Skills and Qualifications Flashcards
7 cards from real ATC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Skills and Qualifications flashcards as text
What does the FAA Biographical Assessment (BA) used in ATC hiring primarily measure?
Answer: Life experiences and behavioral tendencies predictive of ATC success
The BA is a structured inventory of past behaviors and experiences that the FAA validated as predictors of ATC job performance.
Which of the following is a disqualifying medical condition for FAA Second-Class Medical certification required of ATC candidates?
Answer: Color vision deficiency that cannot distinguish red from green
The inability to distinguish aviation signal colors (red, green, white) is disqualifying because controllers must read light gun signals and color-coded displays.
What two-year degree pathway is recognized by the FAA as qualifying for the AT-CTI (Collegiate Training Initiative) applicant pool?
Answer: Associate degree in aviation management from an FAA-approved CTI school
Only graduates of FAA-designated CTI schools with aviation programs qualify for the CTI hiring pathway.
Which mathematical skill is directly tested in ATC aptitude assessments because controllers calculate aircraft spacing and time-to-conflict?
Answer: Mental arithmetic and estimation
Controllers routinely estimate distances, speeds, and time intervals mentally, so rapid mental arithmetic is a core tested aptitude.
Which U.S. citizenship requirement applies to FAA ATC applicants?
Answer: Applicants must be U.S. citizens at the time of application
FAA ATC positions are federal jobs requiring U.S. citizenship; permanent residents are not eligible.
What is the primary purpose of the ATC pre-employment drug test?
Answer: To verify compliance with 49 CFR Part 40 DOT drug-free workplace requirements
FAA ATC hiring follows DOT 49 CFR Part 40, which mandates pre-employment drug screening for safety-sensitive transportation positions.
A controller's communication skills are formally evaluated because unclear phraseology can cause what specific safety risk?
Answer: Pilot readback errors leading to runway incursions or altitude deviations
Ambiguous or non-standard phraseology causes incorrect readbacks; if uncorrected, the result can be a runway incursion, airspace violation, or collision.