Taxiing (ASEL, AMEL)

Per AC 120-74, the pretaxi planning conversation covers:

• The expected taxi route — reviewed on the current airport diagram — including any hold short lines and runways to cross, and hot spots and complex intersections along it
• The anticipated duration of the taxi and the visibility along the route
• When the checklists get run: if conditions permit, conduct predeparture checklists at the gate — including setting takeoff flaps — or while stopped or taxiing straight ahead on a taxiway without complex intersections or hot spots
• Critical locations where verbal PIC/SIC coordination is required: hot spots, runway crossings, entering and lining up on the runway
• Single-engine taxi, if applicable, and any unusual procedures at this airport — different pushback, communication requirements, previous experience worth sharing
• In low visibility: the low visibility taxi chart and ILS critical area holds

The AC's caution is worth quoting to the examiner: the pitfall of pretaxi planning is setting expectations and then receiving different instructions — fly the clearance you actually received, not the one you briefed (AA.II.C.R2).

ICAO's definition, via the Instrument Procedures Handbook: a location on an aerodrome movement area with a history or potential risk of collision or runway incursion, and where heightened attention by pilots and drivers is necessary. They flag complex or potentially confusing taxiway geometry — the intersections that have already caught crews. They're depicted as circled areas on airport charts and included with the airport diagrams in the Chart Supplement (IPH ch. 1; PHAK ch. 14 shows them labeled "HS1" style). The briefing standard: identify every hot spot on or near your taxi route by name before taxi, and treat each one as a slow-down-and-confirm point.

NOTAM review: before taxi, check the current airport NOTAMs and ATIS for runway and taxiway closures, construction activity, and other airport-specific risks (AC 120-74).

Clearance conflict: ATC is assumed to have firsthand knowledge of runway and taxiway status, but if a clearance is received to use a runway or taxiway that a NOTAM or ATIS broadcast indicates is closed, query the controller for verification of the clearance (AC 120-74).

The NOTAM review pairs with the current airport diagram, hot spots, and — where published — the textual description of standard taxi routes to build the "big picture" of the airport and its potential incursion areas before the airplane ever moves.

The FAA definition (IPH ch. 1): "Any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and takeoff of aircraft." The categories:

• Category A — a serious incident in which a collision was narrowly avoided
• Category B — separation decreases with significant potential for collision, which may require a time-critical corrective or evasive response
• Category C — an incident with ample time and/or distance to avoid a collision
• Category D — incorrect presence on the protected area with no immediate safety consequences

Note what the definition doesn't require: no near-miss, no traffic. A single aircraft nosewheel over a hold line with nobody around is an incursion.

The sterile flight deck rule. Critical phases of flight include all ground operations involving taxi, takeoff, and landing, and all other flight operations below 10,000 feet except cruise flight (121.542(c)) — with taxi defined as movement of an airplane under its own power on the surface. During those phases:

• No crewmember may perform, and no carrier may require, any duties except those required for the safe operation of the aircraft — the reg's own examples of prohibited duties include company calls, galley orders, and passenger PR announcements (121.542(a))
• No activity which could distract any crewmember is permitted — eating, nonessential conversation in the cockpit or with the cabin, reading unrelated publications (121.542(b))
• Separately and during all flight time: no personal wireless communications device or laptop at a duty station unless the use is directly related to operation of the aircraft or for emergency/safety-related/employment-related communications per approved procedures (121.542(d))

AC 120-74 adds the crew-culture half: brief sterile cockpit, but encourage anyone to speak up if they see a conflict or interpret a clearance differently — sterile means no chatter, not no safety calls.

• Write it down — AC 120-74 recommends written taxi instructions when routes are complex or the airport is unfamiliar; shorthand works: clearance "taxi 9R via Bravo, Echo, Juliet, hold short 4L at Echo" becomes written "9R B E J 4L E" with the 4L-at-Echo clearance limit circled, or "9R BEJ/4L E" in an FMC scratchpad, where the forward slash represents the hold short line
• Read back all hold short instructions in full, with the complete call sign and the runway designator; avoid "Roger" or "Wilco" when the instruction involves entering, crossing, or holding short of a runway (AC 120-74)
• Verbalize the plan between pilots and trace it on the airport diagram before the airplane moves — a common understanding is established by repeating the instructions and getting agreement, and any persistent disagreement is resolved by asking ATC
• State your position on initial contact with every ground or tower controller, even if you already told the previous one (AC 120-74)

The read-back-in-full habit exists because incursions happen even after the pilot reads back the hold short — so the AC also suggests a physical reminder technique, like placing an object on the instrument panel or yoke until the hold-short is complied with.

