KSL ATP 107 common mistakes
KSL ATP 107 · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Answering regulations questions from memory of what 'usually' applies, without checking whether the operation is Part 91, 121, 135, or a specific airspace/equipment rule, so the choice reflects a different rule set than the one in the stem.
Candidates learn one familiar version of a rule (often the one from their primary training environment) and pattern-match the stem to it instead of reading the conditions that determine which rule applies.
What to do instead
Before answering, write down the operation type, altitude, airspace class, and equipment status stated in the stem. Then select the rule that matches those four conditions, not the one that sounds familiar.
Treating weather minimums and fuel requirements as single numbers rather than functions of airspace class, altitude, and time of day, leading to answers that are correct for one case but wrong for the one asked.
These values are memorized as a block and recalled imperfectly under time pressure; the candidate recognizes the topic and picks a plausible number.
What to do instead
Practice reconstructing the VFR minimums and fuel-reserve rules from a blank grid (class x altitude band x day/night) until the derivation is automatic, then answer only after locating the stem's cell in that grid.
Computing performance by applying a single book value (e.g., sea-level takeoff distance or max cruise TAS) to the actual conditions in the question instead of interpolating for pressure altitude, temperature, weight, and wind.
Charts and tables are time-consuming, so candidates substitute the nearest memorized figure, and they often skip the intermediate steps of converting indicated to true values.
What to do instead
Work every performance item through the same fixed sequence: density altitude, weight correction, wind/slope correction, then margin. Show the numbers in scratch work even when the answer seems obvious.
Mixing up which instrument or system provides which indication (e.g., what drives the airspeed indicator vs. the altimeter vs. the VSI, or what a given engine gauge actually measures) and selecting an answer based on a plausible-sounding but wrong source.
Systems are studied as isolated facts rather than as a connected picture of pitot-static pressure, gyroscopic sources, and engine sensing, so the relationships blur.
What to do instead
Draw the pitot-static and gyroscopic systems from memory with each instrument's inputs and failure indications; do the same for the engine and electrical systems. Redraw weekly until the diagrams are correct without notes.
Choosing a weather answer based on the surface observation alone while ignoring the forecast trend, freezing-level information, or the stability implied by the sounding, so the decision is inconsistent with the actual hazard.
METARs are the most practiced product, so candidates anchor on the current observation and treat forecasts as background rather than as decision inputs.
What to do instead
For every weather question, list surface conditions, forecast trend, and the specific hazard (icing, convection, wind shear, visibility) before evaluating the options. If the chosen answer ignores one of the three, re-check it.
Answering 'what would you do' weather items with the safest-sounding option rather than the option consistent with the stated personal minimums and the regulatory requirement, producing answers that are admirable but not what the question asks.
Candidates conflate good judgment with the most conservative choice and stop reading once an option sounds prudent.
What to do instead
Read the last line of the stem first to identify whether it asks for a regulation, a recommendation, or a judgment call, then match the option type to the question type before evaluating content.
Computing a navigation leg using only true course and distance, omitting wind correction, magnetic variation, or deviation, so the resulting heading, time, and fuel figures are internally inconsistent.
Candidates jump to the wind triangle before confirming which of course, heading, track, and bearing the question actually asks for, and they drop variation or deviation when under time pressure.
What to do instead
Use a fixed written order for every nav problem: true course, wind correction to true heading, variation to magnetic heading, deviation to compass heading, then time and fuel. Label each line so the requested quantity is unambiguous.
Treating hazardous attitudes and risk-management frameworks as vocabulary to be defined rather than as behaviors to be identified in a described scenario, so the selected attitude or mitigation does not match the pilot's actual statement or action.
Study focuses on memorizing the five hazardous attitudes and their antidotes without practicing applying them to narrative scenarios.
What to do instead
Practice with scenario stems: quote the pilot's words, name the attitude the quote reveals, then name the specific antidote. Keep the three columns separate on paper so the mapping is explicit.
Reproducing ATC phraseology approximately rather than exactly, and confusing readback requirements, so the chosen transmission or response is nonstandard or omits a required element.
Phraseology is learned by listening and imitation, which smooths over exact wording, and the readback rules are memorized as a general habit rather than a list.
What to do instead
Memorize the standard patterns for clearance readback, hold-short instructions, runway crossings, and altitude assignments verbatim, and practice writing the exact transmission the question requires, including the callsign position.
Answering emergency-procedure items by selecting the most dramatic or most cautious action instead of the first step in the published procedure or the memory item that must precede the checklist.
Emergency scenarios evoke a desire to 'do something decisive,' and candidates recall the overall goal of the procedure rather than its ordered steps.
What to do instead
For each major emergency (engine failure, fire, depressurization, electrical failure, lost comm), memorize the first three actions in order and the memory items, and answer by locating where the stem sits in that sequence.