1. Establishing YOUR Personal Minimums
1
Steve Kiester, CFI
FAASTeam Representative
October 10, 2015

2. Attendance Roster / WINGS Credit Reminder
2
 Please sign the roster
– If on the pre-printed roster
Initial your attendance
– If not, please fill in the 2nd roster
 Print clearly
 Include phone number in case we need to
contact you
This is to help make sure you get proper credit

3. Group Question
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Have you ever conducted a
flight that you realized was
probably not a good idea?
Have you ever felt indecisive
about beginning a flight?
…..No clear “Go / No Go”

4. Several Types of Minimums
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• Airspace / Weather Minimums (Part 91)
• Instrument Procedures
• Company Flight Operation Procedures
• Air Carrier (Part 121)
• Charter (Part 135)
• Corporate Flight Departments
• Other Organizations
Structured Procedures Promote Safety

5. Establishing YOUR Personal Minimums
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• What are Personal Minimums?
• Why utilize Personal Minimums?
– Human Factors equivalent of Fuel Reserves
– Provides a safety buffer between:
• Skills required for a specific flight
• Skills available to you through your training, experience, currency and
proficiency
• Supports sound Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM)
• Provides risk mitigation “Up Front” before and during flight

6. Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM)
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• Aeronautical decision-making (ADM) is decision-
making in a unique environment—aviation.
• It is a systematic approach to the mental
process used by pilots to consistently determine
the best course of action in response to a given
set of circumstances.
• It is what a pilot intends to do based on the latest
information he or she has.
From FAA “Pilots Handbook of
Aeronautical Knowledge”

7. Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM)
*** Example of ADM Tools ***
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FAA “Pilots Handbook of
Aeronautical Knowledge”

8. Pilot Factors
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What things contribute to a pilots ability
to complete a safe flight ?

9. Environment Factors
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What environmental factors should be
considered to complete a safe flight ?

10. A/C Performance Factors
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What are considerations regarding
aircraft performance for a safe flight ?

11. Nall Report
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12. Nall Report – Key Accident Drivers
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Fixed-Wing Non Commercial
(Part 91 Opns)
Pilot Related
(not mechanical)
2012

13. Personal Minimums Key Considerations
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 Human Factors equivalent of Fuel Reserves
 Provides a safety buffer between:
• Skills required for a specific flight
• Skills available to you through your training,
experience, currency and proficiency
Should be based on conditions that are conducted:
Comfortably
Recently
Regularly Experience

14. Key Steps to Establish Personal Minimums
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1) Review weather minimums
2) Access weather experience and personal comfort level
3) Consider winds and performance
4) Assemble baseline values
5) Adjust for specific conditions
6) Stick to the Plan!

15. Step 1 - Review Weather Minimums
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From “Getting the Maximum from Personal Minimums”
by Susan Parson “FAA Aviation News” May-June 2006

16. Step 2 - Access Weather Experience
and Personal Comfort Level
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Step 2(a) “What are the facts about
my current skill and proficiency
level?”
Step 2 (b) “What weather conditions
am I comfortable with?”
Be Honest with yourself!

17. Step 2 – Example of Weather Comfort Level
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18. Step 3 - Consider Winds and Performance
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Step 3(a)
“What level of wind &
turbulence am I comfortable
with?”
Step 3 (b) “What aircraft
performance conditions am I
comfortable with?”
Be Honest with yourself!

19. Step 3 – Example of Turbulence & Performance
Factors Comfort Level
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20. Step 4 - Assemble Baseline Values
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Populate the parameters for
which you are comfortable
….this is Your Baseline

21. Step 4 “Assemble Baseline Values” Example
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Baseline Personal Minimums Established

22. Step 5 - Adjust for Specific Conditions
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• Adjust your Baseline for This Flights Specific Conditions
• Establishes “Safety Margin” for Less than standard conditions
• Can be reviewed / adjusted as your proficiency and comfort level increase
P
A
V
E

23. Step 6 - Stick to the Plan!
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Professional pilots live by the numbers, and so should you.
Pre-established hard numbers can make it a lot easier to make a
smart “no go” or “divert” decision than a vague sense that you can
“probably” deal with the conditions that you are facing at any
given time.
In addition, a written set of personal minimums can also make it
easier to explain tough decisions to passengers who are, after all,
trusting their lives to your aeronautical skill and judgment.
From “Getting the Maximum from Personal Minimums”
by Susan Parson “FAA Aviation News” May-June 2006

24. Establishing YOUR Personal Minimums
*** Reference Information ****
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25. 25
Personal Minimums Worksheet on FAASafety.gov
Go To: http://www.faasafety.gov and search on “Personal Minimums”

26. 26
Personal Minimums Worksheet on FAASafety.gov

27. 27
Personal Minimums Worksheet on FAASafety.gov
“Select & Download Document”

28. 28
Personal Minimums Worksheet on FAASafety.gov

29. Establishing YOUR Personal Minimums
*** Open Discussion / Wrap-Up ****
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Steve Kiester:
kiestercfi@gmail.com

30. Establishing YOUR Personal Minimums
ADM Reference Info
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31. 31
PERCEIVE hazards
PROCESS to evaluate level
of risk
PERFORM risk management
• To perceive , try to make a mental list of the hazards that
can hurt you or others.
• To process, consider how likely it is that a given hazard
will hurt you, and how bad the injury or damage would be.
• In order to perform risk management, ask yourself what
you can do to reduce or eliminate each hazard or risk you
have identified, and then implement the measures you have
selected.
3P Model to Risk Management
P
PP

32. 32
• The pilot must ask, “Am I ready for this trip?” in terms
of experience, currency, physical, and emotional
condition. IMSAFE: Illness, Medicine, Stress, Alcohol,
Fatigue/Food, Emotion
P = Pilot in
command
• What about the aircraft? What limitations will the
aircraft impose upon the trip?A = Aircraft
• Weather, Terrain, Airport, Airspace, NighttimeV = Environment
• External pressures are influences
external to the flight that create a
sense of pressure to complete a flight.
E = External Pressures
Perceive = Identifying Hazards
The one risk factor that can cause
you to ignore all the other factors.

33. 33
Perceive = Identifying Hazards
Distractions Before & During Flight

34. Process = Assessing Risk
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Evaluate Where You Are in the Matrix

35. 35
Perform = Risk Management
Transfer
Should this risk decision be transferred
to someone else (e.g., should you
consult an A&P mechanic?)
Eliminate Is there a way to eliminate the hazard?
Accept Do the benefits of accepting risk
outweigh the dangers?
Mitigate What can you do to mitigate the risk?

36. 36
P = Pilot in command
A = Aircraft
V = Environment
E = External Pressures
Use Before and During Your Flight
Risk Management Checklist
Transfer
Eliminate
Accept
Mitigate