From a weather perspective, you can skip the call to Leidos and roll your own “weather” briefing and remain perfectly legal, but there are caveats. [Credit: Pia Bergqvist/File photo]
Key Takeaways:
FAR 91.103 requires pilots to become familiar with all available flight information, but does not explicitly mandate calling Flight Service for a briefing.
Pilots can self-brief, but must be able to demonstrate thorough preflight action; failing to follow recommended practices (like calling Flight Service) could lead to "careless or reckless" citations in an incident.
The FAA recognizes and allows modern briefing methods, including the use of Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) apps, as long as pilots ensure the quality and completeness of the information.
Question: Am I required to call flight service to get a briefing before I depart?
Answer: The short answer is no. The regulations do not specifically state that you must call Lockheed Martin Flight Service (LMFS) (e.g., 800-WX-BRIEF) to get a briefing. FAR 91.103 (a) simply states, in part:
91.103 Preflight action.
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Scott resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, and flies regularly throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast U.S. He is a CFI and former NWS meteorologist. Scott is the author of "The Skew-T log (p) and Me: A Primer for Pilots" and the founder of EZWxBrief.
