Sals Law - Your Legal Eagle
Last week at my FBO I recently overheard a charter pilot say that he was required to file an alternate on every flight plan. I was always taught that you only had to file an alternate if the weather at your airport was near minimums. What goes?
Sal’s Law: The official rule for the filing of an IFR alternate is what is usually known as the 1-2-3 Rule. You must file an alternate, unless the weather at your planned destination for a period of one hour before and after ETA, is at least 2000 feet ceiling and three miles visibility. FAR 91.167. Pay close attention to the way that the FAA worded that statute. You must file – unless! So even though the law does not require it - why not file an alternate on every flight, even when the weather is not marginal?
Recently I took a short IFR flight to an airport just 30 minutes from my home base. I filed an IFR flight plan and included a nearby airport as an alternate, even though the weather forecast was 2000 and three. As I entered the cloudbank on descent, very sure that we would have no weather problems with the approach; a preceding aircraft reported to ATC that it had a blown tire on the runway and the runway would be closed. ATC had to ask me to divert and I pulled my alternate approach plate. Even in these good weather conditions, my alternate came in handy. It’s not always weather that keeps us out of an airport. It’s Probably a good idea to adopt the airline rule and to file an alternate on every IFR flight. Just don’t adopt the airline rule on lost luggage and delays.
R.K. via Email: Sal, I was flying an IFR flight the other day when we lost our number two radio. The number one radio worked just fine and did not require us to divert from our plan. When I returned the rental plane and told the FBO about the radio they wanted to know if I reported the malfunction to ATC. Should I have done so?
Sal’s Law: Actually, yes. FAR 91.187 provides an outline as to what malfunctions must be reported to ATC. It states in sum and substance that the pilot shall report, “as soon as practical” any malfunction of navigational, approach or communication equipment. ” This does not mean that you have to change your flight plans or even ask for any assistance, but the report must be made. ATC will likely ask you if you need any special handling because of the problem, but no further report is needed. It does only refer to your aircraft radios. I had one pilot ask me if he should report the outage of the XM radio system in his new Cirrus. I said to him, “you can’t be Serious Mr. Cirrus”.
M.M @ DCA: Mr. L: I like to work on mechanical things but I am not an A&P mechanic and would like to find a complete list of the items that a pilot can maintain on an airplane.
Sal’s Law: Well Mr. M – that list is found in Part 43 of the FAR’s in appendix A. The short list includes such things as installation and repair of landing gear tires, shock absorbers, safety wiring etc.. Use some caution in reading the list. If the item is not specifically included on the list, you may not perform the maintenance. For example, you may replace the landing light, but the map light in the cockpit is not listed. Remember also that preventive maintenance is just that, preventive in nature and does not involve complex assembly operations. It also does not apply to airline and air taxi operations. So next time you are flying Global Airlines, do not offer to change the tires.
Blue Skies to all!
Sal A. Lagonia Esq - is an aviation attorney and safety consultant with offices in New York. He is a member of AOPA Legal Panel, LPBA and NTSB Bar, as well as the speaker’s bureau on aviation topics. Send questions or requests to 914-245-7500 or LagoniaLaw@NYSBar.com.