• Be positive that ATC has cleared you to cross — if there's any doubt, stop (clear of the protected area) and ask
• Approaching the hold line, verbalize "approaching (runway) hold short line"; before crossing, visually scan left and right, the full length of the runway and its approach paths, and coordinate verbally — "clear left, clear right" or that the scan is not clear (AC 120-74)
• When approaching an entrance to a runway, come to a complete stop, or be in a phase of taxiing with no incursion risk, before continuing operational duties and checklists (AC 120-74)
• All exterior lights on when crossing a runway — with judgment about blinding others with forward-facing lights (AC 120-74)
• Extra vigilance taxiing between active parallel runways, and cross expeditiously once cleared

At night or in low visibility, the same procedure slows down; it never abbreviates.

• Expect communication from ATC within 90 seconds of the LUAW clearance if you weren't told the reason for the wait or can't see it — if you hear nothing in 90 seconds, query ATC (AC 120-74)
• TCAS/TAS on to build awareness of traffic that may be landing on your runway; scan the full length of the runway and the final approach as you taxi on
• Monitor the tower frequency actively; if the radio goes unusually quiet or a stuck mic is suspected, contact ATC and watch for light gun signals
• Lights: everything that highlights your silhouette except landing lights — landing lights come on with the takeoff clearance (AC 120-74)
• At night, consider lining up slightly left or right of centerline (approximately 3 feet) so a landing aircraft can distinguish your lights from the runway lights (AC 120-74)

Be especially vigilant with LUAW at night or in reduced visibility — that's the AC's own emphasis, and the geometry — an aircraft holding on an active runway — is behind some of the worst accidents in aviation history.

AC 120-74's convention, adjusted for your airplane's equipment and limitations:

The lights are a signal system: the airplane silhouette announces "on the runway," and landing lights announce "rolling." The AC's caveat — adherence is voluntary and equipment varies, so never rely solely on another aircraft's lights to judge its intent.

The Surface Movement Guidance and Control System — a low-visibility taxi plan for airports where air carriers operate at RVR below 1,200 feet (IPH ch. 1, per AC 120-57 and FAA Order 8000.94). Its pieces:

• Controllable stop bar lights — a row of red, unidirectional in-pavement lights controlled by ATC; required for operations below 500 ft RVR. Non-controllable stop bars mark intersections where movement is restricted and operate continuously below 500 RVR
• Taxiway centerline lead-on lights — alternating green/yellow in-pavement lights guiding traffic in low visibility and at night
• Runway guard lights — elevated or in-pavement alternately flashing yellow lights marking taxiway access to an active runway
• Geographic position markings — the "pink spots," outlined in a black-and-white circle, used by ATC as hold points or for position reporting
• Clearance bar lights — three yellow in-pavement lights denoting holding positions

Part 121 and 135 flight and ground crews are required to comply with SMGCS plans where implemented, and anyone operating under the plan must have the low visibility taxi route chart for that airport (IPH ch. 1). Brief it before you need it — the chart is useless discovered at the hold line in 600 RVR.

• AC 120-74 files pushback under the unusual-procedures briefing item: address previous experience at the airport and procedures "not typically used on an everyday basis, such as different pushback procedures or communication requirements" — the brief happens before the airplane moves, not while the tug is connected
• The operation runs on an agreed-upon signal set with ground personnel: the AFH's ramp guidance is that whether the standard AIM hand signals or a modified set is used matters less than that each operation uses a suitable, agreed-upon set (AFH ch. 2; at night the Emergency Stop signal is used for all stop indications)
• Before any movement, confirm the area around the airplane is clear of persons, equipment, and other hazards (AFH ch. 2)
• The specifics — brake use while under tow, the nosewheel steering disconnect or bypass pin, and when the ground crew disconnects and is confirmed clear — belong to your operator's SOPs; be ready to walk them type-specifically

AC 120-74's directive is about time, not technique: brief single-engine taxi, including allowing enough time to complete all required checklists without any crewmember feeling rushed — and do not accept any ATC clearance if it appears you will be unable to properly complete all required checklist items. The engine you start during taxi injects a start sequence, an after-start flow, and a config change into exactly the phase where heads-down time causes incursions — so the briefing decides in advance where on the route the start happens and who is outside eyes while it does. The actual procedure — which engine, warm-up times, system limitations on one generator or hydraulic pump — is your AFM's and your operator's; know it cold and say it type-specifically.

