What is All information?

Its particularly a pilots nightmare: Youre sitting across the table from an FAA investigator trying to explain how your actions seemed reasonable at the time. Somehow you didnt know about the thunderstorm/icing/closed runway/TFR that the investigator has neatly printed out and was presumably public knowledge at least five minutes before you took off.The problem is really FAR 91.103. It requires that each pilot in command shall before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. Thats a tall order. The next two subsections specify the minimum information that must be obtained. For every flight, this includes takeoff and landing distances. For IFR flights and those VFR flights not in the vicinity of an airport, the reg adds weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, alternates and known traffic delays.

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, April 01, 2015 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

FAR 91.103 requires pilots to obtain "all available information" before every flight, extending beyond minimums, and negligence in this area can lead to severe consequences during incident investigations.
Pilots should utilize qualified internet communication providers (QICP) for official weather, ensure the currency of all information (charts, NOTAMs, TFRs) through online updates, and perform last-minute checks, especially for fast-changing conditions.
Consistent information gathering is crucial for every flight segment, including multi-leg trips, and documenting efforts to obtain and stay updated with information serves as the best defense against potential FAA enforcement actions or "careless and reckless" charges.

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It’s particularly a pilot’s nightmare: You’re sitting across the table from an FAA investigator trying to explain how your actions seemed reasonable at the time. Somehow you didn’t know about the thunderstorm/icing/closed runway/TFR that the investigator has neatly printed out and was presumably public knowledge at least five minutes before you took off.

The problem is really FAR 91.103. It requires that “each pilot in command shall before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight.” That’s a tall order. The next two subsections specify the minimum information that must be obtained. For every flight, this includes takeoff and landing distances. For IFR flights and those VFR flights not in the vicinity of an airport, the reg adds weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, alternates and known traffic delays.