Crew Resource Management questions.

67 crew resource management questions from the bank, ready to practice out loud.

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Closed loops and shared mental models Speaking up: graded assertiveness in the cockpit STAR and CARL: structuring your story Owning errors: reporting and the blame-free debrief Workload management and task shedding

All 67 questions

Disagreeing with captain on approachYou're a first officer and the captain is making a decision you disagree with on approach. Walk me through how you'd voice your concern.Authority gradient managementMid–senior

Captain repeatedly dismissing observationsWalk me through how you'd handle a captain who repeatedly dismisses your observations during the flight.Assertive communicationMid–senior

Briefing challenging weatherWalk me through how you'd brief an approach into challenging weather with a co-pilot you've never flown with.Shared mental modelMid–senior

Redistributing tasks during overloadWalk me through how you'd redistribute tasks when your co-pilot is overloaded mid-descent.Workload distributionMid–senior

Missed co-pilot errorWalk me through how you'd handle a moment you realized a co-pilot made an error you should have caught earlier.Error recovery cultureSenior–leadership

Captain flying near operational limitsWalk me through how you'd handle a captain who's flying near limits but technically within them.Authority gradient managementSenior–leadership

Cabin crew report contradicting instrumentsWalk me through how you'd respond to a cabin crew report that contradicts what you see on the instruments.Assertive communicationMid–senior

Detecting misaligned mental modelsWalk me through what you do when you and the captain are silent and you suspect you have different mental models.Shared mental modelMid–senior

Managing multiple tasks during abnormalWalk me through how you'd handle a situation where you're handling radio, navigation, and an abnormal at the same time.Workload distributionMid–senior

Debriefing crew after near-missWalk me through how you'd debrief a crew after a near-miss in a way that preserves the learning.Error recovery cultureSenior–leadership

Inviting challenges when fatiguedWalk me through how a captain should invite challenges from junior crew, especially when fatigue is high.Authority gradient managementSenior–leadership

Responding to deferred concernsWalk me through how you'd respond to a captain who tells you 'we'll talk about it on the ground' when you have a concern in flight.Assertive communicationSenior–leadership

Recovering shared awareness mid-flightWalk me through how you'd recover when a long flight has eroded shared awareness between you and the co-pilot.Shared mental modelSenior–leadership

Planning workload for arrivalWalk me through how you'd plan workload for a particularly challenging arrival before pushback.Workload distributionMid–senior

Reporting unnoticed self-errorsWalk me through how you'd report a self-identified error in the cockpit that no one else noticed.Error recovery cultureSenior–leadership

Challenging unsafe SOP deviationsWalk me through how you'd handle a captain whose decision violates SOP but they argue is safer.Authority gradient managementSenior–leadership

Asserting experience under authorityWalk me through how you'd assert yourself when you're the more experienced pilot but the line captain has authority.Assertive communicationSenior–leadership

Reconciling ATC and planned approachWalk me through how you'd handle a moment where ATC instructions and your planned approach diverge.Shared mental modelMid–senior

Assuming pilot-flying in non-normalWalk me through how you'd handle suddenly being designated pilot-flying in a non-normal situation.Workload distributionSenior–leadership

Addressing recurring CRM issuesWalk me through how you'd address recurring CRM issues in a crew without becoming punitive.Error recovery cultureSenior–leadership

Modeling CRM for junior pilotsWalk me through how a senior captain models CRM behavior they want junior pilots to adopt.Authority gradient managementSenior–leadership

Managing assertiveness when tiredWalk me through what you'd do when you're tired and find yourself less assertive than usual.Assertive communicationMid–senior

Briefing standard call-outsWalk me through how you'd brief a new crew member on the standard call-outs in a complex aircraft.Shared mental modelSenior–leadership

Understanding unexplained automationWalk me through how you'd handle a situation where automation is doing what it should but no one fully understands why.Workload distributionSenior–leadership

Handling unreported irregularitiesWalk me through how you'd respond when a previous crew left an aircraft with an unreported irregularity.Error recovery cultureSenior–leadership

Advocating for go-aroundWalk me through how you'd advocate for a go-around when the captain has continued an unstable approach.Authority gradient managementSenior–leadership

Being heard despite complimentsWalk me through how you'd respond to a captain who's complimentary but doesn't take your inputs.Assertive communicationSenior–leadership

Updating mid-flight fuel or weatherWalk me through how you'd handle the moment when you realize your understanding of fuel or weather changed mid-flight.Shared mental modelSenior–leadership

Building margin near duty limitsWalk me through how you'd build in margin for unexpected events when you're already running close to crew duty limits.Workload distributionSenior–leadership

Structuring confidential debriefsWalk me through how you'd structure a confidential debrief between two crew members after a tense flight.Error recovery cultureSenior–leadership

Speaking up about missed checklistWalk me through how you'd speak up when you notice the captain forgot a checklist item during taxi.Assertive communicationEntry–mid

Confirming active runwayWalk me through how you'd confirm you and the captain are on the same page about which runway is active.Shared mental modelEntry–mid

Managing multiple taxi tasksWalk me through how you'd handle being assigned multiple tasks during taxi when you're still learning the airport layout.Workload distributionEntry–mid

Reporting altimeter setting errorWalk me through how you'd report to the captain that you set the wrong altimeter during preflight.Error recovery cultureEntry–mid

Asking captain to slow briefingWalk me through how you'd ask a captain to slow down their briefing when you're having trouble following.Assertive communicationEntry–mid

Verifying shared ATC clearance understandingWalk me through how you'd verify that both pilots heard the same clearance from ATC.Shared mental modelEntry–mid

