What generally causes omission in cross-checking?

• A. Misreading the instruments
• B. Failure to anticipate a change (stay ahead of the aircraft)
• C. Over-reliance on the attitude indicator
• D. Flying visually without gauges

Answer: (B)

Cross-checking means continuously scanning all flight instruments and comparing their indications to verify the aircraft’s attitude and performance. A key part of staying safe in instrument flight is staying ahead of the airplane—you anticipate the changes you’re about to command and look for the expected responses on all instruments.

This question points to the idea that omissions typically happen when you fail to anticipate a change. If you don’t foresee what the aircraft will do next, you tend to rely on a single cue or the last indication you saw and then stop actively cross-checking the others. For example, when you begin a turn or adjust airspeed or altitude, the instruments respond in a certain sequence and with a slight lag. If you aren’t predicting those changes and actively scanning, you’ll miss discrepancies or delays, leading to an omitted cross-check.

Misreading instruments, over-reliance on a single instrument, or flying without gauges can contribute to errors, but the fundamental cause of skipping the cross-check is not staying ahead and not anticipating the forthcoming instrument changes.