Free PPL operational procedures 070 questions: 7 with answers

The 7 questions

1. Question 1 · 1 General

   Your aircraft is equipped with a radio. In flight, you witness a situation endangering people's lives. According to regulations, as pilot-in-command, you must:

   • Araise the alert and continue on your way.
   • Bset transponder code 7700.
   • Cswitch the distress beacon to ON.
   • Dremain in sight of the location for as long as possible and provide maximum information to air traffic control.
   Show the answer+

   Answer: D. remain in sight of the location for as long as possible and provide maximum information to air traffic control.

   A pilot-in-command witnessing a distress situation must, as far as their endurance and safety allow, keep the scene in sight and pass as much information as possible to ATC (position, nature of the distress, number of people) to guide the rescue services (ICAO Annex 12). Code 7700 and the distress beacon are reserved for the aircraft itself in distress.

2. Question 2 · 1 General

   The navigation lights of an aircraft are coloured:

   • Ared on the right, green on the left, white at the rear.
   • Bred on the left, green on the right, white at the rear.
   • Cwhite on both left and right, red at the rear.
   • Dgreen on the left, white on the right, red at the rear.
   Show the answer+

   Answer: B. red on the left, green on the right, white at the rear.

   Aircraft navigation lights are red on the left, green on the right and white at the rear (SERA.3215). At night, they allow another pilot to judge the aircraft's direction of travel.

3. Question 3 · 1 General

   In mountainous terrain, while ensuring an adequate obstacle clearance margin, the best way to cross a ridge is to fly:

   • Alevel, adopting a flight path perpendicular to the ridge.
   • Bdescending, adopting a flight path perpendicular to the ridge.
   • Clevel, adopting a flight path oblique to the ridge.
   • Dclimbing, adopting a flight path oblique to the ridge.
   Show the answer+

   Answer: C. level, adopting a flight path oblique to the ridge.

   The danger of crossing a ridge is encountering a downdraft. Since the performance of light aircraft does not allow them to fight the strong downdrafts sometimes found in the mountains, safety lies in escaping. A level approach allows quick detection of being caught in a downdraft, and an oblique flight path allows less time to turn back.

4. Question 4 · 1 General

   You strike a bird on take-off with no apparent damage. What should you do?

   • ANothing, if the aircraft appears to fly normally.
   • BReport the event (occurrence report) even in the absence of visible damage.
   • CLand immediately at the nearest aerodrome regardless of the situation.
   • DWait for the next periodic inspection to report it.
   Show the answer+

   Answer: B. Report the event (occurrence report) even in the absence of visible damage.

   A bird strike must be reported even without apparent damage: internal damage (particularly to a propeller blade or air intake) may not be immediately visible, and such reporting also feeds into the aerodrome's bird hazard statistics.

5. Question 5 · 3 Fire and smoke

   When refueling, a ground wire must be attached to a metal part of the aircraft:

   • Aonly in humid weather.
   • Bto prevent inadvertent starter operation.
   • Cto discharge its static electricity.
   • Dto disconnect the aircraft's electrical system.
   Show the answer+

   Answer: C. to discharge its static electricity.

   During refuelling, the aircraft is connected to earth to discharge the accumulated static electricity and equalise potentials with the fuelling equipment: this removes the risk of a spark near fuel vapour.

6. Question 6 · 5 Emergency landings and contaminated runways

   After an engine failure in flight, your absolute priority is:

   • Ato immediately contact the ATS unit.
   • Bto maintain control of the aircraft by adopting the best glide speed.
   • Cto switch off the ignition and the fuel system.
   • Dto look for the cause of the failure in the flight manual.
   Show the answer+

   Answer: B. to maintain control of the aircraft by adopting the best glide speed.

   The golden rule remains "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate": you fly the aircraft first, adopting the best glide speed to maximize the gliding distance, before searching for a landing site, and only then communicating and applying the failure checklist.

7. Question 7 · 5 Emergency landings and contaminated runways

   The "engine failure in flight" checklist should be:

   • Aread in full before any action, including searching for a landing field.
   • Bused as confirmation, after the vital actions (speed, field) have already been carried out from memory.
   • Cignored if the pilot knows the procedure by heart.
   • Dapplied only after contacting ATC.
   Show the answer+

   Answer: B. used as confirmation, after the vital actions (speed, field) have already been carried out from memory.

   Immediate vital actions (maintaining best glide speed, searching for a landing field) are performed from memory without delay; the paper or memorized checklist is then used to ensure nothing is forgotten (mixture, fuel, magnetos, etc.) once the situation has stabilized.

Each answer was checked again before publication; like every explanation on the site, these may contain errors. Some explanations were rewritten for this page, sometimes with the help of an AI. Spotted a mistake? Write to us at contact@forallpilots.com.

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