Report Leaving

In the case of the departure, and from a certain perspective, I could call that report a requirement. The respective approach/center controller is required to verify your altitude anyway to make sure it is what they are seeing on their screens, just like the Tower controller is required to make sure you are squawking the right code before they switch you. As you continue your climb, and as annoying as it can be, the verification requests could continue on every new frequency, and certainly with each new facility. While your initial departure and the climb is where you will report leaving an altitude the most, what about when youre at cruise or even up in the flight levels?

Elim Hawkins

Monday, January 21, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

The FAA will likely be kept busy responding to an executive order that requires federal agencies to eliminate two regulations for every new regulation. Wikimedia Commons/MBisanz

Key Takeaways:

While pilots often interpret AIM 5-3-3.a as requiring a "report leaving altitude" call in all situations, it is not always strictly necessary for Air Traffic Control (ATC).
The report is generally helpful and sometimes implicitly required during initial climbs/departures or pilot's discretion descents, aiding ATC's situational awareness and coordination, but is typically not needed when cleared for an instrument approach where descent is implicit.
Despite varying controller reactions, the article recommends making these brief reports as a "better safe than sorry" measure, as they can enhance safety and provide valuable information, particularly if circumstances change.

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W hat if you were somewhere, say a party, and the host asks you to let him know before you leave. Do you do it? Do good manners and social protocol require you to do so? What about when you are on an IFR decent and the Controller asks you to report leaving an altitude. What then?

Climb / Descend

You are cruising along and ATC assigns you a new altitude. You respond with the appropriate phraseology for the climb/descent and on the end, you say “leaving XXX for YYY” per your interpretation of AIM 5-3-3.a, “When vacating any previously assigned altitude or flight level for a newly assigned altitude or flight level.”