# AA.IV.A — Steep Turns — Airline Transport Pilot Airplane ACS

> AA.IV.A from FAA-S-ACS-11A, including the official objective, references, notes, and 19 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.

Canonical HTML: [https://www.check-ride.ai/acs/airplane/airline-transport-pilot/aa-iv-a](https://www.check-ride.ai/acs/airplane/airline-transport-pilot/aa-iv-a)

Site reference: [https://www.check-ride.ai/llms.txt](https://www.check-ride.ai/llms.txt)

## Official Task context

- FAA document: Airline Transport Pilot and Type Rating for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards
- Identifier: FAA-S-ACS-11A
- Published source date: November 2023
- Aircraft category: Airplane
- Certificate or rating: Airline Transport Pilot
- Area of Operation: Area of Operation IV. In-flight Maneuvers
- Task: Task A. Steep Turns
- Task code prefix: AA.IV.A
- Official references: FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-25; FSB Report (type specific); POH/AFM
- FAA source library: https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs

## Official Task objective

To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with steep turns.

## Knowledge elements

- **AA.IV.A.K1** — Energy management concepts.
- **AA.IV.A.K2** — Aerodynamics associated with steep turns, including:
- **AA.IV.A.K2a** — a. Maintaining coordinated flight
- **AA.IV.A.K2b** — b. Overbanking tendencies
- **AA.IV.A.K2c** — c. Maneuvering speed, including the impact of weight changes
- **AA.IV.A.K2d** — d. Load factor and accelerated stalls
- **AA.IV.A.K2e** — e. Rate and radius of turn

## Risk management elements

- **AA.IV.A.R1** — Spatial disorientation when conducting a steep turn while flying by reference to instruments.
- **AA.IV.A.R2** — Collision hazards including aircraft and terrain.
- **AA.IV.A.R3** — Low altitude maneuvering, including stall, spin, or controlled flight into terrain (CFIT).
- **AA.IV.A.R4** — Distractions, task prioritization, loss of situational awareness, or disorientation.
- **AA.IV.A.R5** — Uncoordinated flight.

## Skills elements

- **AA.IV.A.S1** — Select an entry altitude that allows the Task to be completed no lower than 3,000 feet above ground level (AGL).
- **AA.IV.A.S2** — Establish the manufacturer's recommended airspeed; or if one is not available, an airspeed not to exceed maneuvering speed (VA).
- **AA.IV.A.S3** — Establish at least a 45° bank solely by reference to instruments and make a coordinated steep turn of at least 180°, as specified by the evaluator.
- **AA.IV.A.S4** — Perform the Task in the opposite direction, as specified by evaluator.
- **AA.IV.A.S5** — Make smooth pitch, bank, and power adjustments as needed.
- **AA.IV.A.S6** — Maintain the entry altitude ±100 feet, airspeed ±10 knots, bank ±5°, and roll out on the specified heading, ±10°.
- **AA.IV.A.S7** — Avoid any indication of an impending stall, abnormal flight attitude, or exceeding any structural or operating limitation during any part of the Task.

## Difficulty methodology

Difficulty calibration is ongoing for this Task. Observed difficulty is a privacy-thresholded check-ride.ai mock-oral practice proxy, not an FAA practical-test pass or fail rate. Underlying sample sizes and the private reporting threshold are not published.

## Official Task notes

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

## Use in practice

A mock examiner can ask a pilot to explain the published elements, apply them to the configured aircraft and airport context, identify risks, and defend a decision. Practice prompts are not represented as actual FAA examiner scripts or predictions of the questions a candidate will receive.