CA.IV.M — Power-Off 180° Accuracy Approach and Landing (ASEL, ASES)
CA.IV.M for the Commercial Pilot Airplane ACS: official objective, references, and 26 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
| Certificate or rating | Commercial Pilot |
|---|---|
| Aircraft category | Airplane |
| Area of operation | Area of Operation IV. Takeoffs, Landings, and Go-Arounds |
| Task | Task M. Power-Off 180° Accuracy Approach and Landing (ASEL, ASES) |
| Task code prefix | CA.IV.M |
| Official references | AIM; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-25; POH/AFM |
| FAA document | FAA-S-ACS-7B — Commercial Pilot 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 power-off 180° accuracy approach and landing.
What the ACS code means
- CA identifies the ACS standard family used for this Commercial Pilot Airplane document.
- IV identifies Takeoffs, Landings, and Go-Arounds, the Area of Operation.
- M identifies Power-Off 180° Accuracy Approach and Landing (ASEL, ASES), 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CA.IV.M.K1 | A stabilized approach, including energy management concepts. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CA.IV.M.K2 | Effects of atmospheric conditions, including wind, on approach and landing. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CA.IV.M.K3 | Wind correction techniques on approach and landing. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CA.IV.M.K4 | Purpose of power-off accuracy approach. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CA.IV.M.R1 | Selection of runway/landing surface, approach path, and touchdown area based on pilot capability, aircraft performance and limitations, available distance, and wind. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R2 | Effects of: | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R2a | a. Crosswind | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R2b | b. Windshear | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R2c | c. Tailwind | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R2d | d. Wake turbulence | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R2e | e. Landing surface/condition | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R3 | Planning for: | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R3a | a. Rejected landing and go-around | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R3b | b. Land and hold short operations (LAHSO) | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R4 | Collision hazards. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R5 | Low altitude maneuvering, including stall, spin, or controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CA.IV.M.R6 | 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. |
| CA.IV.M.R7 | Forward slip operations, including fuel flowage, tail stalls with flaps, and airspeed control. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CA.IV.M.S1 | Complete the appropriate checklist(s). | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CA.IV.M.S2 | Make radio calls as appropriate. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CA.IV.M.S3 | Plan and follow a flightpath to the selected landing area considering altitude, wind, terrain, and obstructions. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CA.IV.M.S4 | Select the most suitable touchdown point based on wind, landing surface, obstructions, and aircraft limitations. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CA.IV.M.S5 | Position airplane on downwind leg, parallel to landing runway. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CA.IV.M.S6 | Correctly configure the airplane. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CA.IV.M.S7 | As necessary, correlate crosswind with direction of forward slip and transition to side slip before touchdown. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CA.IV.M.S8 | Touch down at a proper pitch attitude, within 200 feet beyond or on the specified point with no side drift and with the airplane’s longitudinal axis aligned with and over the runway centerline or landing path, as applicable. | 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
- Note: 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.
Related ACS tasks
- All Commercial Pilot Airplane ACS tasks
60 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-7B.
- CA.IV.L — Rough Water Approach and Landing (ASES, AMES)
Area of Operation IV. Takeoffs, Landings, and Go-Arounds
- CA.IV.N — Go-Around/Rejected Landing
Area of Operation IV. Takeoffs, Landings, and Go-Arounds
- CA.IV.A — Normal Takeoff and Climb
Area of Operation IV. Takeoffs, Landings, and Go-Arounds
- CA.IV.B — Normal Approach and Landing
Area of Operation IV. Takeoffs, Landings, and Go-Arounds
- CA.IV.C — Soft-Field Takeoff and Climb (ASEL)
Area of Operation IV. Takeoffs, Landings, and Go-Arounds
- CA.IV.D — Soft-Field Approach and Landing (ASEL)
Area of Operation IV. Takeoffs, Landings, and Go-Arounds