Definition
An act of asking questions to gather information, clarify understanding, or verify assumptions. In the context of pilot resource management, inquiry is one of the assertive communication behaviors used to seek information from crew members, instructors, controllers, or other resources when something is unclear or missing.
Plain English
Asking a question to find out what you need to know. In the cockpit, it means speaking up and asking when something doesn't make sense or you need more information before acting.
Context Anchor
Seen in resource management discussions, especially when a pilot is gathering information, checking a concern, or working with an instructor, another pilot, or air traffic control.
Derivation
From Latin 'inquirere', meaning 'to seek into' or 'to ask about' (in- 'into' + quaerere 'to seek'). The aviation use keeps the original sense: actively seeking information rather than waiting passively or assuming.
Why Pilots Care
Inquiry improves safety by surfacing missing information and reducing the chance that assumptions lead to errors.
Analogy
Like asking a passenger in the car which exit to take instead of guessing and driving past it.
Intuition Check
Inquiry does not mean idle curiosity here. It means a purposeful question used to improve understanding and decision-making in the flight situation.
Example Sentence 1
When the controller's clearance came back garbled, the first officer made an inquiry rather than guessing at the assigned altitude.
Example Sentence 2
During the approach briefing, the pilot made a point of inquiry to confirm the missed approach procedure with the crew.