FAA FRAT: What the Flight Risk Assessment Tool Is and How to Use One

Every flight carries some risk. The FAA's original FRAT guidance puts the job this way: "Every flight has hazards and some level of risk associated with it." [3] A FRAT makes you name those hazards before you are in the airplane, when changing the plan is still cheap. This page explains what an FAA FRAT is, where the FAA FRAT comes from, how its scores work, how to fill one out honestly, and how PlaneWX's electronic FRAT (eFRAT) with WX Score differs from a paper form. It draws on the FAA Risk Management Handbook, the FAA Safety Team, FAA InFO 07015, and AC 120‑92D [1][2][3][4]. For the product announcement, see the PlaneWX FRAT news item. Related risk guides: weather risk and personal minimums and risk stacking.

What is a flight risk assessment tool?

The Risk Management Handbook defines it by what it holds: "Identifying hazards and associating them with risks can be accomplished using a simple spreadsheet or form during flight planning. The form used to record each hazard is known as a Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT)." [1, p. 3-10]

Most FRATs are built on PAVE, the FAA's hazard checklist. The acronym "represents hazards that relate to the pilot, the aircraft, the environment, and external pressures." [1, p. 1-2] The two work together: "Pilots can use the PAVE checklist before flight to identify hazards. Pilots can use a FRAT to organize identified hazards and associated risks for additional analysis." [1, p. 3-15] The Pilot section usually includes IMSAFE, the fitness check for illness, medication, stress, alcohol, fatigue, and emotion [1, p. 3-5]. For the full checklist, see the PAVE guide.

A weather briefing is not a FRAT. The briefing feeds one box, the environment. The FRAT asks about everything else too: your sleep, the airplane's squawks, the runway, and the people waiting at the other end.

FRAT form, checklist, and tool: what those searches mean

Search phrases like "FRAT form," "FRAT checklist," and "FRAT tool" usually point at the same FAA idea, seen from three angles:

• FRAT form. The written record itself. "The form used to record each hazard is known as a Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT)." [1, p. 3-10] Paper, spreadsheet, or app all count.
• FRAT checklist. Often means the PAVE checklist that finds the hazards a FRAT then records [1, p. 3-15]. PAVE is the checklist; the FRAT is the form.
• FRAT tool. The working copy you fill out for a specific flight, including the FAA Safety Team online FRAT and any operator or app version adapted from FAA samples [2][3].

None of those labels changes the job: name the hazards, score or narrate the risk, mitigate what you can, and leave the GO / NO-GO call with the PIC [2][6].

Where does the FAA FRAT come from?

The FAA's FRAT material is spread across a few documents, and only some of them describe the tool in detail. Other core FAA references, including the PHAK, the AIM, and the Aviation Weather Handbook, do not use the term. AC 91‑92 covers PAVE and personal minimums but does not define a FRAT. These documents do:

The 2007 InFO introduced the tool for operators: "The Turbine Aircraft Operations Subgroup as part of the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee has developed a risk assessment tool for use in flight operations." [3] It references the original AC 120‑92, since replaced; the current version is AC 120‑92D, which draws the line between tools: "A FRAT would be used to determine if conditions are acceptable for a specific flight to commence." [4, para. 3.4.5.4.1]

How does FRAT scoring work?

Numerical FRATs

"A numerical FRAT lists different hazards and an associated number, which indicates the significance of each hazard. The pilot selects the relevant hazards, and derives a total score. Typically, the score falls into three ranges." Low scores indicate low risk, the middle range says exercise caution, and scores above the upper threshold indicate danger [1, p. 3-10]. They are quick, but the Handbook lists four drawbacks [1, p. 3-11]:

• "The form may not cover all the hazards for a particular flight."
• "The range of scores for each risk level may appear arbitrary, leading a pilot to question the results."
• "The form does not encourage the pilot to analyze each hazard."
• "The form may indicate an overall low level of risk, leading the pilot to ignore the implications of a particular hazard."

