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Choose what your team needs to practice.
Oct
05,
2026
How to Make Aviation ERP Exercises More Effective
Audio version of this article
How to Make Aviation ERP Exercises More Effective | MedAire
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Practice using your emergency response plan
An exercise lets your team use its emergency response plan (ERP) to make decisions and find instructions that need to be clearer.
That can involve a short drill to check who gets contacted and in what order or a tabletop exercise that brings several response teams together. Choose the format that lets you observe the task you need to test.
Build a tabletop exercise ↓How practice helps people remember
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change through experience. Learning can change the connections that support knowledge and skills. Practicing the same task in later exercises gives the team more chances to remember the instructions and use them.
During an exercise, people have to remember what to do and check their decisions against the plan. Research on learning and memory suggests these ways to help them learn.
Use the plan
Remember what to do
Ask who acts first and which instructions to follow. Then check the answer against the plan.
Research on remembering informationPractice again later
Repeat the task in a later exercise. Returning to it over time can help people remember what they learned.
Research on practice over timeClear up mistakes
After the exercise, talk through any mistakes and give people a chance to try again with the right information.
Research on learning from feedbackTry different situations
Practice the same task in different situations. This can help people use what they have learned when something unfamiliar happens.
Research on practicing with different examplesChoose a task you can watch the team perform
Choose what the team needs to practice before choosing the scenario. Be specific about what people need to do. They might check who is on board, update leadership, or hand the response over to the next shift.
Example objectiveUse the ERP to find who can start the response when the person normally responsible is unavailable.
Ask the team
Which section applies? Who needs to be involved? What information is missing, and who will get it?
Watch the response
Can participants find the procedure, identify who takes over, and explain their next steps?
Invite the people needed for the task, including external partners where their involvement matters. Encourage questions about unclear roles, outdated contact details, and tasks that no team has taken responsibility for.
Short drill
Check who gets contacted and in what order.
Tabletop exercise
Bring response teams together to work through their decisions.
More complex exercise
Test how several teams work together as they gain experience.
Test how the response starts in different situations
Keep the task the same and change one or two details. Ask the team to use the plan again in the new situation.
Keep the objectiveConfirm who can start the response
People
Person in charge unavailable
The person normally responsible cannot be reached.
Information
Conflicting reports
The first accounts of the event disagree.
Timing
Shift change
A new shift takes over while the event is unfolding.
Communication
Usual contact method fails
The usual way to contact the team fails.
Add changes one at a time so you can see which part of the plan needs attention. Broader exercises can test how teams share information and support families while keeping other operations running. A surprise drill can help test how quickly people respond. Set clear limits so it does not disrupt real operations.
Record the change and test it again
Discuss what happened soon after the exercise. Ask where decisions slowed, what information was missing, and which responsibilities were unclear. Check whether the problem came from the procedure or the way people were expected to use it.
Example observation
“We could not identify who takes over.”
→
Plan update
Update the plan to name who takes over when the person normally responsible is unavailable.
Assign
Name the person responsible.
Complete
Set a date and update the procedure.
Test again
Change the circumstances and check that the team can use the update.
Return to the exercise builder to create a tabletop based on the task your team needs to practice.
For help developing and maintaining the plan, read our complete guide to aviation emergency response planning.
Make the changes, then test them
After the exercise, update the plan and check the changes in a later session.
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Use the plan
02Ask the team to find the instructions and work through the decisions.
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Fix the gaps
03Write down the change needed, who will make it, and when it will be done.
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Test again
04Change the situation and check that the updated instructions work.
Check the highlighted fields
Your exercise guide
Exercise guide
Your guide includes a participant brief, facilitator prompts, optional ways to adapt the exercise, a debrief, and space to record actions.
Optional next step
Request a follow-up call
Confirm the details below. The current exercise reference and structured operational context will accompany the request.
A company aircraft is unable to continue after a serious event away from its normal operating region. Verified information is limited and several internal functions need a shared operating picture.
An incomplete account of an operational event is circulating publicly while facts remain limited. The exercise tests verification, stakeholder coordination, and the decision to communicate.
Conditions change rapidly during a business trip, disrupting movement between the airport, lodging, and a meeting location. The team must establish authority, contact, and decision thresholds.
A major natural event disrupts power, transport, and communications during a mission. The exercise focuses on accountability, operating continuity, and escalation across functions.
A suspected cyber event makes a primary operational system and normal communications unavailable. The team must continue a mission while protecting the integrity of decisions and information.
Local authorities delay a crew and aircraft during an administrative review. Information is incomplete and the organization must coordinate operational, legal, people, and communications decisions.