Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) Practice Test

In a calm wind situation, when a pilot is advised "TRAFFIC 9 O'CLOCK, 2 MILES, SOUTHBOUND...", the pilot should look to the west. The term "9 o'clock" refers to the position relative to the aircraft's current heading, which represents the left side of the airplane. Therefore, if the aircraft is flying in a standard northbound direction and the traffic is indicated to be at 9 o'clock, it is positioned directly to the left of the aircraft, which aligns with the geographic direction of west. Meanwhile, "SOUTHBOUND" indicates that the traffic is moving towards the south, but that information is secondary for the immediate action of locating the traffic. The pilot's primary task is to determine the position of the traffic with respect to their own orientation, thus confirming the need to look to the west when given that specific advisory.