FEAST Short-Term Memory Recall 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You are told the following sequence: 'Squawk 3341, heading 085, altitude 7500 feet, callsign Golf-Foxtrot-Tango.' After a 15-second delay, you must recall: what was the heading?
- 085 (Correct answer)
- 075
- 095
- 055
Correct answer: 085
The heading stated was 085. Short-term memory recall requires holding exact numerical values for brief periods without re-encoding.
ATC short-term memory tasks require exact recall of sequences of numbers and codes. The value 085 must be retained without confusion with similar values (075, 095). In ATC, headings are three-digit numbers spoken individually — 'zero eight five'. Confusion between similar-sounding numbers (zero-seven-five vs zero-eight-five) is a common working memory error. FEAST memory subtests assess digit string retention accuracy, particularly for items within a 4–6 item sequence presented aurally.
Question 2: A controller receives: 'Cleared to descend FL180, turn right heading 270, reduce speed 250 knots, contact Approach 119.7.' They read back only: 'Descend FL180, right 270, 250 knots, 119.7.' What is missing from this read-back?
- The word 'contact' and 'Approach' before '119.7' — the instruction to call Approach Control (Correct answer)
- The aircraft's own callsign
- The word 'cleared' before 'to descend'
- Nothing — the read-back correctly captures all the operational elements
Correct answer: The word 'contact' and 'Approach' before '119.7' — the instruction to call Approach Control
The read-back omits 'contact Approach' — the full instruction includes both the frequency AND the instruction to call Approach Control on that frequency.
A full read-back must capture all operationally significant elements. 'Contact Approach 119.7' contains two elements: the action ('contact Approach Control') and the frequency ('119.7'). Simply reading back the frequency number without the 'contact' instruction could lead to ambiguity — the pilot might monitor 119.7 rather than establishing contact. FEAST short-term memory tasks include evaluation of whether candidates identify missing elements in read-backs — testing both recall completeness and operational understanding.
Question 3: Five aircraft callsigns are read to you: KLM402, BAW7, EZY3441, RYR185, QFA9. After 20 seconds, you are asked which callsign was third in the list.
- EZY3441 (Correct answer)
- BAW7
- RYR185
- KLM402
Correct answer: EZY3441
The sequence was KLM402 (1st), BAW7 (2nd), EZY3441 (3rd), RYR185 (4th), QFA9 (5th). The third callsign was EZY3441.
Serial position effects in short-term memory mean that items at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a list are better recalled than items in the middle (like position 3). EZY3441 is in the serial position 3 — the hardest to recall. FEAST short-term memory tests deliberately probe mid-list items to assess whether candidates can maintain accurate encoding across the full sequence, resisting primacy and recency biases.
Question 4: You receive: 'Traffic information: Airbus 320, 12 o'clock, 5 miles, westbound, FL220, descending.' Five seconds later you must report the aircraft type, direction, and level. The correct recall is:
- Airbus 320, westbound, FL220 descending (Correct answer)
- Boeing 737, westbound, FL220 descending
- Airbus 320, eastbound, FL220 climbing
- Airbus 320, westbound, FL200 level
Correct answer: Airbus 320, westbound, FL220 descending
The type was A320, direction westbound, level FL220 descending — all three elements must be retained accurately for 5 seconds.
Traffic information recall requires retaining multiple independent attributes simultaneously: aircraft type, position, heading, level, and vertical trend. Confusing similar types (A320 vs B737) or similar directions (westbound vs eastbound) or similar levels (FL220 vs FL200) are classic short-term memory errors under divided attention. FEAST memory subtests use multi-attribute items to measure the precision of short-term storage across several concurrent attributes — modelling real ATC traffic information delivery.
Question 5: A read-back sequence includes: 'Runway 27, cleared to land, wind 250 degrees 12 knots.' You are asked 30 seconds later to recall the wind direction. The wind direction was:
- 250 degrees (Correct answer)
- 270 degrees
- 210 degrees
- 280 degrees
Correct answer: 250 degrees
The wind direction stated was 250 degrees. Confusion with runway 27 (270 degrees magnetic) is a classic interference error in ATC short-term memory.
Proactive interference occurs when a recently encoded item (runway 27 = 270 degrees) interferes with accurate recall of a subsequent similar item (wind 250 degrees). This is a deliberately constructed interference test. Controllers must maintain distinct representations of multiple similar-format numbers (runway designators vs wind directions vs headings) without blending them. FEAST short-term memory tests frequently include interference items — similar format values that might be confused — to measure resistance to proactive interference.
Question 6: You hear: 'Handoff: Delta 447, FL340, Mach 0.83, direct BARTN, squawk 5523, estimate BARTN at 1435.' After 30 seconds, what squawk code was given?
- 5523 (Correct answer)
- 5532
- 5325
- 5523 or 5532 — both were mentioned
Correct answer: 5523
The squawk code stated was 5523. Digit transposition (5523 vs 5532) is a common short-term memory error for digit sequences.
Short-term memory for digit strings is vulnerable to transposition errors — recalling the correct digits but in a wrong order (5523 → 5532). In ATC, a wrong squawk code means the controller tracks the wrong aircraft. FEAST memory subtests specifically test resistance to digit transposition by including distractors that rearrange the digits of the target code. Candidates must recall the exact sequential order, not just the constituent digits. This models the real operational risk of squawk code confusion.
FEAST Short-Term Memory Recall 2
You are told the following sequence: 'Squawk 3341, heading 085, altitude 7500 feet, callsign Golf-Foxtrot-Tango.' After a 15-second delay, you must recall: what was the heading?