Definition
A risk-assessment checklist used in aeronautical decision-making that organizes the sources of flight risk into four categories: Pilot (fitness, currency, experience), Aircraft (airworthiness, equipment, performance), enVironment (weather, terrain, airspace, lighting), and External pressures (schedules, passengers, get-there-itis). The pilot reviews each category before and during a flight to identify hazards and decide whether the risk is acceptable.
Plain English
A simple four-part checklist that helps a pilot ask, before flying, 'Am I okay? Is the airplane okay? Is the weather and route okay? Is anything pushing me to fly when I shouldn't?'
Context Anchor
Used in preflight planning, flight instruction, and decision-making discussions when identifying risk before a flight or while a flight is changing.
Derivation
PAVE is an acronym, not a word — each letter stands for one of the four risk categories. The letters were chosen so the word 'pave' is easy to remember, suggesting the idea of paving a smoother, safer path before the flight.
Why Pilots Care
Systematic use of PAVE reduces the chance of overlooking hazards that contribute to accidents and supports better go/no-go decisions.
Intuition Check
PAVE does not mean covering a runway with pavement here. In this FAA context, PAVE is a checklist for spotting flight risks.
Example Sentence 1
Before the cross-country, she ran through PAVE and decided the forecast headwind under 'enVironment' meant she needed a fuel stop she hadn't originally planned.
Example Sentence 2
Even though the weather looked acceptable, external pressures listed under PAVE made the instructor postpone the lesson.