(Edited from article published in the COPA Cirrus Pilot Magazine)


Do you know how risky your last flight was? Or how risky the one you are about to take is? Do you think anyone who ended up in an NTSB report didn't expect to arrive? Do we necessarily have to live with increased risk because we fly?

We fly an incredible plane with fantastic safety features on board, yet our statistics to date, aren't any better than that of general aviation. We know from commercial airline statistics that it isn't the act of flying nor the capabilities of aircraft that cause accidents. IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE OUR FLYING AS SAFE AS COMMERCIAL AIR TRAVEL? We believe that answer is YES.

A Critical Decision Making (CDM) seminar isn't really a seminar but rather a facilitated interactive hangar flying session where the group looks at general aviation and Cirrus statistics, reviews case studies of Cirrus accidents, and participates in the reenactment of an actual accident.

Although we discuss and set minimums, our decisions aren't usually black and white, but often quite gray. Combined with a lack of appreciation for risk and the confluence of otherwise benign risk factors (no one thing in the flight meets the NOGO criteria), our human nature minimizes risk or leaps to wishful expectation that everything will be alright. The seminar concludes with the group understanding and quantifying the various factors that add risk to a flight and how to minimize or eliminate the risk.

This isn't just for low time pilots. Higher time pilots often add useful experience to the discussion. And, although lower time pilots often lack the experience that aids judgment, higher time pilots often use experience to justify risky behavior. Almost half the accidents in Cirrus, to date, have been by higher time pilots.

CDMs are conducted throughout the country. We have qualified facilitators who can come to your location if you volunteer to organize the local logistics (facilities and food). Because of demand and geography, we are also looking for more facilitators. If you want to organize a CDM, you can get an organizer's guide on this website.