Written by By Kanki, Helmreich, and Anca (eds.) 2nd edition (2010)
Full book available online in PDF format from: LINK
Crew Resource Management (2nd Edition) is widely regarded as the definitive reference text on CRM training and practice in aviation. Edited by some of the original pioneers in CRM research, this comprehensive volume synthesises decades of empirical evidence, theoretical insight, and real-world applications to offer both depth and breadth on the subject. It has been long considered a “bible” in human factors education because it systematically brings together academic research, regulatory guidance, and operational perspectives on effective crew performance and safety management.
The book is structured to guide the reader from foundations to practice to future challenges. The opening sections review the origins and evolution of CRM, tracing how interventions aimed at reducing human error shifted from cockpit communication and leadership in the 1970s and 1980s to broader team, organisational, and systems approaches. Case studies and historical analyses illustrate how CRM concepts emerged from accident investigations and human factors research.
Subsequent parts of the book delve into training applications and perspectives. This includes detailed discussions on CRM curriculum design, behavioural markers and assessment methods, Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT), and the implementation of CRM across different organisational contexts. Contributors draw from airline, military, and regulatory experiences to show how CRM tools are adapted in practice and how they intersect with programmes like Advanced Qualification Programmes (AQP), Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA), and Safety Management Systems (SMS).
The book also expands the scope of CRM beyond the flight deck. It covers cultural and international aspects, cross-crew and non-technical skills frameworks, and extends lessons to other high-risk domains. This reflects a key shift in the field: CRM principles are not only about cockpit teamwork, but about system-level resilience, communication, decision-making and threat and error management across operational crews.
In concluding chapters, the editors highlight emerging challenges and future directions, reinforcing that CRM must continue to adapt to advances in automation, organisational change, and human performance science. For aviation professionals, this book matters because it provides a rigorous, evidence-based foundation for designing, evaluating, and evolving CRM programmes—and it remains essential reading for trainers, regulators, safety managers, and researchers committed to enhancing human performance and operational safety.
Contents Overview
📘 Part I — The Nature of CRM
- Why CRM? Empirical and Theoretical Bases of Human Factors Training
- Teamwork and Organizational Factors
- Crews as Groups: Their Formation and Leadership
- Communication and Crew Resource Management
- Flight Crew Decision-Making
- CRM (Non-Technical) Skills and Applications, for and Beyond the Flight Deck
📘 Part II — CRM Training Applications
7. The Design, Delivery, and Evaluation of Crew Resource Management Training
8. Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT): The Intersection of Technical and Human Factor CRM Team Skills
9. Line Operations Simulation Development Tools
10. Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA)
11. Crew Resource Management: Spaceflight Resource Management
12. The Migration of Crew Resource Management Training
📘 Part III — CRM Perspectives
13. A Regulatory Perspective
14. A Regulatory Perspective II
15. Integrating CRM into an Airline’s Culture: The Air Canada Process
16. The Accident Investigator’s Perspective
17. The Airlines’ Perspective: Effectively Applying CRM Principles in Today’s Aviation Environment
18. Conversations on CRM from Outside the USA
19. The Military Perspective
📘 Part IV — Conclusions
20. Airline Pilot Training Today and Tomorrow
21. The Future of CRM