Reporting Content Issues
Before reporting a content error, you should be 100% certain that there is an error, especially if you feel that an answer is incorrect.
Over 90% of the reports we receive require no corrective action, including over 98% of reports claiming that the answer shown is incorrect. Incorrect answers are rare because the average question has been answered by nearly 60,000 users over the 10+ years that our question banks have been in use. If an answer was incorrect it likely would have been reported and corrected long ago.
Mere disagreement or displeasure cannot be used as the basis for a report. If you are reporting an incorrect answer, you should include in your report:
- an alternative answer from those presented
- an explanation for that alternative answer
- an FAA reference that supports your position
Read the question again, carefully
Students often overlook a critical detail that changes the answer. For example, one student reported that an answer was incorrect because an annual inspection could not be substituted "by a 100-hour inspection." While the student is correct, the answer choice actually stated "for a 100-hour inspection," which is the opposite.
Read and understand the explanation
Sometimes it seems that there is no correct answer. In the case of questions that require calculating a numerical value, the answer choices may differ from your calculated value due to rounding or inherent errors in chart plotting. If you arrive at a value of 82.86, and the answer choices are 82.9, 83.1, and 84.3, the correct answer is 82.9 because it is closest to the calculated value.
If you are still unsure, it may be helpful to discuss the question with your flight instructor to see if you missed anything.
Review the pinpoint reference
Most explanations include an official FAA reference that supports the answer, for example, the FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, along with the section or page relevant to the question topic.
Pick an alternative answer choice
Every question has two answer choices that are incorrect, and one answer choice that is correct. You must select the answer choice that you feel is correct, and include it in your report along with an explanation of why it is correct.
Support the alternative answer
A belief that something is correct is not enough. All answers must be supported by an official FAA reference, a regulation, a mathematical calculation, or a physical science. For most questions, the reference is cited in the explanation, and should be reviewed before submitting a report. If a report is still necessary, you must include a citation to the reference that supports the alternative answer.