Which altitude is described as the vertical distance of the aircraft above the surface?

• A. Absolute altitude
• B. True altitude
• C. Density altitude
• D. Pressure altitude

Answer: (A)

Height above the surface is the distance from the aircraft to the ground directly beneath it. This is called absolute altitude, and it reflects how high you are above the terrain you’re flying over, so it changes with the ground elevation. It’s different from true altitude, which is height above mean sea level, and from pressure altitude, which is height above the standard datum plane; density altitude combines pressure and temperature effects and relates to performance.