The FAA, along with the General Aviation Joint Safety Committee (GAJSC), is promoting AOA systems as one of the many safety initiatives aimed at reducing the General Aviation (GA) accident rate. AOA indicators will specifically target loss of control (LOC) accidents. LOC is the number one root cause of fatalities in GA. More than 25 percent of GA fatal accidents occur during the maneuvering phase of flight. Of those accidents, half involve stall/spin scenarios. Technology such as AOA indicators can have a tremendous impact on reversing this trend and are increasingly affordable for GA airplanes. During the flight review, if the airplane is equipped with an AOA indicator, the flight instructor should evaluate its use and correct interpretation of cues gained by referencing the AOA indicator by the pilot receiving the flight review. If the airplane is not equipped with an AOA indicator, the flight instructor should emphasize the importance of this item and evaluate the pilot’s general knowledge of aerodynamic principles relating to AOA.

The maneuvers and procedures covered during the review are those that, in the opinion of the flight instructor conducting the review, are necessary for the pilot to perform to demonstrate that they can safely exercise the privileges of their pilot certificate. Accordingly, the flight instructor should evaluate the pilot’s skills and knowledge to the extent necessary to ensure that the pilot can safely operate within regulatory requirements throughout a wide range of conditions. The flight instructor should always include abnormal and emergency procedures applicable to the aircraft flown in the flight review. For a satisfactory flight review, the pilot should be able to perform all maneuvers in accordance with the ACS or PTS, as applicable, for the pilot certificate that they hold. Therefore, the FAA encourages the use of ACS/PTS during flight reviews.

The flight instructor may wish to prepare a preliminary plan of action for the flight review based on an interview or other assessment of the pilot’s qualifications and skills. See Appendix D for suggested interview questions. Appendix D provides a sample flight instructor’s flight review checklist. The flight instructor should outline a sequence of maneuvers to the pilot taking the review. For example, this may include a cross-country flight to another airport with maneuvers accomplished while en route. It could also include a period of simulated instrument flight time. The flight instructor should request that the pilot conduct whatever preflight preparation is necessary to complete the planned flight. This preparation should include all items required in part 91, § 91.103, such as checking weather, calculating required runway lengths, calculating Weight and Balance (W&B), completing a flight log, filing a flight plan, and conducting the preflight inspection.

Before beginning the flight portion of the review, the flight instructor should discuss various operational areas with the pilot. This oral review should include, but not be limited to, areas such as aircraft systems, speeds, performance, meteorological and other hazards (e.g., wind shear and wake turbulence), operations in controlled airspace, and abnormal and emergency procedures. The emphasis during this discussion should be on practical knowledge of recommended procedures and regulatory requirements.

Regardless of the pilot’s experience, the flight instructor should review at least those maneuvers considered critical to safe flight, such as:

Based on the flight instructor’s in-flight assessment of the pilot’s skills, the flight instructor may wish to add other maneuvers from the PTS/ACS appropriate to the pilot’s grade of certificate. Appendix D includes a recommended job aid (flight review checklist), including a list of suggested maneuvers. The FAA does not intend this list to be all-inclusive, nor does it limit a flight instructor’s discretion in selecting other appropriate maneuvers and procedures. To the greatest possible extent, the flight instructor should organize and sequence the selected maneuvers in a realistic scenario appropriate to the kind of flying normally done by the pilot.