Question

An ATC radar facility issues the following advisory to a pilot flying north in a calm wind: TRAFFIC 9 O'CLOCK, 2 MILES, SOUTHBOUND... Where should the pilot look for this traffic?

1) West
2) South
3) North

Answer 1

1) West, The pilot should look to the west when receiving an advisory saying 'TRAFFIC 9 O'CLOCK, 2 MILES, SOUTHBOUND,' while flying north.

Step-by-step explanation:

When an ATC radar facility issues an advisory to a pilot flying north with the message TRAFFIC 9 O'CLOCK, 2 MILES, SOUTHBOUND, the pilot should look to the left side, or to the west. In aviation terms, the phrase "9 o'clock" references a position relative to the aircraft's current direction, which is north in this case. Therefore, 9 o'clock would be directly off the left wing of the aircraft which is west when facing north.

The pilot, flying north in a calm wind, should look to the west for the traffic indicated by the ATC radar facility. In aviation, traffic advisories use a clock-face reference system based on the aircraft's heading, with the front of the aircraft being 12 o'clock.

In this scenario, the advisory "9 o'clock" indicates that the traffic is to the left side of the pilot's aircraft. Since the pilot is flying north, the left side corresponds to the west. Therefore, the pilot should look to the west, approximately 9 o'clock on the clock face, to locate the southbound traffic mentioned in the advisory.