Aero Academic
Aero Academic
A six-step loop for aeronautical decision-making: Detect, Estimate, Choose, Identify, Do, Evaluate.
The DECIDE model is a continuous loop process the FAA teaches as a logical way of making decisions in flight. The letters stand for Detect a change that needs attention, Estimate the need to counter or react to it, Choose a desirable outcome for the flight, Identify actions that could successfully control the change, Do the necessary actions, and Evaluate the effects of the actions.
It is a loop, not a line. After the Evaluate step the pilot looks for the next change and starts again, which is how a deteriorating situation is caught early instead of after it has become an emergency. The Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge presents it alongside the PAVE, CARE and TEAM checklists and the IMSAFE personal checklist as the tools of risk management.
For the knowledge test, the usual question gives you the six words and asks you to put them in order or to match a scenario to the step it describes, so learn the sequence as the acronym and then practice applying it to a short scenario.