PAVE Risk Assessment
A comprehensive pre-flight risk assessment using the FAA's PAVE methodology.
What Is PAVE?
PAVE is a risk assessment framework developed by the FAA to help pilots evaluate all factors that could affect flight safety. It stands for:
P – Pilot
Your physical and mental readiness to fly (IMSAFE checklist)
A – Aircraft
The aircraft's airworthiness, equipment, and suitability for the flight
V – enVironment
Weather, terrain, airspace, and airport conditions
E – External Pressures
Time pressure, passenger expectations, financial pressure, "get-there-itis"
When Is PAVE Available?
Available within 4 hours of departure
PAVE is designed to assess your current state — physical, mental, and situational. Completing it the night before wouldn't accurately reflect how you'll feel at start-up. The 4-hour window keeps the self-assessment honest and timely.
When your departure is within 4 hours, you'll see a "Start PAVE Assessment" option in your briefing.
The IMSAFE Checklist (Pilot)
The Pilot section uses the IMSAFE checklist to assess your fitness to fly:
Currency (Pilot)
Alongside IMSAFE, the Pilot section asks how many hours you've flown in the trip's assigned aircraft over the last 30 days, plus whether you're night current and IFR current. Fewer than 5 hours in type in the last 30 days scores as higher risk than 5–10 hours, which in turn scores higher than 10+.
Auto-filled from your flight history
Starting a brand-new assessment pre-fills "Hours in this aircraft (last 30 days)" from your ADS-B-confirmed flown trips in that specific tail number, rounded down to avoid ever overstating your currency. Drag the slider yourself at any point to override it — once you do, your value is never overwritten again for that assessment.
This uses the same recent-flight-hours calculation as the "Hours (Last 30 Days)" field on your Pilot profile, just scoped to the one aircraft assigned to this trip instead of your whole fleet.
Understanding Risk Levels
Each PAVE category is evaluated and assigned a risk level:
LOW Risk
No significant concerns in this category
MEDIUM Risk
Some concerns—consider mitigations
HIGH Risk
Significant concerns—strongly consider not flying
TEAM Mitigations
After identifying risks, PlaneWX prompts you to apply TEAM mitigations:
Recording Your Decision
After completing the assessment, you'll record your final decision:
- GO– Proceed with the flight as planned
- NO-GO– Cancel the flight
- POSTPONE– Delay to a better time
- MODIFY– Adjust the flight (different route, altitude, etc.)
Your completed assessment is saved and can be reviewed later—useful for building self-awareness about your decision-making patterns. Casual, Pro, Pro Plus, and Enterprise pilots can also see those decisions on WX Score History, a plot of scores over a season with PAVE GO, NO-GO, POSTPONE, and MODIFY on each point.
After you land, Pilot Self Debrief asks how that PAVE picture compared to what you felt in the airplane. It does not change the WX Score.
PAVE in Your Final Briefing
Your PAVE assessment is included in the Final Pre-Flight Briefing email sent ~30 minutes before departure. This email shows:
- • Overall risk level (LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH)
- • Individual category scores (Pilot, Aircraft, Environment, External)
- • Your final GO/NO-GO decision
PAVE in the Pre-Flight Email
If you haven't completed PAVE yet, the Final Pre-Flight Briefing email includes a short nudge with a link to complete it. In-app PAVE reminders can be toggled in your profile under risk assessment preferences.
PAVE is the second beat of the risk loop— after the briefing, before you fly or stay.
Why PAVE Matters
Weather is just one part of flight safety. A perfectly clear day can still be dangerous if you're fatigued, the aircraft has a maintenance issue, or you're under pressure to "make it work." PAVE helps you step back and consider the complete picture before committing to fly.