Aviationexam Guide

Knowledge, Skills & Attitudes

How EASA assesses the pilot behind the theory

A framework, not an exam subject

Knowledge, Skills & Attitudes — usually shortened to KSA — is not one of the 14 ATPL theoretical knowledge subjects. There is no dedicated multiple-choice paper for it, and you will not find it listed alongside Air Law or Meteorology on your exam schedule.

Instead, KSA is the framework EASA uses to link what you know to what you can actually do in the aircraft — and how well you do it. It sits underneath your entire training, from the theoretical knowledge phase through practical training, MCC, type rating, and into an airline's recurrent training as a working pilot.

This article explains what KSA actually is, the nine competencies EASA assesses, how that assessment works in practice, and why understanding this framework early makes the rest of your training make more sense.

01 What KSA is really about

KSA comes out of a broader shift in aviation training called Competency-Based Training and Assessment, or CBTA. Rather than judging a pilot purely on hours flown or manoeuvres completed, CBTA measures whether a pilot can actually perform against a defined set of behaviours — in normal operations, and when things go wrong.

EASA introduced its own version of this for theoretical knowledge training in 2018, generally referred to as KSA100. The idea is straightforward: the knowledge you learn for your ATPL exams should not stay theoretical. Your Approved Training Organisation (ATO) is required to link that knowledge to practical exercises and assess how well you apply it — not just whether you can recall it on a multiple-choice paper.

That is the "K", "S", and "A" in the name. Knowledge is what you understand. Skills are what you can do with it. Attitudes are how you behave while doing it — your judgement, discipline, and awareness under pressure. EASA assesses all three together, because a pilot who knows the theory but applies it poorly, or applies it well but for the wrong reasons, is not yet a competent pilot.

KSA is the bridge between passing your exams and being trusted to fly.

02 The nine core competencies

EASA assesses pilots against nine core competencies, built on the eight defined by ICAO plus one EASA added specifically for the application of knowledge. Each one below includes a simple example of what an instructor or examiner is actually watching for.

Application of Procedures

Following SOPs and regulations correctly. Example: running the correct checklist for an engine fire instead of improvising a response.

Communication

Transmitting and receiving information clearly. Example: using standard phraseology in a rejected takeoff briefing so nothing is ambiguous.

Flight Path Management — Automation

Using automation appropriately. Example: selecting and confirming the correct autopilot mode during a go-around.

Flight Path Management — Manual Control

Controlling the aircraft by hand within limits. Example: hand-flying a visual approach smoothly, on speed and on profile.

Leadership and Teamwork

Leading and cooperating with the crew. Example: the captain assigning clear roles to each crew member during a diversion.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

Identifying risk and deciding in good time. Example: choosing to divert rather than continue an approach into deteriorating weather.

Situational Awareness

Understanding what is happening and what it means next. Example: noticing a wind shift and reassessing landing distance before it becomes a problem.

Workload Management

Prioritising tasks under pressure. Example: deferring a non-essential checklist item during a busy vectored approach to keep flying the aircraft first.

Knowledge

EASA's ninth competency. Example: correctly applying a mass and balance or performance limit in a practical scenario, not just recalling it on paper.

These nine competencies are the common language used across ATO training, MCC, type rating, and airline recurrent training.

03 How KSA is actually assessed

You are not assessed on the nine competencies directly — they are too broad to observe on their own. Instead, examiners and instructors watch for Observable Behaviours, or OBs: specific, concrete actions tied to each competency. "Briefs the crew on the planned approach and likely threats before descent" is an Observable Behaviour that feeds into both Communication and Situational Awareness.

Each competency is graded, typically on a 1 to 5 scale, with 3 representing the expected operational standard. A grade below that on any single competency does not necessarily mean the whole exercise is failed — but a consistent pattern of low grades on the same competency across several sessions is exactly the kind of trend this framework is designed to catch early.

A simple example: during a simulator exercise, a pilot flies the aircraft accurately and follows every checklist correctly, but repeatedly runs behind on non-flying tasks during a busy phase and needs prompting from the other pilot. The technical flying may be graded well, but Workload Management would be graded lower — because the assessment is watching how the pilot manages the whole picture, not just stick-and-rudder accuracy.

KSA is graded on behaviour you can observe, not on whether the outcome happened to work out.

04 Where you'll actually meet KSA

ATO theoretical & practical training — KSA100 requires your training organisation to link ATPL theory to practical exercises and assess how you apply it, not just how you answer questions.

MCC and APS-MCC — multi-crew coordination courses assess you directly against the nine competencies, since they exist specifically to prepare you for crew operations.

Type rating training — competency-based elements are built into type rating courses, alongside the traditional technical and handling assessment.

Airline recurrent training (EBT) — Evidence-Based Training applies the same nine competencies throughout your career, shifting recurrent checks from isolated manoeuvres to overall demonstrated capability.

KSA is not a one-time hurdle — it is the assessment language used across your whole career.

05 Why KSA matters in real life

KSA is not an academic exercise — it describes the difference between a pilot who knows the right answer and a pilot an airline can trust in the operating environment.

You can know exactly what a stabilised approach requires and still fail to call a go-around in time if your Situational Awareness and Decision Making are not sharp under pressure. Knowing the limit and recognising you are approaching it in real time are different skills.

During an abnormal situation, correctly recalling the procedure is only half the job. Communication and Leadership determine whether the rest of the crew understands the plan and can support it, rather than working the problem alone.

When several things happen at once — a system fault during a busy arrival, for example — Workload Management is what decides whether you handle the priorities in the right order or get task-saturated trying to do everything simultaneously.

This is also why airlines assess these competencies from selection onwards, not just after you are hired. Demonstrating them consistently, not just understanding them in theory, is what the industry is actually looking for.

KSA matters because good judgement under pressure is a skill you can build — not a trait you either have or don't.

Why Aviationexam?

KSA is not something you cram for the night before a paper — it is built over the course of your whole training, exercise by exercise. Where we can help directly is on the 14 ATPL subjects that sit underneath it: giving you a reliable foundation of Knowledge so that when your ATO puts you in a practical exercise, you are applying understanding, not guessing.

And because two of the competencies you'll be graded on — Workload Management and Problem Solving and Decision Making — depend on how well you perform under time pressure, our mental math trainer is built for exactly that: quick, accurate calculation under pressure, the same kind you'll need in the sim and in the cockpit.

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