Definition
In aviation task management, the people and equipment available to a pilot during flight that can be used to reduce workload, maintain situational awareness, and support safe decision-making. Human resources include the pilot, any crew, air traffic controllers, flight service specialists, dispatchers, and other personnel who can provide information or assistance. Machine resources include the aircraft's systems and avionics, autopilot, GPS, flight management systems, charts, checklists, and any onboard tools that perform or simplify a task.
Plain English
All the people you can talk to and all the equipment you can use to help you fly the airplane safely. Good pilots know what help is available and use it.
Context Anchor
Used in task management discussions, especially when deciding how to handle several cockpit tasks at the same time.
Derivation
Resource comes from an older word meaning something that can rise again or be drawn on for help. That fits the aviation meaning: a resource is something the pilot can turn to when managing the flight.
Why Pilots Care
A pilot who fails to recognize or use available resources tends to become overloaded, miss information, and make poor decisions. Knowing what help is on hand — and being willing to ask for it or let a system handle a task — is a core part of safe flying.
Intuition Check
Do not read resources as only spare supplies or extra equipment. In this context, resources include both people and tools the pilot can actively use during the flight.
Example Sentence 1
When the weather deteriorated, the pilot made full use of available human and machine resources, asking ATC for updated reports while letting the autopilot fly the airplane.
Example Sentence 2
Effective use of human and machine resources helped the crew stay ahead of a rapidly changing traffic situation.