European Central Question Bank (ECQB)
The ECQB is a bank of some 10,000 questions (Multiple Choice Questions – MCQs) used by all EASA Member States for the theoretical knowledge examinations of flight crew (professional aeroplane and helicopter pilots and applicants for an instrument rating). It is an important safety tool, ensuring that pilots at European level have the appropriate knowledge and necessary competencies. The question bank today is under the responsibility of EASA.
The questions included in the ECQB cover all subjects used for the relevant Part-FCL theoretical knowledge examinations.
These are:
- Air Law
- Aircraft General Knowledge
- Airframe / Systems / Power-plant
- Instrumentation
- Flight Performance and Planning
- Mass and Balance
- Performance (Aeroplanes)
- Flight Planning and Monitoring
- Performance (Helicopters)
- Human Performance
- Meteorology
- Navigation
- General Navigation
- Radio Navigation
- Operational Procedures
- Principles of Flight
- (Aeroplanes)
- (Helicopters)
- Communications
- VFR Communications
- IFR Communications
The EASA ECQB process
In order to continuously improve the quality of the questions and keep them up-to-date with regulatory and technological developments, the Agency is implementing a new ECQB process as of January 2015. The aim is to replace the existing question bank with new, current, accurate and relevant questions over the next 5 to 6 years. This also includes a thorough review of syllabi, Learning Objectives (LOs) and examination procedures.
According to this process, new questions are drafted by carefully selected and trained external experts. Thanks to close cooperation with Member States, new and existing questions are reviewed to assess their technical accuracy by subject matter experts nominated by the national aviation authorities. Further rounds of review, as well as the final approval, are performed by EASA.
If you wish to report an error contained in the current question bank, please use the form provided in the Download box on the top-right of the page.
Developments
EASA aims to add some 1,500 new questions and review at least 2,000 existing questions on an annual basis. For 2015, the new questions focus on areas needed to ensure full coverage of all syllabus items.
A dedicated rulemaking task (RMT.0595) has been launched to update the currency and relevance of syllabi, LOs and examination procedures for the Instrument Rating (IR), Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) and Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL).
The Theoretical Knowledge syllabus and learning objectives
The Aircrew Regulation does not yet contain detailed LOs for the ATPL, MPL (Multi-Crew Pilot Licence), CPL and IR. It only contains LOs for the Competency-Based IR and En-route IR. For cataloguing purposes, the ECQB Team is using the published LOs associated with the Aircrew Regulation as well as the draft LOs that were published in NPA 2014-29 , specifically in documents (D)(1) and (D)(2).
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and confidentiality of the question bank
The ECQB is an asset of great significance for aviation safety. It is also subject to IPR protection. It is therefore of key importance to protect the question bank from misuse and leakage. All organisations and persons involved in the process must ensure that the question bank is kept confidential and that the intellectual property rights of its owners are respected. All violations brought to the attention of EASA or the Member States will be investigated and enforcement measures may be applied.
Downloads
EASA provides a number of downloads related to copyright protection and reporting of errors. These can be accessed here