PA.II.B — Flight Deck Management
PA.II.B for the Private Pilot Airplane ACS: official objective, references, and 11 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.
FAA-S-ACS-6C, 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 | Private Pilot |
|---|---|
| Aircraft category | Airplane |
| Area of operation | Area of Operation II. Preflight Procedures |
| Task | Task B. Flight Deck Management |
| Task code prefix | PA.II.B |
| Official references | 14 CFR part 91; AC 120-71; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-25; POH/AFM |
| FAA document | FAA-S-ACS-6C — Private 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 flight deck management practices.
What the ACS code means
- PA identifies the ACS standard family used for this Private Pilot Airplane document.
- II identifies Preflight Procedures, the Area of Operation.
- B identifies Flight Deck Management, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| PA.II.B.K1 | Passenger briefing requirements, including operation and required use of safety restraint systems. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| PA.II.B.K2 | Use of appropriate checklists. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| PA.II.B.K3 | Requirements for current and appropriate navigation data. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| PA.II.B.K4 | Securing items and cargo. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| PA.II.B.R1 | Use of systems or equipment, including automation and portable electronic devices. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| PA.II.B.R2 | Inoperative equipment. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| PA.II.B.R3 | Passenger distractions. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| PA.II.B.S1 | Secure all items in the aircraft. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| PA.II.B.S2 | Conduct an appropriate passenger briefing, including identifying the pilot-in-command (PIC), use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, doors, passenger conduct, sterile aircraft, propeller blade avoidance, and emergency procedures. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| PA.II.B.S3 | Properly program and manage the aircraft’s automation, 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. |
| PA.II.B.S4 | Appropriately manage risks by utilizing ADM, including SRM/CRM. | 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 Private Pilot Airplane ACS tasks
61 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-6C.
- PA.II.A — Preflight Assessment
Area of Operation II. Preflight Procedures
- PA.II.C — Engine Starting
Area of Operation II. Preflight Procedures
- PA.II.D — Taxiing (ASEL, AMEL)
Area of Operation II. Preflight Procedures
- PA.II.E — Taxiing and Sailing (ASES, AMES)
Area of Operation II. Preflight Procedures