PA.VI.C — Diversion
PA.VI.C for the Private Pilot Airplane ACS: official objective, references, and 13 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 VI. Navigation |
| Task | Task C. Diversion |
| Task code prefix | PA.VI.C |
| Official references | AIM; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-25; VFR Navigation Charts |
| 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 diversion.
What the ACS code means
- PA identifies the ACS standard family used for this Private Pilot Airplane document.
- VI identifies Navigation, the Area of Operation.
- C identifies Diversion, 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.VI.C.K1 | Selecting an alternate destination. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| PA.VI.C.K2 | Situations that require deviations from flight plan or air traffic control (ATC) instructions. | 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.VI.C.R1 | Collision hazards. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| PA.VI.C.R2 | 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. |
| PA.VI.C.R3 | Circumstances that would make diversion prudent. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| PA.VI.C.R4 | Selecting an appropriate airport or seaplane base. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| PA.VI.C.R5 | Using available resources (e.g., automation, ATC, and flight deck planning aids). | 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.VI.C.S1 | Select a suitable destination and route for diversion. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| PA.VI.C.S2 | Make a reasonable estimate of heading, groundspeed, arrival time, and fuel required to the “divert to” destination. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| PA.VI.C.S3 | Maintain the selected altitude, ±200 feet and heading, ±15°. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| PA.VI.C.S4 | Update/interpret weather in flight. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| PA.VI.C.S5 | Use displays of digital weather and aeronautical information, as applicable to maintain situational awareness. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| PA.VI.C.S6 | Promptly divert toward the destination. | 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 Private Pilot Airplane ACS tasks
61 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-6C.
- PA.VI.B — Navigation Systems and Radar Services
Area of Operation VI. Navigation
- PA.VI.D — Lost Procedures
Area of Operation VI. Navigation
- PA.VI.A — Pilotage and Dead Reckoning
Area of Operation VI. Navigation