Definition
In the FAA's risk management decision-making process, Step 3 is the stage at which the pilot implements controls — that is, applies the specific actions, procedures, or limitations chosen in the previous step to reduce or eliminate identified hazards before and during flight.
Plain English
Step 3 is the 'do it' stage of managing risk. After you've spotted a hazard and decided how to handle it, Step 3 is where you actually put that plan into action.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA handbook procedures, training exercises, and flight-planning examples where actions are listed in order.
Derivation
Step comes from an older English word for placing the foot forward. Over time, it also came to mean one action in a sequence, which is the meaning here.
Why Pilots Care
Identifying a hazard and choosing a fix are useless if the pilot never carries the fix out. Step 3 is where risk management becomes real — adjusting the route, delaying departure, getting more rest, adding fuel, or whatever the chosen control requires.
Intuition Check
Do not treat Step 3 as a universal aviation rule or a named maneuver. Here, it simply means the third action in the specific procedure being described.
Example Sentence 1
After deciding that a later departure would avoid the forecast thunderstorms, the pilot moved to Step 3 and rescheduled the flight for the following morning.
Example Sentence 2
Completing Step 3 correctly prepares the aircraft for the next phase of the flight.