Crew Resource Management: Learning from Real Flights

The EASA CRM syllabus through real accident case studies. Self-paced, about 10 hours.

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  • 30 lessons
  • 10 h of content
  • Intermediate
  • Self-paced, online

What you'll learn

  • Explain what CRM is and how it shows up on an ordinary flight
  • Use Threat and Error Management to spot problems before they grow
  • Recognise how attention, memory, stress and fatigue affect your performance
  • Speak up clearly, and respond well when a crew member raises a concern
  • Keep a shared picture of the flight through good monitoring and task sharing
  • Stay in control of automation and catch mode changes early
  • Make sound decisions under time pressure and change the plan when needed
  • Handle surprise and startle, and rebuild a clear picture of the situation
  • Work effectively with cabin crew, ATC, maintenance and the wider organisation

Most accidents do not start with a dramatic failure. They start with small things: a distraction, an unclear call, an assumption nobody checked. Crew Resource Management is about catching those small things early, as a crew.

This course teaches CRM through real flights. You will look at what crews knew at the time, make your own decision, and then see what happened and what the investigation found. Every lesson ends with practical habits you can take into your next flight.

How each lesson works

  1. A moment from a real flight
  2. The information the crew had at the time
  3. Your decision, before you see the outcome
  4. What happened, and what the investigators found
  5. Practical habits that help
  6. A different scenario to apply the same idea
  7. A short knowledge check with explanations

What you will study

  • Module 1 · What CRM changes in everyday flying - CRM principles, human error, Threat and Error Management
  • Module 2 · The person in the cockpit - attention, perception, memory, behaviour, stress and fatigue
  • Module 3 · Communication and working as a crew - clear messages, speaking up, leadership, teamwork, cultural differences
  • Module 4 · Awareness, workload and monitoring - situation awareness, PF/PM roles, workload, monitoring and intervention
  • Module 5 · Working with automation - mode awareness, cross-checking, over-reliance and type differences
  • Module 6 · Decisions and leadership under pressure - priorities, delegation and changing the plan
  • Module 7 · Surprise, startle and resilience - reacting to the unexpected and adapting
  • Module 8 · The wider team and the organisation - cabin and technical crew, ATC, dispatch, maintenance, SOPs and company culture
  • Module 9 · Putting it together - a combined scenario, a personal debrief and a final review

30 lessons of 15 to 25 minutes each, about 10 hours in total.

Real cases

The course draws on official investigation reports from the NTSB, BEA and AAIB, including Eastern 401, United 173, United 232, Asiana 214, Air France 447, US Airways 1549 and the AS332 L2 Super Puma accident at Sumburgh. It looks at what went wrong and also at what crews did well.

Who it is for

Student pilots, newly qualified pilots preparing for multi-crew operations, and line pilots who want a clear, practical refresher. Aeroplane and helicopter examples are included.

Built by experienced pilots and ATPL instructors.

Good to know

  • The content is organised around the CRM training topics in the EASA syllabus.
  • The certificate confirms completion of this eLearning course. It does not replace an operator's approved CRM training programme.
  • Technical actions always follow your aircraft procedures and your operator's SOPs.
  • Some illustrations in this course are AI-generated and are not real photographs.

Course content 30 lessons · 10 h

  1. 01 Module 1 · What CRM changes in everyday flying 0%

    1. Lesson 1CRM on an ordinary flight 15 min
    2. Lesson 2How an accident develops 20 min
    3. Lesson 3Threats, errors and recovery 15 min

  2. 02 Module 2 · The person in the cockpit 0%

    1. Lesson 1Attention, perception and memory 20 min
    2. Lesson 2Personal habits and human error 20 min
    3. Lesson 3Stress and available capacity 20 min
    4. Lesson 4Fatigue and vigilance 20 min

  3. 03 Module 3 · Communication and working as a crew 0%

    1. Lesson 1Say it, check it, close the loop 20 min
    2. Lesson 2Speaking up and intervening 20 min
    3. Lesson 3Lead, support and delegate 25 min
    4. Lesson 4Different backgrounds, shared meaning 20 min

  4. 04 Module 4 · Awareness, workload and monitoring 0%

    1. Lesson 1What is happening, and what comes next? 20 min
    2. Lesson 2Share the work, protect the flight path 20 min
    3. Lesson 3Monitoring is an active task 20 min
    4. Lesson 4Rebuild the shared picture 20 min

  5. 05 Module 5 · Working with automation 0%

    1. Lesson 1What do we expect the system to do? 20 min
    2. Lesson 2Select, announce and verify 25 min
    3. Lesson 3Different aircraft, different traps 20 min

  6. 06 Module 6 · Decisions and leadership under pressure 0%

    1. Lesson 1Decide with the information available 20 min
    2. Lesson 2When continuing stops making sense 20 min
    3. Lesson 3Abnormal situations: organise, then act 20 min
    4. Lesson 4Review the decision and the crew 15 min

  7. 07 Module 7 · Surprise, startle and resilience 0%

    1. Lesson 1When the unexpected happens 25 min
    2. Lesson 2Let go of the first explanation 25 min
    3. Lesson 3Adapt as a team 20 min

  8. 08 Module 8 · The wider team and the organisation 0%

    1. Lesson 1Flight crew, cabin crew and technical crew 20 min
    2. Lesson 2Use the people outside the aircraft 20 min
    3. Lesson 3SOPs, company culture and learning 20 min

  9. 09 Module 9 · Putting it together 0%

    1. Lesson 1One flight, several CRM decisions 15 min
    2. Lesson 2Final knowledge and scenario review 20 min

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