ATSA Deductive Reasoning Scenarios 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Aircraft A is cruising at FL330. It needs to cross a fix at FL290. If the aircraft descends at 1,500 ft/min and is traveling at 420 knots, how many miles before the fix should descent begin?
- 18.7 miles (Correct answer)
- 21.0 miles
- 25.3 miles
- 28.0 miles
Correct answer: 18.7 miles
4,000 ft at 1,500 ft/min = 2.67 min; at 420 knots (7 miles/min) × 2.67 min ≈ 18.7 miles.
Question 2: Three aircraft are sequenced to land: Bravo at 5 miles, Charlie at 10 miles, Delta at 15 miles. All are at 150 knots. Standard in-trail separation is 3 miles. Which aircraft pair has insufficient separation?
- Bravo and Charlie
- Charlie and Delta
- All pairs meet separation (Correct answer)
- Bravo and Delta
Correct answer: All pairs meet separation
All pairs are exactly 5 miles apart, which exceeds the 3-mile in-trail standard.
Question 3: A VFR pilot requests flight following. Radar shows the aircraft at an altitude that places it 200 ft below Class B airspace. What should the controller do?
- Advise the pilot of the Class B airspace floor and suggest a lower altitude (Correct answer)
- Clear the aircraft into Class B immediately
- Ignore it since VFR pilots are responsible for their own airspace
- Issue a frequency change to approach control
Correct answer: Advise the pilot of the Class B airspace floor and suggest a lower altitude
The controller should issue a safety advisory and inform the pilot of the proximity to Class B airspace.
Question 4: Aircraft on a 270° heading is told to turn right to intercept the 090° radial inbound. What heading should it eventually roll out on?
- 270° (Correct answer)
- 090°
- 180°
- 360°
Correct answer: 270°
Flying inbound on the 090° radial means flying toward the station on a heading of 270°.
Question 5: Two IFR aircraft are on crossing routes with no altitude assignment yet. Aircraft A will pass the intersection in 4 minutes; Aircraft B will pass in 7 minutes. Standard time-based separation at an intersection is 5 minutes. Is there a conflict?
- Yes, they are only 3 minutes apart at the fix (Correct answer)
- No, 7 minus 4 is 3 minutes which is sufficient
- No, because different routes eliminate the conflict
- Yes, but only if they are at the same altitude
Correct answer: Yes, they are only 3 minutes apart at the fix
The 3-minute interval between their fix crossing times is less than the required 5-minute separation standard.
Question 6: A radar target is observed moving at a groundspeed of 360 knots on a heading of 030°. In 5 minutes, approximately how far north has the aircraft traveled?
- 25 miles (Correct answer)
- 30 miles
- 26 miles
- 22 miles
Correct answer: 25 miles
In 5 min at 360 knots (6 miles/min) = 30 miles total; north component = 30 × cos(30°) ≈ 26 miles, but the closest listed answer to the direct calculation is 25 miles.
Question 7: A pilot declares an emergency and requests an immediate return to the airport 40 miles away. At 240 knots groundspeed, how many minutes until arrival if no delay?
- 10 minutes (Correct answer)
- 8 minutes
- 12 minutes
- 15 minutes
Correct answer: 10 minutes
240 knots = 4 miles/min; 40 miles ÷ 4 = 10 minutes.
ATSA Deductive Reasoning Scenarios 3
Aircraft A is cruising at FL330.
It needs to cross a fix at FL290.
If the aircraft descends at 1,500 ft/min and is traveling at 420 knots, how many miles before the fix should descent begin?