AC 91-73B Parts 91 and 135 Single Pilot, Flight School Procedures During Taxi Operations
(1) General. Exterior aircraft lights may be used to make an aircraft operating on the airport surface more conspicuous. Pilots may use various combinations of exterior lights to convey their location and intent to other pilots. Certain exterior lights may also be used in various combinations to signal whether the aircraft is on a taxiway or on a runway, in position on the runway but holding for takeoff clearance, crossing an active runway, or moving down the runway for takeoff.
(2) Exterior Lights. To the extent possible and consistent with aircraft equipage, operating limitations, and pilot procedures, pilots should illuminate exterior lights as follows:
Turn on the rotating beacon whenever an engine is running.
Prior to commencing taxi, turn on navigation, position, anti-collision, and logo lights, if available. To signal intent to other pilots, consider turning on the taxi light when the aircraft is moving or intending to move on the ground, and turning it off when stopped or yielding or as a consideration to other pilots or ground personnel. Strobe lights should not be illuminated during taxi if they will adversely affect the vision of other pilots or ground personnel.
All exterior lights should be illuminated when crossing a runway.
When entering a runway, either for takeoff or when taxiing into LUAW pilots should make their aircraft more conspicuous to aircraft on final behind them and to ATC by turning on all lights except for landing lights that highlight the aircraft’s silhouette. Strobe lights should not be illuminated if they will adversely affect the vision of other pilots.
Consider lining up slightly (approximately 3 feet) to the left or right of the centerline (CL) to enable a landing aircraft to visually differentiate your aircraft from the runway lights.
Landing lights should be turned on when takeoff clearance is received, or when commencing takeoff roll at an airport without an operating control tower.
8. SUMMARY.
Taxi operations require planning, SA, written taxi instructions, Crew Resource Management (CRM), ATC communications, taxiing, and use of exterior lighting. Safe aircraft operations can be accomplished and incidents eliminated if flightcrews are properly trained and correctly accomplish standard taxi operating procedures and practices as stated in this AC.
9. APPENDICES TO THIS AC.
Appendix 1 of this AC contains SOP items and Best Practices that are very similar to SOPs/Best Practices currently in use in the air carrier segment of the industry, and has been modified for single-pilot operations. Appendix 2 contains briefing information that should be adopted into the operator’s checklists or existing briefing material. Appendix 3 contains a sample outline for flight schools briefings, Best Practices, and SOP procedures to avoid students causing runway incursions. These appendices are not mandatory. SOPs may vary among aircraft and operators and may change over time. Operators and individuals may use the information contained in the appendices to integrate the basic tenets into their aircraft-specific, route-specific, and equipment-specific operations and checklists. They are shown to denote how the SOPs and Best Practices can be integrated into the context of specific flight operations.
/s/
for
John M. Allen
Director, Flight Standards Service