Commercial pilot · ACS CA.II.D
Taxiing
Taxiing at the commercial level means the same discipline the airlines use: a planned route, precise readbacks, and no assumptions about runways.
Why this one matters
Runway incursions happen at walking speed, often to experienced pilots who heard what they expected to hear. A professional taxi is planned, read back, flown with eyes outside, and stopped the moment you're not sure where you are.
Can’t miss
- •Before moving, review the airport diagram, Chart Supplement and NOTAMs, and find the hot spots on your route.(AC 91-73, Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi)
- •You need an explicit instruction to cross or enter any runway; read back every runway assignment and hold-short instruction.(AIM 4-3 (Airport Operations))
- •Red signs with white letters are mandatory. Hold short of a runway holding position marking (on the solid-line side) when told to hold short or without a clearance to enter or cross; when cleared, look both ways and along the final approach and continue without stopping at the line. Leaving a runway, keep going until the whole airplane is past the marking.(AIM 2-3 (Airport Marking Aids and Signs))
- •Brake check immediately after the airplane starts moving, then control speed mostly with power.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.II.D.S5-S6)
- •Hold the controls for the wind in a nosewheel airplane: quartering headwind, yoke turned into the wind (upwind aileron up), elevator neutral; quartering tailwind, yoke turned away from the wind (upwind aileron down), elevator down. Full back elevator into a headwind is for a tailwheel airplane.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
- •Expectation bias is a leading cause of incursions: write the clearance down and read it back; if it differs from what you planned, stop and re-brief.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
- •Heads up while moving; set up avionics and run checklists while stopped.(AC 91-73, Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi)
What you should know
Before you move K1 · K6
- Review the airport diagram, the Chart Supplement and the NOTAMs: closed taxiways, construction and hot spots.(AC 91-73, Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi)
- Plan the route, brief the hot spots, and set up radios, transponder and avionics before you move.(AC 91-73, Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi)
Clearances and radio K2 · K6 · R2 · R3
- At a towered airport, get a taxi clearance; each runway crossing or entry needs an explicit instruction, including inactive runways.(AIM 4-3 (Airport Operations); 14 CFR 91.129)
- Read back runway assignments, hold-short instructions and crossing clearances.(AIM 4-3 (Airport Operations))
- At a nontowered airport, announce your intentions on the CTAF and look both ways, including the final approach paths, before crossing or entering a runway.(AC 90-66, Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations)
- Expectation and confirmation bias: you may hear the route you planned. Write it down, read it back, and ask if anything is unclear.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
- A changed route or runway: stop if needed, re-plan with the diagram, and re-check takeoff performance before continuing.(AC 91-73, Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi)
Markings, signs, lights and wind K3 · K4 · K5
- Six sign types: mandatory instruction (red, white letters); location (black, yellow letters, no arrows); direction (yellow, black letters, with arrows); destination (yellow, black letters, with an arrow); information (yellow, black letters); runway distance remaining (black, white numbers in thousands of feet).(AIM 2-3 (Airport Marking Aids and Signs))
- Also: the ILS critical area holding sign and its ladder marking; enhanced taxiway centerlines (dashed yellow either side) warning of a hold line within 150 feet; and the nonmovement-area boundary (a solid and a dashed yellow line).(AIM 2-3 (Airport Marking Aids and Signs))
- Runway holding position marking: two solid and two dashed yellow lines; stop on the solid side. Flashing yellow runway guard lights mark the same spot.(AIM 2-3 (Airport Marking Aids and Signs); AIM 2-1)
- Taxiway edge lights are blue and centerline lights green. Use the windsock or wind tee for control positions.(AIM 2-1)
- Aircraft lights per the AIM: beacon before start, taxi light when moving, all exterior lights when crossing or entering a runway.(AIM 4-3 (Airport Operations))
Preventing incursions, day and night K6 · R1 · R4
- A runway incursion is any incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on a runway. Know where you are at all times.(AC 91-73, Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi)
- At night or in low visibility, taxi slowly, follow the centerline lights and signs, and ask for progressive taxi if unsure. Below 1,200 feet RVR, airports with a SMGCS plan use designated low-visibility taxi routes and charts, green lead-on lights, clearance bars, geographic position markings for position reports, and stop bars: never cross an illuminated stop bar.(AIM 4-3 (Airport Operations); AC 120-57)
- If you're unsure of your position, stop and ask; never guess across a hold line.(AC 91-73, Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi)
- Keep passengers quiet during taxi (sterile cockpit) and avoid heads-down tasks while moving.(AC 91-73, Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi)
On the flight
ACS standards
- Read back clearances; use the airport diagram; position controls for the wind; complete checklists; brake check immediately after moving.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.II.D.S1-S5)
- Maintain positive control without excessive braking; comply with markings, signals and clearances; position the airplane properly at hold lines.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.II.D.S6-S8)
What your instructor is watching for
Your instructor watches for a briefed route and hot spots, complete readbacks, wind-correct control positions, eyes outside, a full stop at every hold line, and asking when unsure.
Scenarios
Decide what you would do first, then see the worked answer.
Ground says: "Runway 27, taxi via Alpha, cross runway 33, hold short of Bravo."
What do you read back? See the worked answer
The runway, the route, the crossing and the hold-short: "Runway 27 via Alpha, cross 33, hold short Bravo," with your call sign.
AIM 4-3 (Airport Operations)
You expected runway 9, but ground assigns runway 27 via an unfamiliar route.
What do you do? See the worked answer
Write it down, read it back, stop if needed to re-plan with the diagram and hot spots, and re-check takeoff performance for runway 27.
AC 91-73, Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi
Approaching a hold line, you see a row of red lights in the pavement across the taxiway, with red lights on posts at each side.
What do you do? See the worked answer
Stop: that is an illuminated stop bar, and you never cross one even with a clearance; ATC switches it off and turns on the green lead-on lights. (Runway Entrance Lights are different: a line of red lights along the centerline from the hold line to the runway; when lit, don't enter or cross.) Tell the tower.
AIM, Chapter 2, Aeronautical Lighting and Other Airport Visual Aids
Common mistakes
Taxiing too fast and riding the brakes.
Less control and overheated brakes.
Instead: Brisk walking pace, controlled with power; brakes lightly.
Programming avionics while moving.
Most incursions happen during heads-down tasks.
Instead: Stop first.
Partial readbacks.
The controller can't catch a misunderstanding you didn't say back.
Instead: Read back the runway, crossings and hold-shorts in full.
Now train it
Say it out loud, hear it asked, and take the quick check in this lesson’s practice pack. It tracks your shaky spots.
Got it?
When it feels solid, practice taxiing out loud with our examiner.
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Watch (free, from the source)
- Hold ShortFAA, From the Flight Deck · video ↗
- Complex Airfield Geometry (series)FAA, From the Flight Deck · video ↗
- Winter Weather ChallengesFAA, From the Flight Deck · video ↗
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Go to the source (free)
Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →
Sources
- Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C): Ground Operations; Transition to Complex Airplanes
- Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C)
- Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A)
- Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B): Area II
- Your airplane's POH/AFM: normal procedures and checklists
- AIM: 2-1, 2-3, 4-3
- AC 91-73: Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi
- AC 90-66: Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations
- 14 CFR 91.129
Study aid, not FAA guidance. Regulations change; check the current text at eCFR and the ACS. Checked against current sources 2026-11-13.