Asking captain to take overWalk me through how you'd ask the captain to take a task when you're falling behind on the radios.Workload distributionEntry–mid

Uncertain about your mistakeWalk me through how you'd respond when a captain asks if you made a mistake and you're not sure yet.Error recovery cultureEntry–mid

Handling non-standard captain phraseologyWalk me through how you'd handle a captain who uses non-standard phraseology that differs from your training.Authority gradient managementEntry–mid

Understanding unfamiliar briefingWalk me through how you'd make sure you understand the captain's plan when they brief using unfamiliar shorthand.Shared mental modelEntry–mid

Offering help when busyWalk me through how you'd offer to help when the captain is clearly busy but hasn't asked for assistance.Workload distributionEntry–mid

Disclosing your earlier flight errorWalk me through how you'd bring up a small error you made earlier in the flight during the post-flight walk-around.Error recovery cultureEntry–mid

Addressing captain's fixated instrument scanWalk me through how you'd handle a situation where the captain is flying manually in IMC and you notice their scan pattern has become fixated on one instrument.Assertive communicationEntry–senior

Third readback error patternYou're the captain and your first officer just made their third radio readback error this sector. Walk me through your in-flight response and how you'd assess whether this is a training issue or something else.Error recovery cultureMid–leadership

Briefing go-around criteriaWalk me through how you'd establish a shared understanding of go-around criteria when briefing with a captain known for landing in minimums regularly.Shared mental modelEntry–senior

Redistributing duties during complex arrivalWalk me through how you'd redistribute monitoring duties when the pilot flying is hand-flying a complex arrival and you're behind on the FMS setup.Workload distributionEntry–mid

Regaining awareness after heads-down periodYou're monitoring and you realize you've been heads-down for 45 seconds during a critical phase of flight. Walk me through your immediate actions and how you'd re-establish situational awareness.Error recovery cultureEntry–mid

Handling first officer's defensive responsesWalk me through how you'd handle a first officer who responds to every suggestion you make with 'Yeah, I was just about to do that.'Authority gradient managementMid–leadership

Voicing concern about non-standard procedureWalk me through how you'd voice concern when the captain briefs a non-standard procedure that's not in the manuals but they say they've 'done a hundred times.'Assertive communicationEntry–senior

Addressing your own snapped responseYou're the captain and you just snapped at your first officer during a high-workload moment. Walk me through how and when you'd address it.Error recovery cultureMid–leadership

Confirming stabilized criteria understandingWalk me through how you'd confirm you and the pilot flying share the same understanding of 'stabilized' when you're 1000 feet above minimums in gusty crosswinds.Shared mental modelEntry–senior

Captain ignored your go-around callWalk me through how you'd handle a situation where you called for a go-around, the captain initially started the maneuver, then continued the landing without discussion.Authority gradient managementEntry–senior

Consistently fast airspeedYou're the monitoring pilot and you notice the pilot flying is consistently 5 knots fast on every segment. Walk me through how you'd decide whether and how to mention it.Assertive communicationEntry–mid

Managing workload during complex rerouteWalk me through how you'd manage the flight deck when the captain is pilot flying, you're behind on checklists, and ATC issues a complex reroute.Workload distributionEntry–senior

Responding to vague discomfort statementWalk me through how a captain should respond when a first officer says 'I'm uncomfortable with this' without specifying what 'this' is during approach.Authority gradient managementMid–leadership

Both missed altitude restrictionWalk me through how you'd debrief with a captain after you both missed the same altitude crossing restriction and neither of you caught it until ATC queried.Error recovery cultureEntry–senior

First officer second-guessing decisionsYou're the captain and your first officer keeps asking 'are you sure?' about routine decisions. Walk me through how you'd diagnose and address what's driving that behavior.Authority gradient managementMid–leadership

Regaining shared awarenessWalk me through how you'd re-establish shared situation awareness after you and the captain silently worked different problems for two minutes and you're not sure what they know.Shared mental modelEntry–senior

Pilot asking for directionWalk me through how you'd handle the pilot flying asking you to 'just tell me what to do' during a time-critical abnormal situation.Workload distributionMid–senior

Addressing first officer's missing calloutsYou're the captain and you notice your first officer hasn't made a single callout in the last five minutes of a busy arrival. Walk me through your response.Assertive communicationMid–leadership

Captain misheard a clearanceWalk me through how you'd handle a moment where you're certain the captain misheard a clearance but they've already read it back and ATC didn't correct them.Assertive communicationEntry–mid

Briefing with heads-down tendencyWalk me through how you'd brief task distribution for an approach when you know the first officer tends to go heads-down during FMS programming.Workload distributionMid–leadership

Correcting your own altimeter errorYou're the first officer and you just realized you've been setting the wrong altimeter for the last ten minutes. Walk me through how you'd correct it and communicate with the captain.Error recovery cultureEntry–mid

Verifying control transfer after turbulenceWalk me through how you'd verify shared understanding of 'who has the aircraft' after a confusing transfer of controls during turbulence.Shared mental modelEntry–senior

Debriefing premature go-aroundWalk me through how a captain should structure a debrief after the first officer made a call that prevented an unstable approach, even though the captain felt it was premature.Error recovery cultureMid–leadership

Captain taking over your tasksWalk me through how you'd respond when the captain says 'I've got this' and takes over multiple tasks you were handling during a high-workload phase.Authority gradient managementEntry–senior

First officer callouts sound uncertainWalk me through how you'd handle a first officer who gives technically correct callouts but with a tone that sounds uncertain or questioning.Assertive communicationMid–leadership