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P60 PPL theory subject

PPL Operational Procedures: the exam guide

Operational Procedures gathers the practical rules and drills that keep a light aircraft flight safe from planning through to an abnormal or emergency situation: what documents and equipment must be on board, how to plan fuel reserves, how noise abatement and runway incursion awareness work, the fire and smoke drills, windshear and wake turbulence avoidance, and emergency or precautionary landing procedures including ditching. It reads like a checklist subject, but each item exists because a real operational risk sits behind it.

Pass mark

75%

Exam questions

Typically around 20 questions in most EASA states (paper length varies by country)

Subject code

P60

Why Operational Procedures matters

This is the subject that turns into muscle memory in the cockpit. A carburettor fire drill, a windshear encounter on final approach, or a wake turbulence risk behind a heavier aircraft are situations where hesitation costs time you do not have. Learning the correct actions here, and understanding why each step exists, builds the calm, procedural response that instructors look for during practical training.

Key topics

  • Documents and manuals required to be carried on board
  • Minimum equipment and serviceability requirements for flight
  • Fuel planning and minimum fuel reserves
  • Supplemental oxygen requirements
  • Seat belts, harnesses, and securing occupants and cargo
  • Noise abatement procedures and their influence on departure, cruise, and approach
  • Runway incursion awareness, surface markings, and signals
  • Carburettor fire, engine fire, and cabin fire recognition and drills
  • Smoke in the cockpit and cabin: effects and immediate actions
  • Windshear and microburst: recognition, avoidance, and encounter actions
  • Wake turbulence: cause, relevant parameters, and avoidance technique
  • Emergency and precautionary landings: causes, passenger briefing, and evacuation
  • Ditching: a forced or precautionary landing on water
  • Contaminated runways: types of contamination and estimated surface friction

How to study it

  • Attach every procedure to the scenario where you would actually use it, rather than memorising a list of steps disconnected from context.
  • Group the syllabus into clear blocks (documentation and equipment, fire and smoke, windshear and wake turbulence, emergency and precautionary landings) and revise each block on its own.
  • Practise reciting the fire and smoke drills out loud from memory, since these are exactly the procedures where hesitation under pressure is the real risk being tested.
  • Use spaced recall specifically for the numeric or threshold-based items, such as fuel reserve requirements, since these are easy to blur with other subjects' figures.
  • Ask why each rule exists as you revise it. Understanding the operational reason behind a rule makes it far easier to recall the rule itself.
  • Revisit wake turbulence and windshear together, since both concern invisible hazards from other aircraft or the atmosphere and share a similar avoidance mindset.

Common traps

  • Treating documentation requirements as trivial and losing easy marks on which documents or manuals must be carried on board.
  • Confusing the specific actions for a carburettor fire versus an engine fire in flight, when the correct drill differs.
  • Underestimating windshear as a takeoff and landing hazard because it is invisible until encountered.
  • Forgetting that wake turbulence avoidance technique differs between landing behind a heavier aircraft and departing behind one.
  • Mixing up the steps of an emergency landing sequence with those of a precautionary landing, when the two have a different urgency and preparation time.
  • Not distinguishing between the different types of runway contamination and how each affects the friction coefficient and stopping performance.

Worked example question

An independently authored revision question in the same multiple-choice format as the exam. Try it before opening the answer.

Worked example: wake turbulence avoidance on departure

An aeroplane is departing from the same runway shortly after a significantly heavier aircraft has taken off ahead of it. What is the recommended technique to reduce the risk of encountering wake turbulence?

  • ARotate before the heavier aircraft's rotation point and climb to remain above its flight path
  • BRotate later than the heavier aircraft's rotation point to increase separation distance
  • CDeliberately remain below the heavier aircraft's climb path to avoid its wingtip vortices
  • DWait exactly two minutes after the heavier aircraft's takeoff before beginning the takeoff roll, regardless of wind
Show the answer and walkthrough

Correct answer: A

  • A. Correct. Wake vortices sink and spread behind and below the flight path of the preceding aircraft, so becoming airborne earlier and staying above its climb path reduces the chance of flying through the wake.
  • B. Rotating later moves the departure further behind the heavier aircraft but does nothing to keep the flight path above the sinking wake, which is the actual hazard.
  • C. Wake vortices sink toward the ground behind the generating aircraft, so staying below its flight path moves toward greater risk, not away from it.
  • D. A fixed time delay ignores wind conditions, which strongly affect how quickly wake vortices move away from or linger over the runway; the correct technique is procedural, not a single fixed number.

Step by step

  1. Recall that wake vortices generated by a heavier aircraft sink and spread outward behind and below its flight path.
  2. Identify the technique that keeps the departing aircraft's flight path above that sinking wake: rotating before the heavier aircraft's rotation point.
  3. Reject option C, which places the aircraft in the path of the sinking wake rather than above it.
  4. Reject option D, since a fixed time delay does not account for wind, which materially changes wake behaviour on the runway.

Frequently asked questions

Is Operational Procedures mostly memory-based?

Mostly, but it sticks far better when you connect each rule or drill to the operational risk it addresses rather than memorising a bare checklist. A fire drill you understand the logic of is one you can actually execute correctly under pressure, which is the real point of the subject.

Why does wake turbulence matter for a light aircraft?

A light aeroplane can be genuinely upset by the wake vortices of a much heavier aircraft, particularly at low altitude near the ground where there is little room to recover. Knowing how vortices behave and applying the correct spacing and flight-path technique when departing or arriving near heavier traffic is a real safety skill, not just an exam topic.

What is the difference between an emergency landing and a precautionary landing?

An emergency landing is generally forced by circumstances beyond the pilot's control, such as an engine failure, leaving little or no time to prepare. A precautionary landing is a deliberate decision to land before a developing problem becomes a genuine emergency, which typically allows more time to select a suitable landing area and brief passengers. The exam expects you to recognise which category a given scenario falls into.

What should I know about windshear for the PPL exam?

Focus on recognising the conditions that produce windshear and microbursts (often associated with thunderstorm activity), the warning signs during departure and approach, and the correct encounter response, which generally centres on maximum power and a positive climb attitude rather than trying to salvage the original approach or departure profile.

How detailed do I need to be on contaminated runway performance?

At PPL level, focus on recognising the types of contamination (such as standing water, slush, or ice) and understanding qualitatively how each affects the friction coefficient and stopping distance, rather than performing detailed performance chart corrections, which is covered in more depth in the Flight Performance and Planning subject.

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Try the free PPL quiz

Test yourself on Operational Procedures and the other PPL theory subjects with a free practice quiz, no account needed.

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Turn Operational Procedures revision into a habit.

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This page is general educational information for student pilots and may be out of date. Aviation rules, training requirements, costs, medical standards, and exam details change over time and vary by country, authority, and training organisation, so details here may no longer be current or may differ in your case. Always confirm the current details with your approved training organisation (ATO) and national aviation authority before relying on them. SkyStudy is an independent study aid, is not affiliated with EASA or any aviation authority, and does not guarantee any exam or licence outcome.

Last reviewed July 2026