Definition
The art and science of managing all available resources — both onboard the aircraft and from outside sources — by a single pilot, prior to and during a flight, to ensure the safe and successful outcome of the flight. SRM includes aeronautical decision-making (ADM), risk management, task management, automation management, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) awareness, and situational awareness.
Plain English
When you fly alone, you are the captain, the first officer, the navigator, and the radio operator all at once. SRM is the skill of juggling all those jobs and using everything available to you — instruments, autopilot, charts, ATC, weather services — so that nothing important gets dropped.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying, risk management, and decision-making discussions where one pilot must manage the whole flight without a crew.
Derivation
Adapted from Crew Resource Management (CRM), which was developed in airline operations after accident investigations showed crews had information available but failed to use it. SRM applies the same principle to a pilot flying alone: the resources are still there, but one person has to manage them all.
Why Pilots Care
Improves decision-making and workload handling, reducing accident risk when no second pilot is present.
Grounding Statement
In practice, SRM is the habit of asking, “What help do I have available right now, and how should I use it?”
Intuition Check
SRM does not mean proving you can do everything alone. It means using every safe and available aid because you are the only pilot managing the flight.
Example Sentence 1
Good SRM means briefing the approach early, before the cockpit gets busy.
Example Sentence 2
Before departure the pilot applied single-pilot resource management by reviewing the departure procedure and setting personal minimums for the flight.