Helicopter Accident Newsroom

< Back to Previous Page IFR Flight Plan Filing Rules Were Issued To Provide Safe Landing Weather Minima For Airplanes Operating Under IFR The current IFR flight plan filing rules were issued to provide safe landing weather minima in IFR conditions for airplanes operating under IFR. Apart from the distinction in Sec. 91.167 concerning the amount of fuel a helicopter must carry versus the fuel an airplane must carry, flight planning requirements, including alternate airport weather minima, are the same for airplanes and helicopters even though the operating characteristics of these aircraft are quite different. Helicopters fly shorter distances at slower speeds than large airplanes, and generally remain in the air for shorter periods between landings. Therefore, a helicopter is less likely to fly into unanticipated, unknown or unforecast weather. The relatively short duration of the typical helicopter flight leg means that the departure weather and the helicopter's destination weather are likely to be within the same weather system. Current Helicopter Instrument Flight Rules Section 91.169 of title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) requires that, unless otherwise authorized by air traffic control (ATC), each person filing an instrument flight rule (IFR) flight plan must include, among other things, an alternate airport designation, unless the exceptions in Sec. 91.169 (b) are met. These exceptions specify that a person need not designate an alternate airport on an IFR flight plan if 14 CFR part 97 prescribes a standard instrument approach procedure for the first airport of intended landing and, for at least 1 hour before and 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival at that airport, weather reports or forecasts indicate that the ceiling will be at least 2,000 feet above the airport elevation and the visibility will be at least 3 statute miles. In addition, Sec. 91.169 (c)(1) states that unless otherwise authorized by the Administrator, no person may include an alternate airport in an IFR flight plan unless the current weather forecast indicates that, at the estimated time of arrival at the alternate airport, the ceiling and visibility will be at or above the following weather minima: At airports for which an instrument approach procedure has been published in 14 CFR part 97, the alternate minima specified in that procedure or, if none are specified, for precision approach procedures, a ceiling of 600 feet and visibility of 2 statute miles; for nonprecision approach procedures, a ceiling of 800 feet and visibility of 2 statute miles. Section 91.169 (c) (2) states that if no instrument approach procedure for the alternate airport has been published in 14 CFR part 97, the ceiling and visibility minima are those that allow descent from the minimum enroute altitude (MEA), approach, and landing under basic VFR. In addition, to fly under IFR conditions, a person operating a civil aircraft must comply with the IFR fuel requirements of Sec. 91.167. Section 91.167 requires that an aircraft must carry enough fuel (considering weather reports and forecasts and weather conditions) to- (1) complete the flight to the first airport of intended landing, (2) fly from that airport to the alternate airport, and (3) fly after that for 45 minutes at normal cruising speed or, for helicopters, fly after that for 30 minutes at normal cruising speed. Section 91.167 (b) specifies that the requirement to have sufficient fuel to fly to the alternate airport does not apply if 14 CFR part 97 prescribes a standard instrument approach procedure for the first airport of intended landing and, for at least 1 hour before and 1 hour after the estimated time of arrival at that airport, weather reports or forecasts indicate that the ceiling will be 2,000 feet above the airport elevation and the visibility will be at least 3 statute miles.

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