External pressures. Influences external to the flight that create a sense of pressure to complete a flight—often at the expense of safety.

Flight management system (FMS). A system normally integrated into a technically advanced aircraft that provides an efficient means of loading and programming horizontal and vertical flight path information that can be tracked by the autopilot or followed manually by the pilot using flight director and other guidance cues.

Flight risk assessment tool (FRAT). A way to record and analyze identified hazards and risks. A FRAT can be numerical (scoring predetermined hazards) to measure risk or narrative (recording identified hazards, associate risk, and individual risk mitigations).

General aviation. All flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial.

General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC). Team of FAA and general aviation community members formed to analyze general aviation accidents and create safety enhancements that can mitigate leading accident causes.

Hazard. A present condition, event, object, or circumstance that could lead to or contribute to an unplanned or undesired event, such as an accident.

Human behavior. The product of factors that cause people to act in predictable ways.

Human factors. A multidisciplinary field devoted to optimizing human performance and reducing human error. It incorporates the methods and principles of the behavioral and social sciences, engineering, and physiology. It may be described as the applied science which studies people working together in concert with machines. Human factors involve variables that influence individual performance, as well as team or crew performance.

Identified risk. The risk that has been determined through various analysis techniques. The first task of system safety is to identify, within practical limitations, all possible risks.

IMSAFE. An acronym that represents the six aeromedical risk areas: Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, and Emotion.

Instrument flight rules (IFR). Rules that govern the procedure for conducting flight in weather conditions below VFR weather minimums. The term “IFR” also is used to define weather conditions and the type of flight plan under which an aircraft is operating.

Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). Meteorological conditions expressed in terms of visibility, distance from clouds, and ceiling less than the minimums specified for visual meteorological conditions, requiring operations to be conducted under IFR.

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). An international body that sets aviation safety standards. Member states agree to formulate regulation to meet those standards.

Judgment. The mental process of recognizing and analyzing all pertinent information in a particular situation, a rational evaluation of alternative actions in response to it, and a timely decision on which action to take.