Narrative FRATs and the risk matrix

"This type of FRAT asks the user to identify hazards and associate each hazard with risk." It takes longer but addresses many of the drawbacks [1, p. 3-11]. For each hazard you judge two things, because "Risk is the composite of the likelihood (probability) and the severity (consequences) of a particular outcome." [1, p. 4-1] A risk matrix combines them into low, medium, serious, or high. The Handbook's reading of the colors: a medium result implies go, but "risk should still be mitigated if possible." Serious or high imply no-go unless you can reduce the risk and reassess [1, p. 4-2].

Reading FRAT scores: green, yellow, and red

The FAASTeam FRAT, "like many other FRATs, produces a score that will fall within one of three risk categories: Green (low), yellow (medium), and red (high)." [2] Its guidance for each:

The FAA also warns against letting a deadline override red. Its example is a son's graduation, and its advice is that it is "always preferable to wish you were flying rather than wishing you were on the ground." [2]

How do you use a FRAT honestly?

A FRAT is only as good as what you put in it. The Risk Management Handbook names the problem directly: "Pilots sometimes use inputs that skew the risk toward a lower level due to the desire to complete a flight." [1, p. 4-2] A few habits keep it honest:

• When unsure, rate it higher. "In such cases, pilots should apply the more conservative parameter(s), which place the risk at a higher level." [1, p. 4-2]
• Fill it out close to departure. "The matrix results lose relevance if the hazards change before a flight departs." If the plan changes, such as a new day or a different airplane, redo it on a fresh form [1, pp. 4-2 and 5-4].
• Set thresholds that can say no. If your FRAT has never come out yellow, check the scale. The FAA's warning about thresholds that never trigger applies to one pilot as much as to a fleet [3].
• Look at the worst item, not just the total. One high hazard can hide in a low total [1, p. 3-11].
• Name the pressure. "The pressure to get to a particular destination or to leave at the conclusion of a planned stay can affect a pilot’s judgment." [1, p. 3-8] Write it in the External section, even when it feels minor. Work the weather early so that pressure does not lock the plan; see route weather planning before the pressure builds.
• Ask someone. The FAA suggests an instructor or FAASTeam Representative when a score stays yellow [2], and the Handbook adds: "If there is any doubt concerning the outcome of a flight, the pilot should consider hiring an instructor or a mentor pilot and making the trip a learning experience." [1, p. 4-6]

Many experienced pilots run PAVE in their heads, and that discipline deserves respect. The cost is that it all lives in working memory, often under schedule pressure. The FAA Safety Team's view: "Simply running through the task mentally often overlooks the actual risk exposure." "The mind has a tendency to isolate individual risks, which can lead to an underestimation of their collective impact." [2] Writing it down makes the process repeatable. The judgment stays yours.

Why do FRATs matter for GA safety?

Because the hard accidents are rarely about one hazard. The FAA's analysis of NTSB data on VFR flight into instrument conditions found that "An analysis of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident database from 2014 to 2023 reveals 180 IMC-related general aviation accidents, with a fatality rate exceeding 82%." It also found that "more than 40% of accidents show some level of intentional flight into IMC." [5] The FAA's recommended intervention: "At the operational level, using a flight risk assessment tool (FRAT) is a good way to enforce standards, such as personal minimums." "FRATs are an excellent way to establish self-accountability and detect building risk before it becomes apparent in any one factor." [5] A FRAT pairs naturally with written personal minimums and with watching how small items stack; see risk stacking.

How do you do your first FRAT?

1. Pick a form. The FAASTeam online FRAT, the Handbook's PAVE form, or an app [2][1, p. 3-11].
2. Get the weather first. A complete briefing is the input for the environment section.
3. Go letter by letter. Pilot (IMSAFE and currency), Aircraft (squawks, fuel, performance, runway), enVironment (weather, night, terrain, airports), External (who is waiting and why) [1, pp. 3-4 to 3-11].
4. Mitigate the top items. Use TEAM: transfer, eliminate, accept, or mitigate each risk, then rescore [1, p. G-4].
5. Decide, and keep the record. Go, delay, change the plan, or stay. After the flight, compare what you rated with what you found. "A pilot’s risk assessment accuracy should improve with practice." [1, p. 4-5]

How does a paper FRAT compare with PlaneWX's eFRAT?

