Effective Aeronautical  Decision-Making Chapter 13 Introduction The accident rate for helicopters has traditionally been higher  than the accident rate of fixed-wing aircraft, probably due to  the helicopter’s unique capabilities to fly and land in more  diverse situations than fixed-wing aircraft and pilot attempts  to fly the helicopter beyond the limits of his or her abilities or  beyond the capabilities of the helicopter. With no significant  improvement in helicopter accident rates for the last 20 years,  the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has joined with  various members of the helicopter community to improve  the safety of helicopter operations. According to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)  statistics, approximately 80 percent of all aviation accidents  are caused by pilot error, the human factor. Many of  these accidents are the result of the failure of instructors  to incorporate single-pilot resource management (SRM)  and risk management into flight training instruction of  aeronautical decision-making (ADM). SRM is defined as the art of managing all the resources (both  on board the aircraft and from outside sources) available to a  pilot prior to and during flight to ensure a successful flight.  When properly applied, SRM is a key component of ADM.  Additional discussion includes integral topics such as, the  concepts of risk management, workload or task management,  situational awareness, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)  awareness, and automation management. 