Why CRM matters in the cockpit & airline assessments

Crew Resource Management (CRM) is one of the most critical safety competencies in aviation and therefore a key focus area in airline assessments. Accidents and serious incidents are rarely caused by technical failures alone – they are predominantly driven by human error and degraded team performance.

Human Error & Reliability – core ideas

• Human error = unintentional deviation from expected performance
• Human reliability = probability of performing tasks correctly under given conditions
• Errors increase under fatigue, stress, time pressure and system complexity

Typical error types in the cockpit

• Slips – correct intention, wrong action (e.g. wrong switch)
• Lapses – memory or attention failure (e.g. skipped checklist item)
• Mistakes – wrong plan or incorrect knowledge application

Why airlines assess CRM

• CRM skills predict safe decision-making under pressure
• They reflect performance in High Reliability Organizations (HROs)
• Focus areas: communication, leadership, situational awareness, workload & threat-and-error management

CRM as part of High Reliability Organizations

• Constant awareness of potential failures
• Resistance to oversimplified explanations
• Strong operational awareness
• Resilience and recovery capability
• Decisions guided by expertise, not hierarchy

Select one CRM scenario below to apply these principles in realistic, assessment-relevant cockpit situations.