FAA Commercial Pilot Airplane (CAX)Human Factors and ADMHard
During a single-pilot IFR flight in busy terminal airspace, a pilot becomes so absorbed in reprogramming the GPS for a last-minute runway change that they fail to notice ATC has issued two altitude calls and the aircraft has descended 300 feet below the assigned altitude. This scenario best illustrates a breakdown in which CRM-related skill?
- AInterpersonal communication with passengers
- BRecognition of hazardous attitudes
- CWorkload management and task prioritization
- DUse of the IMSAFE checklist
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Workload management and task prioritization
Effective single-pilot resource management requires prioritizing tasks according to the 'aviate, navigate, communicate' hierarchy and managing workload so that critical duties, like maintaining assigned altitude and monitoring ATC, are not neglected during head-down tasks like reprogramming avionics.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. The scenario involves ATC communication and altitude control, not interaction with passengers.
- B. No specific hazardous attitude is described; the issue is task fixation and workload distribution, not an attitude toward risk.
- D. IMSAFE addresses personal fitness before flight, not in-flight task management.
Workload Management (SRM/CRM)
The skill of prioritizing and distributing flight deck tasks so that critical duties such as aircraft control and communication are not neglected during periods of high workload.
- Follow the priority order: aviate, navigate, communicate
- Avoid task fixation on secondary tasks like avionics programming during critical phases
- Part of Single-Pilot Resource Management (SRM) principles
Memory trick: Aviate first, navigate second, communicate third — never forget the order.