PLT077: Airport Diagrams
What code PLT077 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Airport Diagrams before your checkride.
Interpret information on an Airport Diagram
What this means for your checkride
An airport diagram shows the runways, taxiways, ramps, and hold-short lines at a field, with runway identifiers, lengths, and lighting. You use it to plan taxi routes, brief hold-short points, and stay oriented on the ground, especially at unfamiliar or complex airports.
Runway incursions often start with a lost taxi picture, so the FAA tests reading the diagram to navigate the surface and identify hold positions.
Pilots taxi from memory at busy fields. Briefing the airport diagram and the expected taxi route before moving is the defense against a wrong turn onto an active runway.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.