# CP.III.A — Communications, Light Signals, and Runway Lighting Systems — Commercial Pilot Powered Lift ACS

> CP.III.A from FAA-S-ACS-2, including the official objective, references, notes, and 15 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.

Canonical HTML: [https://www.check-ride.ai/acs/powered-lift/commercial-pilot/cp-iii-a](https://www.check-ride.ai/acs/powered-lift/commercial-pilot/cp-iii-a)

Site reference: [https://www.check-ride.ai/llms.txt](https://www.check-ride.ai/llms.txt)

## Official Task context

- FAA document: Commercial Pilot for Powered-Lift Category Airman Certification Standards
- Identifier: FAA-S-ACS-2
- Published source date: November 2023
- Aircraft category: Powered Lift
- Certificate or rating: Commercial Pilot
- Area of Operation: Area of Operation III. Airport and Heliport Operations
- Task: Task A. Communications, Light Signals, and Runway Lighting Systems
- Task code prefix: CP.III.A
- Official references: 14 CFR part 91; AIM; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-25
- FAA source library: https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs

## Official Task objective

To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with normal and emergency radio communications, air traffic control (ATC) light signals, and runway lighting systems.

## Knowledge elements

- **CP.III.A.K1** — How to obtain appropriate radio frequencies.
- **CP.III.A.K2** — Proper radio communication procedures and air traffic control (ATC) phraseology.
- **CP.III.A.K3** — ATC light signal recognition.
- **CP.III.A.K4** — Appropriate use of transponder(s).
- **CP.III.A.K5** — Lost communication procedures.
- **CP.III.A.K6** — Equipment issues that could cause loss of communication.
- **CP.III.A.K7** — Radar assistance.
- **CP.III.A.K8** — National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident/incident reporting.
- **CP.III.A.K9** — Runway Status Lighting Systems.

## Risk management elements

- **CP.III.A.R1** — Communication.
- **CP.III.A.R2** — Deciding if and when to declare an emergency.
- **CP.III.A.R3** — Use of non-standard phraseology.

## Skills elements

- **CP.III.A.S1** — Select and activate appropriate frequencies.
- **CP.III.A.S2** — Transmit using standard phraseology and procedures as specified in the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) and Pilot/Controller Glossary.
- **CP.III.A.S3** — Acknowledge radio communications and comply with ATC instructions or as directed by the evaluator.

## Difficulty methodology

Difficulty calibration is ongoing for this Task. Observed difficulty is a privacy-thresholded check-ride.ai mock-oral practice proxy, not an FAA practical-test pass or fail rate. Underlying sample sizes and the private reporting threshold are not published.

## Use in practice

A mock examiner can ask a pilot to explain the published elements, apply them to the configured aircraft and airport context, identify risks, and defend a decision. Practice prompts are not represented as actual FAA examiner scripts or predictions of the questions a candidate will receive.