Every airline interview will test your decision-making at some point — whether it is a CRM scenario, a sim debrief, or a direct question like "talk me through how you make operational decisions." Winging it is risky. Assessors are trained to spot structured thinking, and candidates who ramble through scenario answers without a clear framework score consistently lower than those who follow a recognisable model. Here are the three frameworks you need to know, which airlines expect which one, and how to apply them in your answers.
Key Takeaways
- FORDEC, DODAR & TEM: Decision-Making Frameworks for Pilots - comprehensive guide with current 2026 information.
- Learn FORDEC, DODAR, and TEM decision-making frameworks.
- Essential for Lufthansa, British Airways, and European airline interviews.
- Assessors are trained to spot structured thinking, and candidates who ramble throug.
- Read the full guide below for detailed analysis and actionable advice.
Why Airlines Test Decision-Making
Airline operations generate decisions constantly — most routine, some critical. Divert or continue? Accept the runway change or request the original?
Reject the takeoff or go? For routine decisions, experience and SOPs handle the workload. But when something unexpected happens — weather deteriorating, system failure, medical emergency in the cabin — pilots need a structured way to process information, evaluate options, and act decisively.
Assessors are not looking for the "right" answer. They are looking for the right process. Two candidates can reach different decisions about the same scenario and both pass — as long as both demonstrated structured, rational thinking that prioritised safety. What fails is jumping to a conclusion without considering alternatives, ignoring risks, or being unable to explain why you chose one option over another.
FORDEC Explained
FORDEC was developed by Lufthansa and is the standard decision-making framework across the Lufthansa Group. It is systematic, thorough, and designed to ensure no step gets skipped under pressure. If you are interviewing with Lufthansa, Swiss, Eurowings, Austrian, or Condor, you must know FORDEC inside out and apply it by name in your answers.
F — Facts
What do I know? Gather all available information about the situation.
Weather, fuel state, aircraft condition, passenger considerations, time available, airport status. Do not assume — verify. This step prevents decisions based on incomplete or incorrect information. In an interview answer, list the facts of the scenario explicitly before moving to options.
O — Options
What can I do? List all realistic options. For a diversion scenario, options might include continuing to destination, diverting to an alternate, returning to departure, or holding for conditions to improve. Always include at least two options — saying "the only option is X" suggests you have not considered alternatives.
R — Risks & Benefits
What are the risks and benefits of each option? Assess each option against safety, operational, commercial, and passenger factors. This is the critical analytical step that separates a structured decision from a gut reaction. Be explicit about trade-offs — continuing to destination saves time but carries weather risk; diverting is safer but creates passenger disruption and cost.
D — Decision
Which option do I choose? Make a clear decision and state it.
Do not hedge ("I would probably..."). Decisiveness matters. The decision should logically follow from the risk assessment — if safety was the priority and one option was clearly safer, the decision should reflect that.
E — Execution
How do I implement the decision? A decision without execution is just an opinion. In your answer, outline the practical steps: inform ATC, brief the cabin crew, reconfigure the FMS, brief the approach, notify the company. This shows the assessor you think beyond the decision itself to the operational reality of implementing it.
C — Check
Did it work? Do I need to reassess? This step is what makes FORDEC a loop rather than a one-shot process.
After executing, review the outcome. Has the situation changed? Are new facts available? If conditions evolve, re-enter FORDEC at the Facts stage. In an interview, mentioning the Check step shows maturity — you understand that the first decision is not always the final one.
DODAR / TDODAR Explained
DODAR is common among UK carriers and some European airlines. TDODAR adds a Time element at the beginning, which is particularly useful for time-critical decisions. If you are interviewing with British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, or TUI, TDODAR is the framework to use.
T — Time
How much time do I have? This is the first question in any decision. An engine fire requires immediate action; deteriorating weather at destination gives you 30 minutes to decide.
The time assessment dictates the pace of the remaining steps. In a time-critical situation, you may compress the DODAR process. With time available, you can be more thorough. Saying "I have time — let me gather more information" is a perfectly valid outcome of this step.
D — Diagnose
What is the problem? Unlike FORDEC's "Facts" step, Diagnose asks you to identify the actual problem.
A hydraulic caution light is a fact; a degraded hydraulic system with reduced flight control authority is the diagnosis. The distinction matters because the diagnosis shapes your options. In an interview answer, show that you distinguish between symptoms and root causes.
O — Options
Same as FORDEC — list realistic options, always at least two.
D — Decide
Choose an option based on your analysis. Be clear and decisive.
A — Act
Execute the decision. Outline the practical steps — ATC, cabin crew, flight management, company notification.
