EASA & UK CAA · PPL(A) theory exam

PPL Operational Procedures exam

In-flight hazards and emergencies: wake turbulence, wind shear, fire, forced landings, and search and rescue.

12questions
30 mintime limit
75%to pass

Syllabus

What the exam covers

Pocket Pilot teaches Operational Procedures in eight lessons, about 43 minutes of reading in all.

01
Wake Turbulence
5 min
Why wake exists · How the wake behaves · ICAO wake categories · Standard wake separation (minutes / NM) · Avoidance during take-off · Avoidance during landing · Crossing runways and parallel operations · Encountering wake unexpectedly · Helicopter rotor wash
02
Wind Shear & Microbursts
5 min
Where wind shear occurs · The four kinds of shear (vector view) · Microbursts in detail · Visual cues for microbursts · Detection technology · Recovery from a wind shear encounter · Frontal wind shear · Mountain wave shear · Inversions and low-level jets
03
Fire and Smoke in Flight
6 min
Fire classes · Where fires happen · Engine fire procedure (typical light single) · Electrical fire procedure · Cabin fire · Lithium battery fires · Fuel system fire on the ground · Carbon monoxide · Smoke removal · Forced landing if you cannot make an aerodrome
04
Forced Landings & Ditching
8 min
Engine failure in the cruise: the flow · Choosing the field · The glide · The pattern · Touchdown technique · Engine failure after take-off (EFATO) · Ditching (forced landing on water) · Survival after landing · ELT: Emergency Locator Transmitter · Carrying personal safety kit
05
Runway Incursions, Markings & Lights
5 min
Causes of runway incursions · Hold-short markings and signs · ICAO standard taxi clearances · Mitigating runway incursions · Runway markings · Runway lights · Taxiway lights and markings · Wig-wag lights and emergency vehicles · Reporting an incursion
06
Search and Rescue & Survival
5 min
When SAR is initiated · ELT and PLB · Ground-to-air visual signals · Air-to-ground communication · Survival priorities: the rule of threes · Stay with the wreckage · Signalling: visual and audible · Personal kit recommendations · Notification of friends / family
07
Noise & Environmental Procedures
4 min
Why noise matters · Noise abatement procedures (NAPs) · Techniques for quieter flying · Airfield-specific NAPs · Other environmental impacts · Anti-collision and visual identification · Wildlife strikes · Reporting wildlife strikes
08
Standard Operating Practices
5 min
Flight preparation · Checklists · Crosswind take-off and landing · Soft-field take-off · The go-around · Carburettor heat in the descent · Wing contamination: frost, ice and snow · Radio communication failure · Refuelling

Format

How the exam works

Operational Procedures is one of the nine PPL(A) theory exams. Each is a separate multiple-choice paper, sat at your school or at a test centre approved by your national aviation authority. This one has 12 questions in 30 minutes, and you need 75% to pass, which is 9 correct answers.

You have four attempts at each subject before further training is required.
You must pass all nine within 18 months of your first sitting, in no more than six sittings.
Your passes then stay valid for 24 months, and your skill test must fall inside that window.

The Operational Procedures mock exam in Pocket Pilot has the same question count, time limit and pass mark, drawn from a growing bank of practice questions.

Sample questions

Try three exam questions

From the Pocket Pilot Operational Procedures question bank, each with the app's explanation and the source it cites.

01 / 03
The most dangerous wind shear sequence for an aircraft on final approach is:
1. AAn increasing headwind, because the aircraft balloons above the glide path
2. BA pure crosswind change, because of the drift correction needed
3. CA loss of headwind or gain of tailwind, because airspeed and lift fall together near the ground
4. DAny shear above 3,000 ft AGL
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer C. Losing headwind (or gaining tailwind) instantly reduces indicated airspeed and lift while the aircraft is low and slow. The microburst sequence is the worst case: headwind gain first (tempting a power reduction), then downdraft, then tailwind.
Source
ICAO Doc 9817 (Manual on Low-level Wind Shear)
Lesson
Wind Shear & Microbursts
02 / 03
Turning back to the runway after an engine failure just after take-off is dangerous mainly because:
1. AATC may refuse the landing clearance
2. BThe flaps cannot be extended in a turn
3. CThe steep turn raises the stall speed while height is already being lost, and the landing is usually downwind
4. DThe wind always reverses near the ground
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer C. The 'impossible turn' needs a steep bank, which raises the stall speed just as airspeed decays, consumes height you do not have, and typically finishes with a tailwind landing or a stall-spin off the final turn. Below your briefed turn-back height, land more or less ahead.
Source
UK CAA Safety Sense (EFATO) / Aircraft POH
Lesson
Forced Landings & Ditching
03 / 03
Landing behind a heavy aircraft on the same runway, you should plan to:
1. AFly below its approach path and land short of its touchdown point
2. BFly above its approach path and touch down beyond its touchdown point
3. CFollow its exact approach path
4. DLand on the opposite side of the centreline
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer B. Vortices sink below the generating aircraft's flight path and end where it touches down. Staying above the heavy's approach path and touching down beyond its touchdown point keeps you out of the wake. If that cannot be achieved, go around.
Source
ICAO Doc 4444: Wake turbulence
Lesson
Wake Turbulence