IR.VII.B — One Engine Inoperative (Simulated) during Straight-and-Level Flight and Turns (AMEL, AMES)
IR.VII.B for the Instrument Rating Airplane ACS: official objective, references, and 18 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.
FAA-S-ACS-8C, 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 | Instrument Rating |
|---|---|
| Aircraft category | Airplane |
| Area of operation | Area of Operation VII. Emergency Operations |
| Task | Task B. One Engine Inoperative (Simulated) during Straight-and-Level Flight and Turns (AMEL, AMES) |
| Task code prefix | IR.VII.B |
| Official references | FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-15, FAA-H-8083-25; POH/AFM |
| FAA document | FAA-S-ACS-8C — Instrument Rating – Airplane 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 flight solely by reference to instruments with one engine inoperative.
What the ACS code means
- IR identifies the ACS standard family used for this Instrument Rating Airplane document.
- VII identifies Emergency Operations, the Area of Operation.
- B identifies One Engine Inoperative (Simulated) during Straight-and-Level Flight and Turns (AMEL, AMES), 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 |
|---|---|---|
| IR.VII.B.K1 | Procedures used if engine failure occurs during straight-and-level flight and turns while on instruments. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| IR.VII.B.R1 | Identification of the inoperative engine. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| IR.VII.B.R2 | Inability to climb or maintain altitude with an inoperative engine. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| IR.VII.B.R3 | 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. |
| IR.VII.B.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. |
| IR.VII.B.R5 | Fuel management during single-engine operation. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| IR.VII.B.R6 | Configuring the aircraft. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| IR.VII.B.S1 | Promptly recognize an engine failure and maintain positive aircraft control. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IR.VII.B.S2 | Set the engine controls, reduce drag, identify and verify the inoperative engine, and simulate feathering of the propeller on the inoperative engine (evaluator should then establish zero thrust on the inoperative engine). | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IR.VII.B.S3 | Establish the best engine-inoperative airspeed and trim 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. |
| IR.VII.B.S4 | Use flight controls in the proper combination as recommended by the manufacturer, or as required to maintain best performance, and trim as required. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IR.VII.B.S5 | Verify the prescribed checklist procedures used for securing the inoperative engine. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IR.VII.B.S6 | Attempt to determine and resolve the reason for the engine failure. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IR.VII.B.S7 | Monitor engine functions and make necessary adjustments. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IR.VII.B.S8 | Maintain the specified altitude ±100 feet or minimum sink rate if applicable, airspeed ±10 knots, and the specified heading ±10°. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IR.VII.B.S9 | Assess the aircraft’s performance capability and decide an appropriate action to ensure a safe landing. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IR.VII.B.S10 | Maintain control and fly within the aircraft’s operating limitations. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IR.VII.B.S11 | Use single-pilot resource management (SRM) or crew resource management (CRM), 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. |
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
- See Appendix 2: Safety of Flight.
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 Instrument Rating Airplane ACS tasks
22 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-8C.
- IR.VII.A — Loss of Communications
Area of Operation VII. Emergency Operations
- IR.VII.C — Instrument Approach and Landing with an Inoperative Engine (Simulated) (AMEL, AMES)
Area of Operation VII. Emergency Operations
- IR.VII.D — Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instrument Indicators
Area of Operation VII. Emergency Operations