Both follow PAVE, and both leave the decision to you. Electronic FRATs are not new: the FAASTeam FRAT has an online version, and the FAA notes that "FRATs can be as simple as a basic spreadsheet." [2][5] What PlaneWX changed is where the weather part starts. Mark Wolfgang, PlaneWX's founder, built the WX Score to put a number on weather risk against your own minimums, and PlaneWX pioneered an eFRAT that integrates that score, so the weather rating begins from your briefing instead of a blank line.

The PlaneWX column comes from the help center [7]. Pick whichever form you will actually use every time.

Where are the official FRAT references?

• Start here: Risk Management Handbook, Chapter 3, Using a Flight Risk Assessment Tool (PDF pages 28 to 29), with the risk matrix in Chapter 4 (PDF pages 34 to 39) [1].
• FAA Safety Team FRAT page and the FAASTeam online FRAT [2].
• InFO 07015, Flight Risk Assessment Tool (2007), with the original sample form [3].
• AC 120‑92D, paragraph 3.4.5.4.1 (PDF page 49), for FRATs and SMS [4].

Links checked October 6, 2026: all returned HTTP 200 or 206 (partial PDF response), except the online FRAT, a dashboard that blocks automated checks; it opens in a browser from the FAA Safety Team page.

Where does a FRAT fit in a disciplined decision?

PlaneWX is decision support for general aviation pilots, built around one idea: "Fly like it's your job." Professional crews run the same process on every trip, and a FRAT is the part of that process most pilots skip. The loop is WX Score briefing, FRAT, GO / NO-GO, Self Debrief, with a Mentor if you want one. Here is how PlaneWX runs each beat, as described in the help center [7]:

• WX Score briefing. The WX Score rates the weather against your minimums as Favorable (75% and up), Marginal (50 to 74%), or Unfavorable (under 50%). "A low score doesn't mean don't fly. It means don't fly without asking why the number is what it is." (WX Score)
• FRAT. "PlaneWX FRAT is a dynamic flight risk assessment, not a static one-time form." It opens within 4 hours of departure, because "The 4-hour window keeps the self-assessment honest and timely." Known facts such as recent hours and night currency are pre-filled as hints, and "Your rating overrides the PlaneWX suggestion." Rating the weather more optimistically than the WX Score hint requires a short note (FRAT).
• GO / NO-GO. You record GO, NO-GO, Postpone, or Modify. "PlaneWX never recommends GO or NO-GO. You make the call as PIC." "The courage to stay is part of the loop, not a failure of it." (FRAT, The Risk Loop)
• Self Debrief. Self Debrief compares the FRAT picture with how the flight went. It is a PlaneWX Labs feature for Pro Plus and does not change the WX Score (The Risk Loop).
• Mentor. Need Help Now opens 2 hours before departure and requires a completed FRAT, so the mentor sees more than the weather (Mentors).

FRAT is on every plan, including Free: "We will never gate safety behind a subscription." (The Free Plan) And the limits are stated plainly: "PlaneWX is not a substitute for a complete, independent pre-flight weather briefing. Pull one from a source you already trust before you fly." (The Risk Loop) Density altitude is a common Aircraft and enVironment hazard; see the density altitude guide.

Run your next FRAT in PlaneWX, read how the PlaneWX FRAT works, or see the FRAT launch news.

FRAT FAQ: common pilot questions

What is an FAA FRAT?

FAA FRAT means Flight Risk Assessment Tool: the FAA's name for a form that records the hazards of a planned flight and the risk they add up to. "The form used to record each hazard is known as a Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT)." [1, p. 3-10] The FAA publishes FRAT guidance on the FAA Safety Team FRAT page, sample forms in the Risk Management Handbook and InFO 07015, and an online FAASTeam FRAT [2][1][3].

What is a FRAT in aviation?

A flight risk assessment tool: a form, spreadsheet, or app for recording the hazards of a planned flight and the risk they add up to. "The form used to record each hazard is known as a Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT)." [1, p. 3-10] It is the pilot's chance to sit down and do an honest assessment, considering all factors in the PAVE checklist.

What does FRAT stand for?

Flight Risk Assessment Tool [1, p. 3-10]. In FAA and GA use, people also search for "FAA FRAT," "FRAT tool," "FRAT form," and "FRAT checklist"; those phrases all point at the same idea.

What is a FRAT form?

