Which switch controls electric heat for the pitot tubes and static ports on both sides of the airplane?

• A. PROBES switch on the ICE PROTECTION panel
• B. PITOT HEAT switch
• C. STATIC PORT HEAT switch
• D. ELECTRIC HEAT switch

Answer: (A)

In icing conditions, keeping the air data probes warm prevents ice from forming on the pitot tubes and static ports, which could distort airspeed and altitude readings. On the PC-12 NGX, you control this with the PROBES switch on the ICE PROTECTION panel. When this switch is ON, heat is supplied to both pitot tubes and static ports on both sides of the airplane, ensuring accurate measurements from all sources.

This is the best choice because it directly energizes all air data probes (pitots and statics) with a single control, covering both wings. The other options would heat only one type of probe (pitot tubes or static ports) or refer to a generic electric heat switch that isn’t the dedicated control for these probes on this aircraft.