ICAO Flight Plan, Again

Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 11:33 AM ET

Verified

Before standardizing on the ICAO form, the FAA still used its domestic form. This led to the confusion of calling the ICAO form “International,” suggesting it was only for international flights, when today it is all we use for any flight.

Key Takeaways:

The ICAO Flight Plan, particularly Items 10 (Equipment) and 18 (Other Information), continues to be a source of confusion for pilots regarding codes for avionics and capabilities.
Item 10 requires specific codes detailing transponder type (Mode C, S, ES) and ADS-B Out configuration (extended squitter or UAT), alongside other installed equipment like IFR GPS with WAAS.
Item 18 provides crucial Performance Based Navigation (PBN) codes (RNAV/RNP capabilities) which ATC uses for IFR flights to determine eligible airspace and procedures.
Accurately completing these sections is vital for ATC, especially for IFR operations, with pilots encouraged to understand their aircraft's capabilities and store all applicable codes.

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August 2019, marked the end of the FAA Domestic Flight Plan. The ICAO Flight Plan form is required in the U.S. for all VFR and IFR flights. Yet, there are two areas that still create confusion: Item 10. Equipment, and Item 18, Other Information.

Many pilots struggle with these codes and ask: 1.) Does ATC care about the codes? 2.) Are some codes redundant and/or superfluous? 3.) Is there “nesting” (something that is included in a bigger part)? 4.) Who are the customers of the ICAO flight plan?