CRM Scenarios

Psychological

Work through evolving flight-deck situations in two or three steps. At each step you choose how to respond as a crewmember, then see how that response would land with the crew and which CRM principle is in play — authority gradient, closed-loop communication, PACE advocacy, shared mental model, workload management.

~14 min

Overview

What it looks like: Each scenario is an evolving flight-deck situation in two or three steps — a doubt on the taxiway, a captain committed to a narrowing weather gap, a rattled colleague after a rejected takeoff. At each step you choose one of four responses; the reveal shows how every response would land with the crew and names the CRM principle in play, then the situation develops into the next step. What it measures: Your crew resource management attitudes and instincts — managing the authority gradient, closing communication loops, advocating assertively (the PACE model), keeping a shared mental model, and managing workload — reported as a profile across the four NOTECHS-style dimensions (co-operation, leadership & managerial skills, situation awareness, decision-making) that airlines use to grade non-technical skills in sim assessments, and probe in interviews and group exercises. The chains, expert keys and rationales here are original, authored in-house from public CRM frameworks (CMAQ/FMAQ attitude research, NOTECHS, PACE) — alignment is educational, and real airline keys and graders will differ, so treat your profile as reflective preparation rather than a predictive score.

Example: one step of a scenario chain

Each scenario unfolds over two or three steps. At every step you choose one response; the reveal shows how each response would land with the crew, and names the CRM principle in play before the situation develops further.

Decision-makingTaxi out

The intersection shortcut

You are the First Officer. Taxiing out with a queue building behind you, the Captain says: "Let's take the intersection departure — saves us ten minutes." Your performance figures were calculated for the full runway length, and nobody has recomputed them.

One step of the chain — how do you respond?

A)Go along with it — the aircraft is light today and the margin is obviously huge.
1/4Very ineffectiveWorst response

The aircraft departs on numbers computed for a runway it isn't using — 'obviously fine' is doing the job the performance calculation exists to do.

B)State the fact and recommend an action: "Our figures are for the full length — happy to take the intersection once we've re-run the numbers, otherwise full length."
4/4Very effectiveBest response

The Captain nods, you re-run the figures in under a minute, and the shortcut is taken on data instead of optimism — concern raised, loop closed, nothing lost.

C)Ask a soft question — "are we okay from the intersection?" — and leave it at his answer.
3/4Effective

A probe is the right opening rung, but a reassuring "we're fine" ends it — the concern was voiced, yet the numbers still never get checked.

D)Say nothing now, but plan to reject the takeoff if the acceleration feels wrong.
2/4Ineffective

The safeguard moves from a calm recomputation at taxi speed to a split-second judgement at a hundred knots — the worst possible place to discover the margin was thin.

CRM principle — Assertive advocacy (PACE)
This step teaches ASSERTIVE ADVOCACY — the PACE model (Probe, Alert, Challenge, Emergency). The strongest response states the fact, names a limit and offers a workable path (B): that is advocacy pitched at the right rung, and it usually ends the problem in one exchange. A probe that accepts reassurance (C) starts the ladder but steps off it; silent monitoring with a rejection plan (D) trades a cheap fix now for an expensive decision at high speed; and quiet compliance (A) is the steep-gradient failure CRM training exists to remove. In the full game the situation then DEVELOPS into the next step, and your report profiles you across the four NOTECHS-style dimensions.

Game Phases

1

Configure

Choose how many scenario chains to work through and, optionally, a NOTECHS-style dimension to focus on.

2

Respond at each step

Read the situation, weigh the four responses, and commit to one. There is no timer — reason it through the way a professional crew would.

3

See how it lands

Every response reveals its expert rating and how it would land with the crew, and the step names the CRM principle — then the situation develops into the next step.

4

Read your CRM profile

See your alignment with the expert key across the four NOTECHS-style dimensions and the five named principles, then review every chain step by step.

More Practice

Judgement & Attitudes

3 exercises
Wrong altitude setYou are the First Officer. You notice the Captain has set an altitude in the FCU that is 2,000 ft above the cleared level…
AReset the altitude to the cleared level yourself…
BSay, "Confirm cleared altitude was 8,000?…Most effective
CSay, "I think that altitude might be wrong," and wait…
DWait to see if ATC catches the level bust…Least effective

Situational Judgement Test

Read realistic cockpit and crew-room scenarios and judge how a professional flight crew would respond. A practice and reflection tool: after you commit, you compare your judgement with an expert reference and read the reasoning behind it. Play the classic format, or a chat presentation modelled on Aon's chatAssess.

12 minPsychological
Scenario 1 of 10
The gap in the shower… Five minutes in, a patch of blue opens overhead. She drops the phone, starts up and taxis straight out: "Go now, before it closes."Which hazardous attitude does this response show?
Anti-Authority“Don't tell me.”
Impulsivity“Do it quickly.”
Invulnerability“It won't happen to me.”
Macho“I can do it.”
Resignation“What's the use?”

Hazardous Attitudes

Learn and reflect on the FAA's Five Hazardous Attitudes from aeronautical decision-making training. Rate 25 statements for a per-attitude self-profile, or drill short scenarios: name the attitude a pilot's response shows, then pick its prescribed antidote.

8 minPsychological
13 / 24
13.Careful use of checklists and procedures is what keeps routine flights routine.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither Agree Nor Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree

Safety Locus of Control

A self-insight questionnaire based on aviation-safety locus of control research. Rate 24 statements about why flights end safely — pilot skill and preparation versus luck, weather, and the system — and see your Internality and Externality profile with a full per-item breakdown.

5 minPsychological