By announcing it, bounding it, and locating it:

• Announce the handoff both directions: "I'm heads-down, right turn ahead at Alpha" when dropping off the frequency or into the FMS, and "I'm back, any changes?" on return — reiterating any upcoming hold short instructions that could be misinterpreted (AC 120-74)
• Bound it: any instructions received while a crewmember was away from the frequency are briefed and reviewed on return
• Locate it: heads-down work happens only when the aircraft is taxiing straight ahead or stopped, with no upcoming hold short lines or hot spots — and time away from monitoring should be avoided entirely with complex routing or runway crossings (AC 120-74)

The distraction and task-prioritization risk element (AA.II.C.R1) and the partial-checklist risk (AA.II.C.R4) are both answered by the same discipline: checklists run at planned pauses, not dribbled through turns.

Five fixed points:

1. When the clearance is issued — confirm and verbalize the assigned runway and taxi route against the airport diagram, including hold-short and crossing instructions
2. At complex intersections — verbally confirm the intersection's identity using the diagram and the heading indicator before transitioning through it
3. Approaching any hold short line — "approaching (runway) hold short line," then the scan and "clear left/right"
4. Before entering a runway for takeoff — verbally coordinate the flap setting, runway identification, compass heading, FMC entry, and receipt of the proper ATC clearance for that runway
5. When anything changes — a route change, a return to the gate, an out-of-the-ordinary flow demands heightened awareness from every crewmember

The compass check embedded in points 2 and 4 is the cheapest incursion insurance there is: the heading display confirms taxiway or runway alignment at every intersection where geometry could deceive you (AC 120-74).

• Never stop on a runway — that is the AC's one absolute in a disorientation event (AC 120-74)
• Confirm which surface you're on: runways have white centerline markings; taxiways have continuous yellow centerlines (AC 120-74)
• Stop the aircraft (clear of any runway) and advise ATC immediately; request progressive taxi — step-by-step routing that controllers also issue on their own initiative for traffic or construction (AC 120-74, IPH ch. 1)
• Rebuild orientation with everything available: airport diagram, heading indicator, signs, markings, lighting — and in low visibility, the geographic position markings

Asking for progressive taxi is a professionalism marker on this checkride, not a confession. The unprofessional version is pressing on while lost, and that's how Category A incursions start.

The airport information doesn't change; your access to it does.

• Lighting becomes signal and hazard: the full AC 120-74 lighting scheme carries your intent to others — and their lights are your traffic picture, with the caution that equipage varies and lights alone never confirm intent
• Judgment calls on your own lights: strobes off during taxi where they'll blind other pilots or ground crew; forward-facing lights managed at runway crossings
• Geometry gets harder: the cues that keep you found by day — pavement edges, signage seen peripherally — shrink to what's lit, so the diagram-plus-heading-indicator discipline does more of the work, exactly as in low visibility (AC 120-74)
• LUAW at night carries the AC's specific mitigations: the ~3-foot centerline offset so landing traffic can distinguish you, and heightened vigilance because the 90-second rule matters most when nobody can see you

If the checkride happens entirely in daylight, expect to explain all of this — the ACS explicitly requires the explanation when the condition isn't available.

From AC 120-74 Appendix 1:

• Verify tower status first — part-time towers are the trap; if in doubt, attempt contact on the tower frequency
• Communicate intentions on CTAF before taxi and listen for traffic operating to and from the airport; monitor and communicate from engine start until 10 miles from the airport unless regulations or OpSpecs direct otherwise
• State the airport name at the beginning and end of each transmission, and remember some aircraft have no radio at all
• Expect instrument traffic where VFR habits wouldn't: aircraft may be flying an instrument approach to a different runway than the one in visual use — possibly the opposite end of yours
• Don't line up and hold on the departure runway any longer than absolutely necessary
• Without ATC to stop you, the visual cues do ATC's job: signs, hold short lines, markings, lighting, and the airport diagram

The scan before entering any runway grows to include the full length plus both final approach and departure paths — on the appropriate frequency, with your own eyes as the only clearance you'll get.

The ACS skill element requires positive control, proper speed, appropriate use of wheel brakes and reverse thrust, and separation from aircraft, vehicles, and persons:

• Thrust: breakaway thrust that's too aggressive pulls damaging debris off the ground and sends jet blast at everything behind you — loose equipment included — so power comes up gently and comes off early (AFH ch. 16)
• Speed: managed with thrust at idle and brakes applied deliberately rather than ridden
• Reverse thrust: ground use is type- and operator-specific — FOD and visibility implications belong to your AFM and SOPs, so give the checkride answer that's your airplane's, not a generic one
• Separation: universal regardless of type — a transport airplane's momentum and blast field mean you protect people and equipment with distance arranged in advance, not reactions