The IMSAFE checklist evaluates a pilot's personal readiness to fly. What does each letter represent?

Why →IMSAFE: Illness (any symptom affecting performance?), Medication (any drugs that impair judgment or physical function?), Stress (psychological pressures?), Alcohol (within 8-hour rule and 0.04% BAC limit?), Fatigue (adequately rested?), Emotion (unusually anxious, angry, or distracted?). Any "yes" should trigger a go/no-go review.

The trap →The inspection-and-maintenance list describes aircraft checks, not the pilot. The instruments-and-mission list is fabricated. IMSAFE specifically addresses the pilot's personal condition. It is the "P" in PAVE applied in systematic detail.

Field note →Fatigue and stress are the two IMSAFE items most commonly underestimated. Fatigue measurably increases decision errors, and fatigued people consistently rate themselves as less impaired than they are.