Pilot technical interview questions, with answers checked against the FAA

Short answer: Airline technical questions usually stay close to what a line pilot uses every day: your current aircraft's systems, instrument rules (alternates, approach minimums), high-altitude aerodynamics, weather, and procedures such as TCAS and wake turbulence avoidance. Answer in plain words, tie the rule to how you'd fly it, and say where you'd check when you're not sure. Below are 22 practice questions and six example answers checked against FAA text.

Last checked November 1, 2026.

What airlines say about the technical part

Few airlines describe it. United's Aviate program lists "A technical skill interview" among its selection steps. FedEx describes "remote computer-based testing" before its panel. Most others don't publish anything about technical questions, so prepare for them either way. Depth often depends on your background: panels tend to ask more about the airplane you fly now.

Six example answers, checked against the FAA

Each answer below is an example answer, written by us. Check your own airline's manuals and procedures. The rule is quoted from the FAA source linked.

1. "When do you need an alternate under Part 91 IFR, and what minimums apply?"

"For an airplane under 91.169, I need an alternate unless the destination has a standard instrument approach and the forecast, from 1 hour before to 1 hour after my ETA, is at least a 2,000-foot ceiling and 3 statute miles visibility. That's the 1-2-3 rule.

For the alternate itself, I use the minimums published on the approach chart. If none are published, the standard numbers are 600 feet and 2 miles for a precision approach and 800 feet and 2 miles for a non-precision approach. If the alternate has no instrument approach, the forecast has to allow a descent from the MEA and an approach and landing in basic VFR.

At an airline, the operations specifications and dispatch set the alternate rules, so I'd follow those."

Source: 14 CFR 91.169.

2. "When can you descend below DA or MDA?"

"Three things, under 91.175(c). The airplane is continuously in a position to land on the intended runway at a normal rate of descent using normal maneuvers. The flight visibility is at least what the approach requires. And at least one of the listed visual references for that runway is distinctly visible and identifiable, like the runway, its lights or markings, the threshold or the touchdown zone.

The approach lights are the special case. With only the approach lights in sight, I can't go below 100 feet above the touchdown zone elevation unless the red terminating bars or red side row bars are also visible."

Source: 14 CFR 91.175.

3. "What do you need to fly in RVSM airspace?"

"RVSM in the US is FL290 to FL410 inclusive. Under 91.180 the operator and the airplane have to meet the standards in Part 91 Appendix G, and with limited exceptions the operator has to be authorized by the FAA. Appendix G lists, among other things, two independent altitude measurement systems, at least one automatic altitude control system and an altitude alert system. For an equipment failure in RVSM airspace, I'd follow our company procedure and work it with ATC."

Sources: Part 91 Appendix G, FAA AIP, RVSM.

4. "You get a TCAS resolution advisory. What do you do?"

"I respond to the RA immediately and maneuver as it tells me. The AIM's only exceptions are if following it would put the airplane in danger, or if we can ensure separation because we definitely have the traffic in sight. If the RA takes us off our clearance, we tell ATC as soon as practicable, then tell ATC when we're clear of the conflict and returning to our assigned clearance. The details of the maneuver follow our company procedures."

Source: FAA AIM Chapter 4 Section 4.

5. "How do you avoid wake turbulence behind a heavy on approach and departure?"

"The FAA's rule of thumb is to avoid the area below and behind the aircraft making the wake. Landing behind a larger aircraft, I stay at or above its final approach path, note its touchdown point and land beyond it. Departing behind one, I rotate before its rotation point and climb above its climb path until I can turn clear of its wake."

Source: FAA AIM Chapter 7 Section 4.

6. "Talk me through hydroplaning."

"On a wet runway the big one is dynamic hydroplaning. The FAA gives a rule of thumb: the minimum hydroplaning speed is about nine times the square root of the main gear tire pressure in psi. With 200 psi tires that's roughly 127 knots. On a wet runway I'd check the landing distance for the conditions, aim for a firm touchdown and use the deceleration devices early, per our procedures."

Source: FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 11. The 127-knot figure is our arithmetic (9 × √200).

Weather questions (TAFs, microbursts, icing) have their own page with FAA-checked answers: pilot interview weather questions.

22 technical questions to practice

From the Fourstripe question bank, written by us. No airline publishes its own list.

Your aircraft

• Pick the aircraft you fly now and walk me through its electrical system.
• Walk me through the hydraulic system on the aircraft you fly now.

Aerodynamics and high altitude

• What happens to a swept-wing jet as it goes past its critical Mach number?
• What is coffin corner?
• What factors affect Vmc in a light twin, and why?
• What is Dutch roll, and what does a yaw damper do?
• Explain indicated, calibrated, equivalent and true airspeed.
• How does high density altitude affect your takeoff?
• What causes a compressor stall in a jet engine?

Instrument rules and procedures

• When do you need an alternate under Part 91 IFR, and what minimums apply to it?
• When can you descend below DA or MDA on an instrument approach?
• What's the difference between an LPV and an LNAV/VNAV approach?
• What do you need to fly in RVSM airspace?
• You get a TCAS resolution advisory. What do you do?
• What's a stabilized approach, and when do you go around?
• How do you work out when to start your descent?

Weather and surfaces

• In a TAF, what do TEMPO, BECMG and PROB30 mean?
• What does a microburst do to an airplane on approach, and what do you do about it?
• What's the difference between rime, clear and mixed ice, and which worries you most?
• Talk me through deicing and holdover times.
• Talk me through hydroplaning.
• How do you avoid wake turbulence behind a heavy on approach?

For the questions without an example answer here, use the FAA handbooks and your own airline's manuals. Stabilized approach gates, rejected takeoff rules and descent planning vary by operator, so answer with "per our SOP" and the numbers your company uses.

What panels usually listen for

From the Fourstripe technical rubric:

• Accuracy: the facts and numbers are right.
• Clarity: simple words, in a sensible order.
• In the airplane: you tie the theory to how you'd actually fly.
• Knowing the limits: you say where you'd check, and you're honest when unsure.

Study checklist

• Your current aircraft: electrical, hydraulic, fuel, pressurization, ice protection and their failures, in your own words
• 91.169 alternates and 91.175 minimums, said out loud without notes
• High-altitude aerodynamics: critical Mach, coffin corner, Dutch roll
• Weather: TAF codes, thunderstorms, microbursts, icing (weather guide)
• Procedures: TCAS RA, wake turbulence, stabilized approach, go-around
• Practice saying "I'm not sure. I'd check the AFM" without sounding rattled

Practice this on Fourstripe. A panel captain asks technical questions out loud, follows up ("What if the alternate has no instrument approach?"), and scores accuracy, clarity, how you'd fly it and whether you know your limits. 7-day trial, then from $149 a week. Start a practice interview