Sectional charts, METARs and airspace rules receive plenty of attention during Part 107 study, but safe drone operations also depend on something less mechanical: judgment. Part 107 aeronautical decision-making gives remote pilots a repeatable way to identify hazards, evaluate risk and choose whether to continue, change or cancel a flight.
The FAA calls this systematic process Aeronautical Decision-Making, or ADM. For the knowledge test, you should recognize the major acronyms and hazardous attitudes. In the field, however, the goal is not simply memorization. It is learning to slow down before pressure, distraction or overconfidence turns a manageable hazard into an incident.
The five hazardous attitudes and their antidotes
The FAA identifies five attitudes that can interfere with sound judgment. Each has a memorized antidote—a short statement designed to interrupt the thought pattern before it drives a poor decision.
- Anti-authority — “Don’t tell me.” Rules and procedures feel unnecessary. Antidote: Follow the rules. They are usually right.
- Impulsivity — “Do it quickly.” The pilot reacts immediately instead of considering alternatives. Antidote: Not so fast. Think first.
- Invulnerability — “It won’t happen to me.” The pilot believes accidents happen to other people. Antidote: It could happen to me.
- Macho — “I can do it.” The pilot takes unnecessary chances to prove ability. The attitude can affect anyone. Antidote: Taking chances is foolish.
- Resignation — “What’s the use?” The pilot gives up control of the outcome. Antidote: I’m not helpless. I can make a difference.
Common exam trap: the question may describe behavior rather than name the attitude. A pilot who launches immediately to avoid disappointing a client may be showing impulsivity; a pilot who ignores a restriction because “the FAA will never know” shows anti-authority.
Start the risk assessment with PAVE
PAVE divides flight risk into four categories:
- P — Pilot in command: training, experience, currency, physical condition and mental readiness.
- A — Aircraft: condition, battery health, payload, firmware, performance limits and suitability for the mission.
- V — enVironment: weather, airspace, visibility, obstacles, people, electromagnetic interference and nearby aircraft activity.
- E — External pressures: deadlines, client expectations, travel plans, spectators, sunk costs and the desire to finish the job.
External pressure deserves special attention because it can push a pilot to discount every other category. A paid roof inspection does not become safe simply because the property owner is waiting or rain is expected tomorrow. Personal minimums—such as stricter wind, visibility or battery thresholds than the legal maximums—give the remote PIC an objective stopping point before that pressure builds.
Use IMSAFE to evaluate the pilot
For the “Pilot” portion of PAVE, use IMSAFE:
- Illness: Am I sick or experiencing symptoms that could affect the flight?
- Medication: Am I taking prescription or over-the-counter medicine that could impair judgment or cause drowsiness?
- Stress: Is pressure from work, finances, health or family reducing my attention?
- Alcohol: Have I met every applicable alcohol restriction, and am I completely unimpaired?
- Fatigue: Have I had enough rest to monitor the aircraft and environment continuously?
- Emotion: Am I upset, distracted or emotionally unprepared to make sound decisions?
Under 14 CFR §107.27, a crewmember may not participate within eight hours after drinking alcohol, while under alcohol’s influence, with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04 percent or greater, or while using a drug that affects safety. The eight-hour rule is a legal minimum, not proof that a person is fit to fly.
DECIDE and the 3P model
Preflight planning cannot predict every change. ADM therefore continues throughout the operation. The six-step DECIDE model is:
- Detect that a change has occurred.
- Estimate the need to respond.
- Choose a desirable outcome.
- Identify actions that could achieve it.
- Do the necessary action.
- Evaluate the result.
The 3P model is a shorter loop: Perceive, Process, Perform. Pilots can perceive hazards with PAVE, process them with CARE—Consequences, Alternatives, Reality and External factors—and perform risk management with TEAM:
- Transfer: involve someone better positioned to manage the risk.
- Eliminate: remove the hazard, perhaps by changing the location or time.
- Accept: proceed only when the remaining risk is understood and reasonable.
- Mitigate: reduce the probability or severity of harm.
Worked example: a commercial roof inspection
You arrive to inspect a two-story commercial roof. Winds are within the aircraft’s published limit but gustier than your personal minimum. The client says a roofing crew is waiting and asks you to “just get a few quick shots.” A nearby parking lot is becoming busy.
Perceive with PAVE: you are rested and qualified, but the aircraft will be operating close to its wind-performance margin. The environment includes gusts, people and obstacles. The client’s schedule creates external pressure.
Process with CARE: consequences include poor control, reduced battery endurance and risk to people below. Alternatives include delaying the flight, using a more sheltered launch point or completing only ground documentation. The reality is that the client’s urgency does not reduce the hazards.
Perform with TEAM: eliminate exposure over the busy area by changing the flight path, mitigate workload by using a visual observer with clearly assigned duties, or postpone until the wind and pedestrian activity decrease. If the remaining risk exceeds your personal minimums, cancel the flight. That is successful risk management—not a failed mission.
CRM, SRM and the visual observer
Crew Resource Management, or CRM, is the effective use of people, equipment and information. When operating alone, the corresponding FAA concept is Single-Pilot Resource Management (SRM): managing workload, automation, information and decisions without a traditional flight crew.
If a visual observer is used, roles must be clear before launch. Under 14 CFR §107.33, the remote PIC, person manipulating the controls and visual observer must maintain effective communication. Handheld radios can help when appropriate, but the regulation does not require one particular communication device.
A visual observer is a resource, not a substitute for command responsibility. The remote PIC remains directly responsible for the operation and should brief the observer on the flight area, traffic calls, lost-link response, emergency actions and the exact words that will trigger an immediate maneuver or landing.
Protect situational awareness
Situational awareness means accurately understanding the pilot, aircraft, flight, environment and operation before, during and after flight. Common threats include fatigue, stress, distraction, task saturation and fixation.
Drone pilots are especially vulnerable to fixation on the live camera view. A perfect image is never more important than aircraft control, visual line of sight and awareness of other aircraft. Build deliberate scan points into the mission: aircraft, airspace, people, battery, weather and mission status.
Part 107 practice check
1. A client pressures a remote PIC to launch in deteriorating weather because a crew is waiting. Which PAVE category is most directly involved?
Answer: External pressures. The deadline can cause the pilot to ignore hazards in the other PAVE categories.
2. A pilot says, “The wind limit is conservative, and nobody enforces it here.” Which hazardous attitude is most evident?
Answer: Anti-authority. The matching antidote is: “Follow the rules. They are usually right.”
3. In the 3P model, which checklist helps a pilot process hazards?
Answer: CARE—Consequences, Alternatives, Reality and External factors.
4. A pilot consumed alcohol seven hours before a planned operation but feels normal. May that person serve as a required crewmember?
Answer: No. Section 107.27 prohibits participation within eight hours after drinking. Feeling normal does not override the rule.
5. What is the final step of the DECIDE model?
Answer: Evaluate. The pilot checks whether the action achieved the desired result and begins another decision cycle if necessary.
The takeaway
The exam may ask you to match an acronym, attitude or antidote. Real operations ask more: recognize when conditions have changed, resist pressure and take action before safety margins disappear. PAVE and IMSAFE help before takeoff; DECIDE and the 3P model keep the process active after launch.
Continue preparing with the All About UAVs Part 107 training app. For the FAA’s full treatment of these concepts, review the Remote Pilot – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Study Guide. Remember that study material explains decision-making concepts, while the current eCFR contains the controlling regulations.