources, along with
highlighting some recent actions the FAA is taking to improve safety,
like the agency’s support of AOPA ’s
National Pause for Safety campaign
at gasafe.org. It’s a thorough list, and I
recommend pilots do have a look.
But when it comes to enhancing
situational awareness, there’s one resource that truly stands out — the “From the Flight Deck” (FTFD)
video series. Now in its fifth year
of production, this popular series
provides a front-seat point of view at
airports nationwide to help reduce mishaps. Using aircraft-mounted
cameras, the videos provide actual
runway approach and airport taxiway
footage. The videos also incorporate
diagrams and graphics to identify hot spots and point out other hazards
like potentially confusing intersec-
tions, the location of hold short lines, or unique attributes of the runway
safety area that pilots need to watch
out for at airports.
It's a game-changer in terms of
boosting awareness and something I absolutely wish I had during my flight
training. Having first-person familiar -
ity with a foreign airport is not only
safety-enhancing but also reduces the
anxiety of navigating new territory.
I find it helpful even with airports I
am familiar with, like the Manassas
Regional Airport (HEF) video (bit.ly/FTFD_HEF), which highlights
changes to more clearly mark the
location of Taxiway Bravo 4. Y ou don’t have
to take my word for the value these
videos offer. Here’s
a testimonial from a frequent user:
“Pilots are visual learners, and this reaches the
core of how they
learn, ” said Cary
Grant, an FAA
Safety Team representative
and aeronautical
science professor
at Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University’s Prescott Campus in Arizona. “I’m a big user
of the From the Flight Deck videos
for myself and for my students in lessons. To teach them without the
picture, it doesn’t really become a
learning experience like this. ”
There’s also a series of subject-spe-
cific videos that target areas like proper
phraseology, complex airfield geometry,
wrong surface/wrong airport landings,
and air traffic control instructions to hold short or line up and wait. Another
testimonial here highlights the value of
a weather-specific FTFD video:
“The Winter Weather Challenges
video (bit.ly/FTFD_Winter) is
a great one to show my students up here, ” said Mary Build, chief
flight instructor at Eastern Slope
Aviation Academy in Fryeburg,
Maine. “ As an instructor and
pilot, these videos are wonderful assets. ”
The series now has more than
140 videos (from Albuquerque to
Zamperini Field) and boasts an impressive one million-plus total views! But wait, there’s more. The
FTFD page also contains other safety
resources that can be useful preflight
planning tools, like pilot handbooks
for individual airports and Arrival Alert Notices. The handbooks
include information and tips from
the air traffic professionals who
know their airport layout thor -
oughly. They also include photos and
graphics to call out specific safety
challenges. The Arrival Alert Notices
use photos to give a firsthand view of the approach to an airport while
flagging potential wrong surface
issues. A data visualization on the
FTFD webpage at faa.gov/flight_deck
consolidates and makes it easy for pilots to find these airport-specific
safety products.
So, before your next flight, be sure
to let “From the Flight Deck” be your preflight partner. It’s a great way to
help you steer clear of any airport
surface issues and keep your flight
safely on track.
Tom Hoffmann is the editor of FAA Safety Briefing. He is a
commercial pilot and holds an A&P certificate.an editor's perspective
TOM HOFFMANN
Check out the full list of From the Flight Deck videos at faa.gov/flight_deck.
FAA FACESPAUL CIANCIOLOFAA employee profile
When Rune Duke was young, he
often asked his parents to take him to
nearby Detroit Metro Airport (DTW)
to watch the airplanes. Those trips
cultivated his interest in aviation, and
he began flight lessons in high school.
“I started flying when I was 16 —
just a few hours, but enough to get hooked and run out of the little money I had saved, ” he notes. “I picked it back
up when I was 22 with the help of the
GI Bill, and I haven’t stopped since. ”
Rune enlisted in the Army as an air
traffic control (ATC) specialist, where he talked to pilots in South Korea and
Alabama. Although he didn’t make
the military a career, Rune knew aviation was his passion. After the
Army, he earned a master’s from Emb -
ry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He then worked as an airport manager
at Rantoul National Aviation Cen-ter-Frank Elliot Field (TIP) in Illinois,
before joining AOPA as a director of
government affairs for airspace and air
traffic issues.
“When I joined the AOPA gov-
ernment affairs team in 2015, I was initially surprised and heartened at
the FAA ’s level of collaboration and engagement with industry. I had
opportunities to work closely with
different FAA offices on various
initiatives, ” Rune explains. “These
engagements showed me that the FAA was full of passionate aviation RUNE DUKE
Aeronautical Information Specialist, FAA’s Flight Procedures and Airspace Group
professionals who inspired me to want to join. ”
In 2020, Rune returned to public
service as an ATC specialist in the
FAA ’s Air Traffic Safety and Technical
Training office. He assessed changes to the National Airspace System (NAS) to
ensure safety impacts were identified
and mitigated before implementation. A year later, he served as an aeronauti-
cal information specialist and a senior
technical advisor in the FAA ’s Flight
Standards Service.
Now, Rune works for the Flight Pro-
cedures and Airspace Group, where he is responsible for policy related to
instrument flight procedure criteria and chart procedures.
“It’s a great team with diverse
backgrounds, including controllers,
pilots, and procedure designers, each
bringing extensive expertise to the challenges we are working on, ” he
elaborates. “Many of our projects
enable the safe and efficient facilitation
of advanced navigation capabilities in
the NAS. We are constantly improving our policy based on lessons learned. I
am proud to be part of a team passion-
ate about safety and delivering new procedures that promote safety and
efficiency for the flying public. ”
The group ensures safe and efficient
flight paths from takeoff to landing by establishing departure, en route,
arrival, and approach design as well as
obstacle clearance standards, criteria,
and policy for the NAS. They also
provide operational safety reviews
and support through obstruction evaluations, airport aeronautical
studies, airport airspace analyses, NAS
change proposals, and airport plan-ning. Working with industry is key to
a safer NAS, so the biannual virtual
public meeting about aeronautical
charting (see bit.ly/FAAACM) is vital
to the team.
As an avid pilot who stays engaged
and proficient by striving for a new rating every two years, Rune has a few tips for his fellow pilots on avoiding
becoming a statistic of safety drift.
1. Leverage technology in the cock-
pit. Practice with those tools before
flight and know when to focus out the window.
2. Be part of the community. Watch
videos, stay engaged, and learn about
changes and new opportunities.
3. Hit the books regularly. Especially
be on the lookout for regular changes to the Aeronautical Information Man -
ual (AIM).
4. Practice good aeronautical
decision making (ADM) and use a
personalized flight risk assessment tool
(FRAT).
“I continue to be inspired by my
colleagues’ dedication to the flying public and passion for safety, ” Rune
shares. “ And I am proud to collabo-rate with our NAS users who provide
invaluable feedback to help us refine
and improve our work, moving the
NAS forward safely. ”
Paul Cianciolo is an associate editor and the social media
lead for FAA Safety Briefing. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran
and an auxiliary airman with Civil Air Patrol.
LOOK WHO’S READING
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