The written record of the hazards and risk for one planned flight. The Risk Management Handbook defines the FRAT as that form: "The form used to record each hazard is known as a Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT)." [1, p. 3-10] It can be a paper sheet, a spreadsheet, or an app. The FAA's original sample form is attached to InFO 07015 [3].

What is a FRAT checklist?

Pilots often say "FRAT checklist" when they mean the PAVE checklist that feeds a FRAT. PAVE is how you find hazards (Pilot, Aircraft, enVironment, External pressures). A FRAT is where you record them and assess the risk [1, p. 3-15]. The Pilot section usually includes IMSAFE [1, p. 3-5]. See the PAVE guide.

What is a FRAT tool?

Any form, spreadsheet, or app that records flight hazards and risk. The FAA Safety Team publishes guidance and links to an online FAASTeam FRAT [2]. The Risk Management Handbook also shows numerical and narrative sample tools [1, pp. 3-10 and 3-11]. A FRAT tool assists planning; it does not make the go/no-go decision for you [2].

Is a FRAT required by the FAA?

None of the FAA documents on this page makes a FRAT mandatory for personal Part 91 flying. The FAA Safety Team says a FRAT ought to be part of every flight's planning, and the Risk Management Handbook says a FRAT is appropriate for any flight but may not be necessary for less complex ones [2][1, p. 5-4]. Operators with a safety management system may use FRATs as part of it [4, para. 3.4.5.4.1].

Does a green FRAT mean I should fly?

No. "The Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) is not designed to make the go/no-go decision for you; it serves as a tool to assist in planning your flight and considering a broader spectrum of hazards and risks." Even a high green score should prompt a closer look [2]. The decision stays with the pilot in command [6].

How does PlaneWX's electronic FRAT (eFRAT) use the WX Score?

PlaneWX's eFRAT is built on PAVE like the FAA forms. The WX Score rates the weather against your minimums as Favorable, Marginal, or Unfavorable and appears as a hint in the enVironment section. Your LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH self-rates drive the FRAT; rating weather more optimistically than the hint needs a short note. The eFRAT opens within 4 hours of departure, flags stacked risks, and never recommends GO or NO-GO. You make the GO / NO-GO call as PIC [7].

How is PlaneWX FRAT different from a paper FRAT?

It is an eFRAT built on PAVE like the FAA forms, but it opens within 4 hours of departure, pre-fills facts it already knows as hints, shows the WX Score breakdown as a weather hint, and flags stacked risks. Your ratings drive the result, and PlaneWX never recommends GO or NO-GO [7].

Where can I get the FAA FRAT?

Start on the FAA Safety Team FRAT page, which links to an online version of the FAASTeam FRAT [2]. The Risk Management Handbook also shows a sample numerical FRAT and a narrative PAVE form [1, pp. 3-10 and 3-11]. InFO 07015 includes the original sample form for operators [3].

What is the difference between PAVE and a FRAT?

PAVE is the checklist for finding hazards: pilot, aircraft, environment, and external pressures. A FRAT is where you record them and assess the risk [1, p. 3-15].

How should I set FRAT score thresholds?

Realistically. The FAA's original FRAT guidance warns that "If every flight is within the acceptable range under any condition, it is likely that the thresholds have not been set correctly." [3]

What risk levels does the PlaneWX FRAT use?

Each PAVE category gets LOW, MEDIUM, or HIGH. LOW means no significant concerns in that category, MEDIUM means some concerns, and HIGH means significant concerns, with one or more factors past limits in that FRAT. PlaneWX shows a suggested level and what is driving it; your own rating overrides the suggestion. [7]

What is the Risks are stacking banner?

When three or more elevated factors stack on one flight (self-rates and named concerns on the FRAT card), PlaneWX shows a Risks are stacking banner. It is a reminder of a common practice, not a decision. It does not change the WX Score, and the GO / NO-GO call stays with the pilot. [7]

How does TEAM appear in the PlaneWX FRAT?

When overall risk is MEDIUM or HIGH, PlaneWX shows the FAA TEAM choices: Transfer, Eliminate, Accept with a reason, or Mitigate. The pilot picks what applies, and the answers are saved with the assessment. You then record GO, NO-GO, Postpone, or Modify. PlaneWX never recommends GO or NO-GO. [7]

Can a PlaneWX mentor see or require my FRAT?

