Definition
A section heading in the Aviation Instructor's Handbook covering the practices a flight instructor uses to identify, assess, and control hazards while teaching in an aircraft. It addresses the dual responsibility of acting as pilot in command while also instructing, including the management of distractions, workload, student errors, and the decision points where the instructor must take control of the aircraft.
Plain English
Guidance for flight instructors on how to keep a training flight safe while also trying to teach. It covers spotting risks, managing the cockpit, and knowing when to step in and fly the aircraft yourself.
Context Anchor
Seen in the Aviation Instructor’s Handbook in material about how instructors manage safety while giving flight instruction.
Derivation
“Instructional” comes from “instruct,” meaning to teach. “Risk management” means handling possible dangers before they become accidents. “Flight deck” comes from the older idea of an operating deck on a ship and, in aircraft, means the cockpit area where the flight is controlled.
Why Pilots Care
Reduces the chance of training accidents by giving instructors clear ways to manage risk during every lesson.
Grounding Statement
During a lesson, the instructor must keep the airplane, the student’s workload, the weather, and the traffic situation under control while teaching.
Intuition Check
Do not read “notes” as unimportant side comments. In this context, these notes are practical safety guidance for instructors. “Risk management” also does not mean removing every risk; it means noticing risks early and keeping them at an acceptable level.
Example Sentence 1
The CFI applicant studied the notes on instructional risk management in the flight deck before her checkride, focusing on when to verbally coach versus when to take the controls.
Example Sentence 2
Following the Notes on Instructional Risk Management in the Flight Deck helped the instructor decide when to take the controls from the student.