R — Review
Did the action resolve the situation? Has anything changed that requires a new decision cycle? Same concept as FORDEC's Check step. Continuous review keeps you from getting locked into a decision that no longer fits the evolving situation.
Threat & Error Management (TEM)
TEM is different from FORDEC and DODAR. Those are decision-making frameworks you apply to specific situations. TEM is a continuous safety awareness model that runs in the background throughout every flight. It was developed from the LOSA (Line Operations Safety Audit) programme and is now embedded in ICAO standards.
TEM categorises operational hazards into three layers. Threats are external factors that increase risk: weather, terrain, airport complexity, traffic density, unfamiliar procedures, ATC errors, aircraft malfunctions. Threats exist independently of the crew — you cannot prevent a thunderstorm, but you can manage its impact.
Errors are crew actions (or inactions) that deviate from the intended outcome: wrong altitude set, incorrect frequency, missed checklist item, late configuration. Errors are normal — they happen on every flight. The question is whether they are caught and corrected before they escalate. Undesired aircraft states are the result of unmanaged threats or uncorrected errors: unstabilised approach, deviation from the cleared route, incorrect configuration for the phase of flight.
The TEM model recognises that threats cannot be eliminated, errors cannot be prevented entirely, and undesired aircraft states can be recovered from if caught early. The crew's job is to manage threats (anticipate, prepare, mitigate), trap errors (monitor, cross-check, communicate), and recover from undesired states (recognise, correct, review). In an interview, demonstrating TEM awareness means showing that you think proactively about what could go wrong, rather than just reacting when it does.
TEM in Practice — Example
Threat: Night approach to a short runway with wet conditions and crosswind reported at 25kt gusting 35kt.
Crew management: Brief the approach with specific go-around criteria ("if crosswind exceeds 33kt on final or the approach is not stabilised by 500ft, we go around"). Discuss the landing technique (crab or de-crab). Review wet runway performance data. Both pilots monitor wind during the approach.
Error trap: PM cross-checks configuration, speed, and approach stability calls. If PF becomes fixated on the runway and misses the speed trend, PM calls it.
Undesired state recovery: If the approach becomes unstabilised below 500ft, the pre-briefed go-around criteria trigger an immediate missed approach. No deliberation needed — the decision was already made during the brief.
Which Airlines Use Which Framework
| Framework | Airlines |
|---|---|
| FORDEC | Lufthansa, Swiss, Eurowings, Austrian, Condor |
| DODAR / TDODAR | British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, TUI, Aer Lingus |
| TEM | Universal — expected alongside any framework at all airlines |
| Generic / flexible | Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, KLM, Air France, Ryanair, SAS, Finnair, Norwegian, Turkish, and most others |
For airlines without a specified framework, use any structured approach. The content matters more than the label. If you are comfortable with FORDEC, use it everywhere — assessors at Emirates will not penalise you for applying a Lufthansa model. They will, however, penalise you for giving an unstructured answer.
How to Apply Frameworks in Your Answers
When you get a scenario question — "You are on approach and the weather drops below minimums at your destination. What do you do?" — resist the urge to jump straight to the answer. The assessor does not just want to hear your decision. They want to hear you think.
FORDEC Answer Structure
"First, the facts:" — State what you know. Fuel state, weather at destination and alternates, distance from each, passenger considerations, aircraft condition. Show you are gathering information before acting.
"My options are:" — List them. Continue and hold, divert to alternate A, divert to alternate B, return. Always have at least two.
"The risks of each:" — Briefly assess. Holding burns fuel and the weather may not improve. Alternate A has good weather but is further. Alternate B is closer but has a shorter runway.
"My decision:" — State it clearly. "I would divert to alternate A because..."
"Execution:" — Inform ATC, re-programme the FMS, brief the approach, inform cabin crew and company.
"Check:" — Monitor en route. If conditions change, reassess.
This structure takes about 2-3 minutes to deliver, which is the sweet spot for scenario answers. It demonstrates structured thinking, risk awareness, decisiveness, and the ability to implement and review — all the competencies the assessor is scoring. The actual decision matters less than the quality of your process for reaching it.
One final point: these frameworks are not just for interviews. Pilots use them on the line every day. Treat them as operational tools you will carry throughout your career, not just exam techniques to memorise and forget. Assessors can tell the difference between a candidate who has internalised structured decision-making and one who is reciting steps from a textbook.
The Bottom Line
Know your framework, match it to your target airline, and practise applying it to scenarios until it feels natural. FORDEC for Lufthansa Group, DODAR for UK carriers, TEM awareness for everyone. Structure your answers so the assessor can follow your reasoning, always consider at least two options, and remember that the process is what gets scored — not the decision itself.