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AA.II.E — Before Takeoff Checks

AA.II.E for the Airline Transport Pilot Airplane ACS: official objective, references, and 20 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.

FAA-S-ACS-11A, November 2023. This study page does not replace the current FAA publication or an examiner's plan of action.

Official task context

AA.II.E official ACS context
Certificate or ratingAirline Transport Pilot
Aircraft categoryAirplane
Area of operationArea of Operation II. Preflight Procedures
TaskTask E. Before Takeoff Checks
Task code prefixAA.II.E
Official referencesFAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-23, FAA-H-8083-25; POH/AFM
FAA documentFAA-S-ACS-11A — Airline Transport Pilot and Type Rating for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards
FAA source libraryOpen the official ACS library

Official task objective

To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with before takeoff checks.

What the ACS code means

  • AA identifies the ACS standard family used for this Airline Transport Pilot Airplane document.
  • II identifies Preflight Procedures, the Area of Operation.
  • E identifies Before Takeoff Checks, the Task within that Area.
  • K, R, and S identify knowledge, risk-management, and skill elements. The number selects the item; a trailing lowercase letter identifies a listed sub-element.

Knowledge elements

Official ACS knowledge items and mock-oral treatment
ACS codeOfficial descriptionHow a mock oral can probe it
AA.II.E.K1Purpose of pre-takeoff checklist items, including:Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
AA.II.E.K1aa. Reasons for checking each itemExplain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
AA.II.E.K1bb. Detecting malfunctionsExplain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
AA.II.E.K1cc. Ensuring the aircraft is in safe operating conditionExplain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
AA.II.E.K2Deicing and anti-icing procedures, holdover times, and pre-takeoff contamination check.Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
AA.II.E.K3Adverse weather considerations for performance on takeoff (e.g., snow, ice, gusting crosswinds, lowvisibility).Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
AA.II.E.K4Items to be included in a before takeoff briefing.Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.

Risk management elements

Official ACS risk management items and mock-oral treatment
ACS codeOfficial descriptionHow a mock oral can probe it
AA.II.E.R1Division of attention while conducting before takeoff checks.Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
AA.II.E.R2An unexpected change in the runway to be used for departure.Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
AA.II.E.R3Using performance data to set airspeeds and flight instruments for actual conditions and the departure runway.Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
AA.II.E.R4Setting navigation and communication equipment for departure.Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
AA.II.E.R5Configuring autopilot and flight director for departure.Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
AA.II.E.R6Adverse weather conditions prior to takeoff (e.g., snow, ice, gusting crosswinds, low-visibility).Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
AA.II.E.R7Potential powerplant failure during takeoff or other malfunction considering operational factors such as airplane characteristics, runway/takeoff path length, surface conditions, environmental conditions, and obstructions.Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.

Skills elements

Official ACS skills items and mock-oral treatment
ACS codeOfficial descriptionHow a mock oral can probe it
AA.II.E.S1Determine the airplane’s takeoff performance for actual conditions and planned departure runway or waterway.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
AA.II.E.S2Coordinate with crew, if applicable, and complete the appropriate checklist(s) prior to takeoff in a timely manner.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
AA.II.E.S3Determine all systems checked are within an acceptable operating range and are safe for the proposed flight. During the checks, explain at the request of the evaluator, any system operating characteristic or limitation and any corrective action for a malfunction.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
AA.II.E.S4Determine airspeeds/V-speeds and set flight instruments appropriately, configure flight director, autopilot, and navigation and communication equipment for the current flight conditions and takeoff and departure clearances.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
AA.II.E.S5Conduct a briefing that includes procedures for emergency and abnormal situations (e.g., powerplant failure, windshear), which may be encountered during takeoff, and state the planned action if they were to occur.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
AA.II.E.S6Obtain and correctly interpret the takeoff and departure clearance.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.

Difficulty data

Difficulty calibration is ongoing for this Task. A difficulty estimate is published only with a sufficiently large, privacy-preserving first directly recorded assessment sample. Any observed difficulty comes from Checkride AI mock-oral practice assessments and is a practice-data proxy, not an FAA practical-test pass or fail rate.

Difficulty calibration remains ongoing until an item clears the private reporting threshold. Percentages, when available, describe the share who needed review on their first directly recorded assessment. Underlying sample sizes are never published, and historical final states are not backfilled into this measure.

Official task notes

  • See Appendix 3: Aircraft, Equipment, and Operational Requirements & Limitations for information related to this Task.

How to use this in a mock oral

A mock examiner can ask you to explain the published elements, apply them to the configured aircraft and airport scenario, identify risks, and defend a decision. The prompts are practice scenarios; they are not claimed to be actual FAA examiner scripts or a prediction of the questions you will receive.

Practice in a mock oral

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