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 familiarize themselves with all available flight information, but does not explicitly mandate calling Flight Service for a preflight briefing.
While not legally required to call, utilizing Flight Service or comprehensive Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) apps can fulfill preflight briefing requirements and provide a documented record, which is advantageous.
Pilots choosing to self-brief must ensure they gather thorough and complete information, as failing to do so could lead to a "careless or reckless" citation under FAR 91.13 if an incident occurs.
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.
