What is the difference between CRM and ADM?

ADM (aeronautical decision-making) is the broader systematic approach to risk assessment and stress management. CRM is one method of achieving good ADM. As the FAA puts it, the goal of all flight crews is good ADM, and the use of CRM is one way to make good decisions.

What is SRM and how is it different from CRM?

SRM is Single-Pilot Resource Management — the art and science of managing all resources available to a single pilot, before and during flight, to ensure a successful outcome. CRM focuses on crew environments, but many of its concepts apply to solo operations. SRM includes ADM, risk management, task management, automation management, CFIT awareness, and situational awareness.

What are the five hazardous attitudes?

Anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation. The exam typically describes a pilot's thinking and asks you to name the attitude, or asks for the matching antidote. Recognizing the hazardous thought is the first step; then label it and state the antidote.

Does CRM apply if I fly alone?

Yes. The resources CRM asks you to manage are not only people. Checklists, the FAA figures, weather products, your aircraft's telemetry, ATC, and LAANC are all resources. When you do fly alone, the FAA's Single-Pilot Resource Management framework applies the same principles.

Why does the FAA study guide chapter on CRM look empty?

Chapter 6 of the Remote Pilot Study Guide is titled Crew Resource Management, but its entire body is a pointer telling you to read Chapter 10, Aeronautical Decision-Making and Judgment. The material is real, it just lives in a different chapter than the table of contents implies.

CRM / ADM

Operations & ADM · 25% of the scored exam

Crew Resource Management for Part 107

CRM is the exam's name for using everything available to you — people, hardware, and information — to make better decisions. It is tested through scenarios, and it is some of the most reliable points on the test.

By Joel KellyReviewed July 26, 2026Checked against the FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide (FAA-G-8082-22)

The definition the exam wants

The FAA defines Crew Resource Management as the effective use of all available resources — human resources, hardware, and information — supporting aeronautical decision-making to facilitate crew cooperation and improve decision-making.

Note the three-part list. Questions often hinge on the fact that “resources” is not just other people. Your checklist, the testing supplement figures, a weather product, your aircraft telemetry, LAANC, and ATC are all resources CRM expects you to use.

Don't confuse these

ADM: Aeronautical decision-making — a systematic approach to risk assessment and stress management. The umbrella.
CRM: One method of achieving good ADM, focused on crew environments. The FAA's framing: the goal is good ADM, and CRM is one way to get there.
SRM: Single-Pilot Resource Management — the art and science of managing all resources available to a single pilot, before and during flight. Includes ADM, risk management, task management, automation management, CFIT awareness, and situational awareness.

Why CRM feels missing when you study. Chapter 6 of the FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide is titled “Crew Resource Management” — and its entire body is one line telling you to go read Chapter 10. The content is real; it just isn't where the table of contents sends you.

The five hazardous attitudes

These are free points. The exam describes a pilot's thinking and asks you to name the attitude — or names the attitude and asks for the antidote. Recognize the thought, label it, state the antidote.

Anti-authority
“Rules are for other people. Don't tell me what to do.”
Antidote: Follow the rules. They are usually right.
Impulsivity
“Do something — now. Anything.”
Antidote: Not so fast. Think first.
Invulnerability
“Accidents happen to other people, not to me.”
Antidote: It could happen to me.
Macho
“I can do it. Watch this.”
Antidote: Taking chances is foolish.
Resignation
“What's the use? Nothing I do will matter.”
Antidote: I am not helpless. I can make a difference.

Drill these in the Operations & ADM lesson

Risk management inside CRM

The FAA separates hazard from risk. A hazard is a real or perceived condition, event, or circumstance you encounter. Risk is your assessment of the impact of that hazard — which is why two pilots can see the same hazard differently.

01Accept no unnecessary riskFlying is not possible without risk, but unnecessary risk comes without a corresponding return.
02Make risk decisions at the appropriate levelRisk decisions should be made by the person who can develop and implement risk controls.
03Accept risk when benefits outweigh the costsA risk is acceptable when what you gain genuinely exceeds the danger you take on.
04Integrate risk management into planning at all levelsNot just preflight — risk management belongs in every stage of the flight.

The six steps of good decision-making

Identifying personal attitudes hazardous to safe flight.
Learning behavior modification techniques.
Learning how to recognize and cope with stress.
Developing risk assessment skills.
Using all resources.
Evaluating the effectiveness of one's ADM skills.

IMSAFE — the personal check

CRM starts with assessing the one resource you cannot swap out. Run IMSAFE before you fly.

Illness: Am I sick? Even a head cold degrades judgment.
Medication: Am I taking anything that could impair me?
Stress: Am I carrying pressure that will pull focus from the aircraft?
Alcohol: Part 107 requires 8 hours bottle-to-throttle and under 0.04% BAC.
Fatigue: Am I rested? Adequate rest is the only real fix.
Emotion: Am I emotionally settled enough to make calm decisions?

CRM in the field: briefing a visual observer

The exam tests CRM through scenarios, and the scenario is usually a remote PIC working with a visual observer. Before launch, the crew should agree on how they will communicate, what phrases mean, who watches what, and what ends the flight. An observer who cannot reach you, or who does not know the words that stop the flight, is not functioning as a resource.

When a scenario question offers you a choice, the conservative, see-and-avoid, communicate-first answer is nearly always the one the FAA wants.

Practice ADM scenarios Take the full practice exam

Frequently asked questions

What does CRM stand for in Part 107?: CRM stands for Crew Resource Management. The FAA defines it as the effective use of all available resources — human resources, hardware, and information — supporting aeronautical decision-making to facilitate crew cooperation and improve decision-making.
What is the difference between CRM and ADM?: ADM (aeronautical decision-making) is the broader systematic approach to risk assessment and stress management. CRM is one method of achieving good ADM. As the FAA puts it, the goal of all flight crews is good ADM, and the use of CRM is one way to make good decisions.
What is SRM and how is it different from CRM?: SRM is Single-Pilot Resource Management — the art and science of managing all resources available to a single pilot, before and during flight, to ensure a successful outcome. CRM focuses on crew environments, but many of its concepts apply to solo operations. SRM includes ADM, risk management, task management, automation management, CFIT awareness, and situational awareness.
What are the five hazardous attitudes?: Anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation. The exam typically describes a pilot's thinking and asks you to name the attitude, or asks for the matching antidote. Recognizing the hazardous thought is the first step; then label it and state the antidote.
Does CRM apply if I fly alone?: Yes. The resources CRM asks you to manage are not only people. Checklists, the FAA figures, weather products, your aircraft's telemetry, ATC, and LAANC are all resources. When you do fly alone, the FAA's Single-Pilot Resource Management framework applies the same principles.
Why does the FAA study guide chapter on CRM look empty?: Chapter 6 of the Remote Pilot Study Guide is titled Crew Resource Management, but its entire body is a pointer telling you to read Chapter 10, Aeronautical Decision-Making and Judgment. The material is real, it just lives in a different chapter than the table of contents implies.

Primary sources: FAA Remote Pilot – Small UAS Study Guide (FAA-G-8082-22), Chapters 6 and 10, and AC 107-2. Educational, not legal advice.