Definition
Choices made about whether to accept, reduce, transfer, or avoid an identified hazard during flight planning or operations. In risk management, a risk decision is made at the level of authority that matches the seriousness of the risk — routine risks are handled by the pilot, while higher-level risks may require approval from a chief pilot, operator, or other appropriate authority.
Plain English
A decision about how to handle a known danger — accept it, lower it, pass it to someone else, or refuse the flight. The bigger the danger, the higher up the chain the decision should be made.
Context Anchor
Used in flight training, preflight planning, go/no-go choices, and any situation where a pilot or instructor must decide whether a risk is acceptable.
Derivation
Risk comes from older words connected with danger or uncertainty, especially in travel. Decision comes from a Latin idea meaning to cut off other choices. Together, risk decisions are the choices that cut off unsafe or less suitable options when uncertainty is present.
Why Pilots Care
Ensures safety decisions are made by those with the proper knowledge and responsibility, reducing the chance of accidents caused by either over-caution or reckless acceptance of risk.
Intuition Check
Do not read risk decisions as casual opinions about danger. In this context, they are deliberate safety choices made by the right person for the level of risk involved.
Example Sentence 1
After noticing a developing line of thunderstorms along the route, the pilot made the risk decision to delay departure rather than attempt to deviate around them en route.
Example Sentence 2
Company policy required that risk decisions involving icing conditions be escalated to the chief pilot rather than handled by the line pilot alone.