SAT-074Human performance & CRM

Workload management

Balancing task demand, time, automation, communication, prioritization, delegation, and spare capacity during normal and abnormal operations.

4Focus areas
1FDM connections
4Deep briefs
12Reading links

What this profile covers

Balancing task demand, time, automation, communication, prioritization, delegation, and spare capacity during normal and abnormal operations.

Why it matters

Human performance shapes how threats are detected, interpreted, communicated, and managed within the time and information available. For workload management, useful analysis connects the immediate event with exposure, defenses, recurrence, and the wider operating system rather than treating one observation as a final conclusion.

Topic familyHuman performance & CRMHuman Factors
Family lens

Attention, workload, communication, decision-making, monitoring, fitness, and team coordination.

Understand the subject before interpreting a signal.

In plain language, this profile examines balancing task demand, time, automation, communication, prioritization, delegation, and spare capacity during normal and abnormal operations.

workloadtask saturationprioritizationautomation
Evidence to combine

Build a multi-source picture

  • Confidential reports and interviews
  • Task, procedure, interface, and training context
  • Lawfully governed roster or fatigue information where relevant
  • Flight data used as timeline and workload context
What flight data contributes

Timing, relationships, and recurrence

Relevant recorded context may include vertical speed, pitch attitude, engine thrust, autopilot status. Use validated mappings and examine signal relationships over the applicable flight phase.

Interpretation boundary

Do not turn an observation into a conclusion

Flight data cannot measure intent, fatigue, workload, competence, or culture directly; avoid using a recorded outcome as a label for human cause.

Decision standard

Keep controlling material visible

Apply the current approved manuals, procedures, authority requirements, investigation evidence, and validated organizational definitions for any operational decision.

From a broad topic to a defensible safety review.

01

Define

State what workload management means for the aircraft, operation, authority, and organization in scope.

02

Verify

Confirm the provenance, quality, timing, units, completeness, and limitations of every data source used.

03

Describe

Reconstruct what happened and quantify relevant exposure before discussing causes or corrective action.

04

Corroborate

Compare flight data with reports, operational context, technical evidence, and authoritative source material.

05

Test barriers

Identify which preventive, recovery, and consequence-mitigation controls should have worked and how their performance can be measured.

06

Assure

Assign proportionate action and verify whether the control and safety performance improve without harmful unintended effects.

Questions before conclusions

  1. Q1

    How is workload management defined for the aircraft, operation, authority, and organization being reviewed?

  2. Q2

    Which precursors, recorded signals, reports, and external data would confirm the event and describe its context?

  3. Q3

    Which preventive, recovery, and consequence-reduction barriers should work, and where could they weaken?

  4. Q4

    What does recurrence, exposure, severity potential, or change over time show before choosing a safety action?

1 connected event profiles

These are terminology and family connections for exploration—not claims that FDM alone can determine the topic.

Go deeper into the closest ASIP research guides.

12 useful starting points

Original ASIP summaries lead to publisher pages. ASIP does not copy or host the reports.

No copied report filesSearch all related records →
U.S. Federal Aviation AdministrationTerminology match

SAFO 24006 — Potential for Jammed or Restricted Rudder on Boeing Model 737 Series Airplanes Equipped with Optional Collins Aerospace SVO-730 Rudder Rollout Guidance Actuators (RRGA)

Official U.S. Federal Aviation Administration material indexed for flight controls and automation. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
U.S. Federal Aviation AdministrationTerminology match

SAFO 14001 — Cessna Citation CE-500 Type Aircraft Aileron Trim Systems

Official U.S. Federal Aviation Administration material indexed for flight controls and automation. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
U.S. Federal Aviation AdministrationTerminology match

SAFO 14002 — SAFO 14002, Global Positioning System ( GPS )/Global Navigation Satellite System ( GNSS ) Navigator/Autopilot Compatibility

Official U.S. Federal Aviation Administration material indexed for flight controls and automation and navigation and surveillance. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
U.S. Federal Aviation AdministrationTerminology match

SAFO 08005 — Preflight of helicopter hydraulic systems to include validation of control movement smoothness and identification of adverse flight control “stick-jump.”

Official U.S. Federal Aviation Administration material indexed for flight controls and automation and airworthiness and systems. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
U.S. Federal Aviation AdministrationTerminology match

SAFO 08015 — Preflight check of helicopter hydraulic systems to include validation of control movement smoothness and identification of adverse flight control “stick-jump”

Official U.S. Federal Aviation Administration material indexed for flight controls and automation and airworthiness and systems. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
U.S. Federal Aviation AdministrationTerminology match

SAFO 06017 — Equipment Training and Checking for Helicopter Operators on the SPZ-7000 or SPZ-7600 Dual Digital Automatic Flight Control Systems

Official U.S. Federal Aviation Administration material indexed for flight controls and automation and human factors. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
U.S. Federal Aviation AdministrationTerminology match

SAFO 05002 — Multiple full deflection, alternating flight control inputs

Official U.S. Federal Aviation Administration material indexed for flight controls and automation. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
Airbus Safety FirstTerminology match

Dual Side Stick Inputs

Official Airbus Safety First material indexed for flight controls and automation. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
Airbus Safety FirstTerminology match

Inadvertent Autopilot Engagement during Takeoff on A220 Aircraft

Official Airbus Safety First material indexed for takeoff and flight controls and automation. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
Airbus Safety FirstTerminology match

Inappropriate V/S Target during Autoflight Mode Reversion

Official Airbus Safety First material indexed for flight controls and automation. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
Airbus Safety FirstTerminology match

Incorrect pitch trim setting at takeoff

Official Airbus Safety First material indexed for takeoff and flight controls and automation. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
Airbus Safety FirstTerminology match

Rudder Pedal Jam

Official Airbus Safety First material indexed for flight controls and automation. Open the publisher source for the complete document, scope, and current status.

Open official source
ICAO / CICTT

Common Taxonomy Team

International work on common aviation occurrence categories and definitions for consistent reporting and analysis.

Open reference
EASA

Safety Risk Management

European safety-risk process connecting data, safety issues, risk portfolios, priorities, and safety action.

Open reference
EASA

Annual programmes and reports

Annual safety reviews and risk portfolios used to identify key risk areas, safety issues, and emerging issues.

Open reference
EASA

European Plan for Aviation Safety 2025

A broad evidence-based portfolio showing the scale and connected nature of current aviation safety issues.

Open reference
SKYbrary

Operational issues index

A practical discovery index for operational safety subjects; official authority and manufacturer sources remain controlling where applicable.

Open reference