FAA Ground School Practice Test

During a local flight, if ATC advises a pilot of traffic at "2 o'clock, 5 miles, northbound," where should the pilot look?

1. Directly behind

2. To the left

3. Directly ahead and 90 degrees to the right

4. To the right

The correct answer is: Directly ahead and 90 degrees to the right

When ATC states that the traffic is at "2 o'clock, 5 miles, northbound," it provides both a positional reference and a relative direction. The "2 o'clock" position means that the traffic is located to the right of the pilot's current heading. Specifically, this means that if you visualize the plane as a clock face with the nose of the aircraft at "12 o'clock," the traffic would be found at approximately "2 o'clock," which is offset to the right. Additionally, the "northbound" detail indicates that the other aircraft is moving towards the north. Therefore, to effectively spot the traffic, the pilot should focus on looking ahead and to the right side of the aircraft. Thus, looking directly ahead and 90 degrees to the right will encompass both the position and direction of the traffic as described by ATC, allowing for proper situational awareness and the ability to maintain safe distance from other aircraft.