it is the PIC’s responsibility to make the flight as safe as  possible, a pilot with a problem can request assistance from  ATC.  [Figure 6-9]  For example, if a pilot needs to level  off, be given a vector, or decrease speed, ATC assists and  becomes integrated as part of the crew. The services provided  by ATC can not only decrease pilot workload, but also help  pilots make informed inflight decisions. as the DF station or an airport. To become familiar with  the procedures and other benefits of DF, pilots are urged  to request practice DF guidance and approaches in VFR  weather conditions. SRM is about how to gather information, analyze it, and make  decisions. Learning how to identify problems, analyze the  information, and make informed and timely decisions is not  as straightforward as the training involved in learning specific  maneuvers. Learning how to judge a situation and “how to  think” in the endless variety of situations encountered while  flying out in the “real world” is more difficult. The AFSS are air traffic facilities that provide pilot briefing,  en route communications, VFR search and rescue services,  assist lost aircraft and aircraft in emergency situations, relay  ATC clearances, originate Notices to Airmen (NOTAM),  broadcast aviation weather and National Airspace System  (NAS) information, receive and process IFR flight plans,  and monitor navigational aids (NAVAIDs). In addition, at  selected locations, AFSS provide En Route Flight Advisory  Service (Flight Watch), issue airport advisories, and advise  Customs and Immigration of transborder flights. Selected  AFSS in Alaska also provide Transcribed Weather En Route  Broadcast (TWEB) recordings and take weather observations. There is no one right answer in ADM, rather each pilot is  expected to analyze each situation in light of experience  level, personal minimums, and current physical and mental  readiness level, and make his or her own decision.  SRM sounds good on paper, but it requires a way for pilots  to understand and use it in their daily flights. One practical  application is called the Five Ps (5 Ps).  [Figure 6-10]  The  5 Ps are: Another external resource available to pilots is the very high  frequency (VHF) Direction Finder (VHF/DF). This is one of  the common systems that helps pilots without their awareness  of its operation. FAA facilities that provide VHF/DF service  are identified in the airport/facility directory (A/FD). DF  equipment has long been used to locate lost aircraft and to  guide aircraft to areas of good weather or to airports. DF  instrument approaches may be given to aircraft in a distress  or urgent condition. Experience has shown that most emergencies requiring DF  assistance involve pilots with little flight experience. With  this in mind, DF approach procedures provide maximum  flight stability in the approach by using small turns and wings- level descents. The DF specialist gives the pilot headings to  fly and tells the pilot when to begin a descent. If followed,  the headings lead the aircraft to a predetermined point such  Each of these areas consists of a set of challenges and  opportunities that face a single pilot. Each can substantially  increase or decrease the risk of successfully completing the  flight based on the pilot’s ability to make informed and timely  decisions. The 5 Ps are used to evaluate the pilot’s current  situation at key decision points during the flight or when an  emergency arises. These decision points include preflight,  pretakeoff, hourly or at the midpoint of the flight, predescent,  and just prior to the final approach fix or for VFR operations,  just prior to entering the traffic pattern.  The 5 Ps are based on the idea that the pilots have essentially  five variables that impact their environment and can cause  the pilot to make a single critical decision or several less  critical decisions that when added together can create a  critical outcome. This concept stems from the belief that  current decision-making models tended to be reactionary in  nature. A change has to occur and be detected to drive a risk  management decision by the pilot. For instance, many pilots  use risk management sheets that are filled out by the pilot  prior to takeoff. These form a catalog of risks that may be  encountered that day and turn them into numerical values.  Figure 6-9.  Controllers work to make flights as safe as possible. SRM and the 5P Check  • Plan • Plane • Pilot • Passengers • Programming 6-8