FI.I.F — Elements of Effective Teaching that Include Risk Management and Accident Prevention
FI.I.F for the Flight Instructor Airplane ACS: official objective, references, and 25 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.
FAA-S-ACS-25, 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 | Flight Instructor |
|---|---|
| Aircraft category | Airplane |
| Area of operation | Area of Operation I. Fundamentals of Instructing |
| Task | Task F. Elements of Effective Teaching that Include Risk Management and Accident Prevention |
| Task code prefix | FI.I.F |
| Official references | FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-9, FAA-H-8083-25 |
| FAA document | FAA-S-ACS-25 — Flight Instructor for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards |
| FAA source library | Open the official ACS library |
Official task objective
To determine the applicant understands teaching practical risk management, can apply that knowledge, manage associated risks, demonstrate appropriate skills, and provide effective instruction.
What the ACS code means
- FI identifies the ACS standard family used for this Flight Instructor Airplane document.
- I identifies Fundamentals of Instructing, the Area of Operation.
- F identifies Elements of Effective Teaching that Include Risk Management and Accident Prevention, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| FI.I.F.K1 | Teaching risk identification, assessment, and mitigation. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| FI.I.F.K2 | Teaching risk management tools, including: | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| FI.I.F.K2a | a. Pilot/Aircraft/enVironment/External Pressures (PAVE) checklist | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| FI.I.F.K2b | b. Flight Risk Assessment Tools (FRATs) | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| FI.I.F.K3 | When and how to introduce risk management. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| FI.I.F.K4 | Risk management teaching techniques by phase of instruction. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| FI.I.F.K5 | Managing risk during flight instruction, including: | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| FI.I.F.K5a | a. Common flight instruction risks | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| FI.I.F.K5b | b. Best practices | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| FI.I.F.K5c | c. Special considerations while teaching takeoffs and landings | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| FI.I.F.K6 | Aeronautical Decision-Making (ADM) to include using Crew Resource Management (CRM) or SinglePilot Resource Management (SRM), as appropriate. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| FI.I.F.R1 | Hazards associated with providing flight instruction. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| FI.I.F.R2 | Obstacles to maintaining situational awareness during flight instruction. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| FI.I.F.R3 | Recognizing and managing hazards arising from human behavior, including hazardous attitudes. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| FI.I.F.S1 | Use scenario-based training (SBT) to demonstrate, teach, and assess risk management and Aeronautical Decision-Making (ADM) skills in the context of a Task specified 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. |
| FI.I.F.S2 | Identify, assess, and mitigate risks commonly associated with flight instruction by maintaining: | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| FI.I.F.S2a | a. Awareness and oversight of the learner’s actions, with timely and appropriate supervision, intervention, or mitigation as needed | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| FI.I.F.S2b | b. Awareness of the learner’s cognitive/physiological state, with timely action to mitigate anxiety, fatigue, or other obstruction to learning | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| FI.I.F.S2c | c. Overall situational awareness of the aircraft’s dynamic state, its position in space, and vigilance for unexpected events or changing circumstances that occur in the environment | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| FI.I.F.S3 | Model and teach safety practices, including maintaining: | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| FI.I.F.S3a | a. Collision avoidance while simultaneously providing instruction | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| FI.I.F.S3b | b. Avoidance of unnecessary distractions | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| FI.I.F.S3c | c. Coordinated flight | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| FI.I.F.S3d | d. Awareness of who is manipulating controls through positive exchange of flight controls | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| FI.I.F.S3e | e. Continuous awareness of the aircraft’s dynamic state and position in the NAS | 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 Flight Instructor Airplane ACS tasks
85 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-25.
- FI.I.E — Elements of Effective Teaching in a Professional Environment
Area of Operation I. Fundamentals of Instructing
- AI.II.A — Human Factors
Area of Operation II. Technical Subject Areas
- FI.I.A — Effects of Human Behavior and Communication on the Learning Process
Area of Operation I. Fundamentals of Instructing
- FI.I.B — Learning Process
Area of Operation I. Fundamentals of Instructing
- FI.I.C — Course Development, Lesson Plans, and Classroom Training Techniques
Area of Operation I. Fundamentals of Instructing
- FI.I.D — Student Evaluation, Assessment, and Testing
Area of Operation I. Fundamentals of Instructing