Prepare for High-Altitude Operations: Oxygen and Pressurization | Lesson Prep

Your CFI's syllabus and your airplane's POH come first. This page is a general study aid to help you show up prepared.

What you'll do

14 CFR 91.211: required crew must use oxygen above 12,500 ft up to 14,000 ft MSL for flights over 30 minutes at those altitudes.
Above 14,000 ft MSL, required crew must use oxygen the whole time; above 15,000 ft, each occupant must be provided oxygen.
Recognize hypoxia symptoms: euphoria, headache, slow thinking, blue fingernails.
Pressurization keeps cabin altitude lower than airplane altitude; know rapid decompression procedures.

Quoted from the current FAA Airman Certification Standards for each level that tests this.

Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B)Task CA.VIII.A · Supplemental Oxygen

Determine the quantity of supplemental oxygen required in a scenario given by the evaluator.
Operate or simulate operation of the installed or portable oxygen equipment in the airplane, if installed or available.
Brief passengers on use of supplemental oxygen equipment in a scenario given by the evaluator.
Use single-pilot resource management (SRM) or crew resource management (CRM), as appropriate.

Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B)Task CA.VIII.B · Pressurization

Operate the pressurization system, if equipment is installed.
Respond appropriately to simulated pressurization malfunctions, if equipment is installed.
Brief passengers on use of supplemental oxygen in the case of pressurization malfunction, if equipment is installed.
Use single-pilot resource management (SRM) or crew resource management (CRM), as appropriate.

The official chapters behind this page. Each link opens the exact chapter, free on faa.gov. See the full Study Library.