This glossary is written for virtual airline and flight simulation use within Virtual Air Canada Airline. It is not intended as a real-world aviation reference.
TEM
Threat and Error Management
Threat and Error Management is a safety framework used in aviation to describe how flight crews identify, assess, and manage the hazards and mistakes that occur during normal operations. The model was developed from research into airline accidents and incidents and recognises that flight operations always involve threats - conditions or events that increase operational complexity and that exist outside the crew’s direct control - such as adverse weather, complex airspace, or aircraft malfunctions. Errors are actions or inactions by the crew that deviate from intended procedures or expectations, and undesired aircraft states are the unsafe conditions that result if errors are not caught and corrected.
TEM is built into Crew Resource Management (CRM) training and line checks at airlines worldwide. Crews are taught to anticipate known threats before they arise (proactive management), detect and respond to threats and errors as they occur (reactive management), and recover from undesired aircraft states before they escalate. The model emphasises that errors are a normal part of human performance and that the goal is not to eliminate them entirely but to ensure robust detection and recovery mechanisms are in place. LOSA (Line Operations Safety Audit) observations use the TEM framework to analyse normal operations and identify systemic vulnerabilities.