Flight Plan Codes

Years after the FAA adopted the so-called ICAO flight plan for all flights, many pilots still don’t really understand what codes to put in the boxes. We can help.

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Wednesday, May 01, 2024 at 08:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) often store incorrect flight plan equipment codes, highlighting the need for pilots to accurately detail aircraft capabilities.
Block 10 of the flight plan specifies an aircraft's communication, navigation (e.g., VHF COM/NAV, IFR GPS), and surveillance (e.g., ADS-B transponder) capabilities using distinct codes.
Block 18 provides additional information, primarily detailing Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) capabilities (e.g., RNAV-1/2/5, RNP APCH specifications) and the aircraft's hexadecimal Mode S code.
PBN codes emphasize the equipment's operational capabilities rather than just its presence, indicating what navigation functions the aircraft is approved to perform.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Today, it is common practice for active pilots to use an electronic flight bag (EFB), typically a tablet with an aviation app like ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot, among others. One of the advantages of an EFB is the ability to store information about specific aircraft. Information about onboard equipment can easily be stored and used when filing flight plans without entering the same information every time. As an instrument flight instructor, I’ve found that equipment flight plan codes stored in EFBs are commonly incorrect. Let’s dig deeper into the codes.

Our focus is on the two blocks dealing with equipment in the Flight Plan (FAA Form 7233-4): Block 10: Equipment and Block 18: Other Information. Note that since the old domestic flight plan was dropped in August 2019, it is now just the Flight Plan; let’s drop the “ICAO” and “International” monikers.