Crew resource management (CRM) is aviation’s global gold standard for training pilots on crew collaboration. Since its inception 50 years ago, it has evolved to incorporate new academic research and new safety models.
In the 1990s, an updated version of CRM emerged to include an integrated safety model called threat and error management (TEM). TEM is a conceptual model designed to identify, mitigate and trap errors on the flight deck. It assumes pilots always speak up, admit mistakes, ask for help and share safety concerns. However, my research has shown these baseline assumptions are not always correct. When pilots do not speak up about safety concerns, the CRM/TEM safety model degrades to little more than hopeful rhetoric.
Two of the assumptions built into the CRM/TEM model are that captains will successfully foster a collaborative dynamic on the flight deck, and that both the first officers and captains will (consistently/unfailingly) share safety concerns. We tra…
