Planning versus Flying

You are planning an IFR flight. Its a route you have flown many times before. You always file direct and most of the time the cooperative controllers give it to you. So you again file direct, toss in a nearby Class B or C as an alternate, and calculate your fuel requirements for a flight to the alternate. Youve met your obligations under 14 CFR 91.167 and 91.169. Or have you?

Mark Kolber

Sunday, February 11, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

IFR flight plan alternate airport requirements (91.169) are primarily for planning; pilots are not operationally restricted to the filed alternate and can divert elsewhere with ATC clearance.
IFR fuel reserve requirements (91.167) mandate adequate fuel for the planned flight at departure, but poor in-flight fuel management can still lead to "careless or reckless" (91.13) violations if it creates operational issues.
Pilots must comply with regulatory planning boxes but also exercise good judgment and plan for real-world scenarios to avoid problems, as causing a system issue often triggers FAA inquiry.

See a mistake? Contact us.

(Editor’s note: This is the first of a new article type we’ll run occasionally. We’re calling the article type, “Yes, You Can” or “No, You Can’t.” These articles will cover some commonly held misconceptions in the regs where you can do something you might have thought you couldn’t, or you can’t do something you thought you could. Please let us know what you think of this new article type, and if you have any suggestions for topics you’d like us to cover.)

You are planning an IFR flight. It’s a route you have flown many times before. You always file direct and most of the time the cooperative controllers give it to you. So you again file direct, toss in a nearby Class B or C as an alternate, and calculate your fuel requirements for a flight to the alternate. You’ve met your obligations under 14 CFR 91.167 and 91.169. Or have you?