AA.VII.A — Emergency Procedures
AA.VII.A for the Airline Transport Pilot Airplane ACS: official objective, references, and 21 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
| Certificate or rating | Airline Transport Pilot |
|---|---|
| Aircraft category | Airplane |
| Area of operation | Area of Operation VII. Emergency Operations |
| Task | Task A. Emergency Procedures |
| Task code prefix | AA.VII.A |
| Official references | 14 CFR part 91; AC 91-74; AIM; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-23, FAA-H-8083-25; FSB Report (type specific); POH/AFM |
| FAA document | FAA-S-ACS-11A — Airline Transport Pilot and Type Rating for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards |
| FAA source library | Open the official ACS library |
Official task objective
To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with emergency procedures.
What the ACS code means
- AA identifies the ACS standard family used for this Airline Transport Pilot Airplane document.
- VII identifies Emergency Operations, the Area of Operation.
- A identifies Emergency Procedures, 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
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| AA.VII.A.K1 | Declaring an emergency and selection of a suitable airport or landing location. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| AA.VII.A.K2 | Situations that would require an emergency descent (e.g., depressurization, smoke, or engine fire). | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| AA.VII.A.K3 | Causes of inflight fire or smoke. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| AA.VII.A.K4 | Airplane decompression. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| AA.VII.A.K5 | When an emergency evacuation may be necessary. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| AA.VII.A.K6 | Actions required if icing conditions exceed the capabilities of the aircraft. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
Risk management elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| AA.VII.A.R1 | Selection of the procedures or checklists to follow in an emergency. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| AA.VII.A.R2 | Multiple failures or system abnormalities. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| AA.VII.A.R3 | Altitude, wind, terrain, and obstruction considerations in an emergency. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| AA.VII.A.R4 | Distractions, task prioritization, loss of situational awareness, or disorientation. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
Skills elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| AA.VII.A.S1 | Explain or describe an emergency procedure for a situation(s) presented by the evaluator. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| AA.VII.A.S2 | Use proper procedures for an emergency situation(s) presented by the evaluator, such as: | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| AA.VII.A.S2a | a. Emergency Descent | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| AA.VII.A.S2b | b. Inflight fire and smoke | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| AA.VII.A.S2c | c. Decompression | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| AA.VII.A.S2d | d. Emergency evacuation | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| AA.VII.A.S2e | e. Airframe icing | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| AA.VII.A.S2f | f. Others as specified in the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM)/Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| AA.VII.A.S3 | Fly by reference to standby flight instruments, backup instrumentation, or partial panel, if applicable and appropriate to the situation. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| AA.VII.A.S4 | Coordinate with crew, if applicable, and complete the appropriate checklist(s) 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.VII.A.S5 | Communicate with air traffic control (ATC) and the evaluator, as appropriate for the situation. | 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.
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.
Related ACS tasks
- All Airline Transport Pilot Airplane ACS tasks
48 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-11A.
- AA.VI.J — Holding Procedures
Area of Operation VI. Instrument Procedures
- AA.VII.B — Powerplant Failure During Takeoff
Area of Operation VII. Emergency Operations
- AA.VII.C — Powerplant Failure (Simulated) (ASEL, ASES)
Area of Operation VII. Emergency Operations
- AA.VII.D — Inflight Powerplant(s) Failure and Restart (AMEL, AMES)
Area of Operation VII. Emergency Operations
- AA.VII.E — Approach and Landing with a Powerplant Failure (Simulated) (AMEL, AMES)
Area of Operation VII. Emergency Operations