Which acronym represents a risk management checklist for Pilot/Aircraft/Environment/External Factors?

• A. PAVE
• B. CFIT
• C. MEL
• D. HUD

Answer: (A)

Before flight, you use a systematic risk assessment that looks at four areas to decide if it’s safe to fly, if you should delay, or if you need to adjust the plan. This checklist focuses on the Pilot, the Aircraft, the Environment, and External factors or pressures. By evaluating each area, you identify potential risks such as the pilot’s readiness, the aircraft’s airworthiness and equipment, current weather and terrain, and pressures like time constraints or passenger expectations. If any area presents significant risk, the prudent move is to modify or cancel the flight rather than proceed.

The acronym that represents this exact risk management checklist is the one that maps to those four factors. The other terms refer to different ideas: CFIT means Controlled Flight Into Terrain, which is a type of accident risk, not a preflight checklist; MEL stands for Minimum Equipment List, related to allowable equipment inoperative status; HUD stands for Head-Up Display, a cockpit display device.