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CA.II.A — Preflight Assessment

CA.II.A for the Commercial Pilot Airplane ACS: official objective, references, and 17 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.

FAA-S-ACS-7B, November 2023. This study page does not replace the current FAA publication or an examiner's plan of action.

Official task context

CA.II.A official ACS context
Certificate or ratingCommercial Pilot
Aircraft categoryAirplane
Area of operationArea of Operation II. Preflight Procedures
TaskTask A. Preflight Assessment
Task code prefixCA.II.A
Official referencesFAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-23, FAA-H-8083-25, FAA-H-8083-28; POH/AFM
FAA documentFAA-S-ACS-7B — Commercial Pilot 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 preparation for safe flight.

What the ACS code means

  • CA identifies the ACS standard family used for this Commercial Pilot Airplane document.
  • II identifies Preflight Procedures, the Area of Operation.
  • A identifies Preflight Assessment, 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
CA.II.A.K1Pilot self-assessment.Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
CA.II.A.K2Determining that the airplane to be used is appropriate and airworthy.Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
CA.II.A.K3Airplane preflight inspection, including:Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
CA.II.A.K3aa. Which items should be inspectedExplain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
CA.II.A.K3bb. The reasons for checking each itemExplain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
CA.II.A.K3cc. How to detect possible defectsExplain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
CA.II.A.K3dd. The associated regulationsExplain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
CA.II.A.K4Environmental factors, including weather, terrain, route selection, and obstructions.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
CA.II.A.R1Pilot.Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CA.II.A.R2Aircraft.Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CA.II.A.R3Environment (e.g., weather, airports, airspace, terrain, obstacles).Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CA.II.A.R4External pressures.Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CA.II.A.R5Aviation security concerns.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
CA.II.A.S1Inspect the airplane with reference to an appropriate checklist.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.II.A.S2Verify the airplane is in condition for safe flight and conforms to its type design.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.II.A.S3Perform self-assessment.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CA.II.A.S4Continue to assess the environment for safe flight.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.

Practice in a mock oral

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