Mentors are optional volunteer peers, not flight instructors. A mentor can turn on Require FRAT, which means they only see requests where the pilot completed a FRAT. Need Help Now opens 2 hours before departure and requires a completed FRAT, so the mentor sees more than the weather. The final call is always the pilot's. [7]

What happens after the flight?

PlaneWX lays out a loop: Weather Briefing, FRAT, GO / NO-GO, then Self Debrief. Self Debrief asks how the flight actually went while it is still fresh, including how the FRAT picture compared with what you felt in the airplane. It does not change the WX Score, and a debrief does not feed the next FRAT. [7]

FRAT glossary of terms

Every term below links to the FAA, NWS, or NOAA document that defines it. The same definitions appear when you hover, focus, or tap a dotted term on this page.

FRAT (Flight Risk Assessment Tool)

A form or checklist for recording flight hazards and the risk they add up to before you fly. Source: FAA Risk Management Handbook, Chapter 3, Using a Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT)

IMSAFE (Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion)

A personal fitness checklist that helps a pilot spot aeromedical hazards, the P in PAVE, before a flight. Source: FAA Risk Management Handbook, Chapter 3, Aeromedical

PAVE (Pilot, Aircraft, enVironment, External pressures)

The FAA risk checklist that sorts preflight hazards into four groups: the pilot, the aircraft, the environment, and external pressures. Source: FAA Risk Management Handbook, Chapter 1, The PAVE Checklist

SMS (Safety management system)

An organization-wide, preventive approach to safety with a safety policy, a positive safety culture, formal hazard and risk methods, and safety assurance. Source: FAA AC 120‑92D, Chapter 1

TEAM (Transfer, Eliminate, Accept, Mitigate)

The four ways to handle a risk once it is identified. Some FAA material orders it TEMA. Source: FAA Risk Management Handbook, Glossary

VFR (Visual flight rules): flight category

Ceiling greater than 3,000 feet and visibility greater than 5 miles. Source: AIM, 7-1-7

This page explains published FAA guidance. A FRAT is a planning aid, not a certification or an FAA requirement for personal flying, and no score makes the decision. The pilot in command is directly responsible for the flight [6, para. (a)]. Always get a current briefing before you fly.

FRAT references: sources cited in this guide

1. FAA‑H‑8083‑2A, "Risk Management Handbook." Federal Aviation Administration. 2022. Pages cited: 1-2, 3-4 to 3-11, 3-15, 4-1, 4-2, 4-5, 4-6, 5-4, G-4. https://www.faa.gov/regulationspolicies/handbooksmanuals/risk-management-handbook-faa-h-8083-2a. PDF: https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/2022-06/risk_management_handbook_2A.pdf
2. "Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT)." FAA Safety Team, Federal Aviation Administration. Last updated October 28, 2024. https://www.faa.gov/general/flight-risk-assessment-tool-frat-faa-safety-team. Online FRAT: https://explore.dot.gov/#/site/FAA/views/FRATTOOL/FRATTool?:iid=1
3. InFO 07015, "Flight Risk Assessment Tool." Federal Aviation Administration, Flight Standards Service. July 3, 2007. https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/inFO07015.pdf
4. AC 120‑92D, "Safety Management Systems for Aviation Service Providers." Federal Aviation Administration. May 21, 2024. Paragraph 3.4.5.4.1 and Appendix G. https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_120-92D_FAA_Web.pdf
5. "Silver Linings, Silver Bullets, and Other Fictions: Avoiding VFR Flight Into Instrument Weather." FAA Safety Briefing, Federal Aviation Administration. Last updated July 1, 2026. https://www.faa.gov/blog/clearedfortakeoff/silver-linings-silver-bullets-and-other-fictions-avoiding-vfr-flight
6. 14 CFR 91.3, "Responsibility and authority of the pilot in command." Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-91/subpart-A/section-91.3
7. PlaneWX Help Center: "FRAT," "The Risk Loop," "WX Score," "Mentors," "The Free Plan," "Self Debrief." PlaneWX. Accessed October 6, 2026. FRAT · The Risk Loop · WX Score · Mentors · The Free Plan · Self Debrief