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Which statement best describes the regulatory status of the AIM?
Choices
It is a part of 14 CFR and is binding law
The AIM is not part of the CFR; the CFR contains the binding regulations.
✓ It is not itself regulatory, but reflects procedures that may be requirements in other publicationscorrect
The AIM is authoritative guidance that supports requirements found in other publications, but it is not itself regulatory.
It has no official standing and can be ignored
The AIM is the FAA’s official guidance and reflects expected procedures, even though it is not regulatory.
It overrides the Code of Federal Regulations when they disagree
The CFR is the binding law; the AIM never overrides it.
Why
The AIM, while not regulatory itself, reflects operating techniques and procedures that may be requirements in other federal publications, so pilots use it as authoritative guidance while relying on the CFR for the binding requirement.
FAA source: AIM — Flight Information Publication Policy (front matter)browse the reference library →
Original study question written for this course — representative of FAA knowledge-test topics, not an actual current FAA exam question.