AC 91-73B Parts 91 and 135 Single Pilot, Flight School Procedures During Taxi Operations
- Runway Status Light (RWSL) Program: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/rwsl/.
- Notices to Airmen (NOTAM): https://pilotweb.nas.faa.gov/PilotWeb/.
5. BACKGROUND.
Runway incursions have sometimes led to serious accidents with significant loss of life. Although they are not a new problem, with increasing air traffic, runway incursions have been on the rise. One of the biggest safety concerns in aviation is the surface movement accident. As a direct result, the FAA has rapidly expanded the information available to pilots, including the addition of taxiway and runway information in FAA publications. The FAA has also implemented new procedures and created educational awareness programs for pilots, air traffic controllers, and ground operators. By focusing resources to attack this problem head-on, the FAA hopes to reduce and eventually eliminate surface movement accidents. This AC develops practical guidance toward the goal of increasing safety and efficiency of aircraft movement on the airport surface while reducing the risk of runway incursions.
Increased traffic and expansion at many airports creates complex runway and taxiway layouts. This additional complexity makes airport surface operations more difficult and potential for runway incursions more hazardous than in the past. To increase safety and efficiency, it is necessary to lessen the exposure to hazards and risks by holding the pilot’s workload to a minimum during taxi operations. This can be accomplished through SOPs that direct the attention of the pilot to essential tasks while the aircraft is in motion. The development and formalized training of safe operating procedures during taxi operations should be implemented by each operator.
In developing SOPs, it is important to consider pilot workload prior to takeoff and before landing. Considerations should be given to tasks that make up the normal workload of pilots, such as accomplishing checklists, configuring the aircraft for takeoff and landing, programming flight management systems (FMS), and managing communications with air traffic control (ATC). The more complex the activities within the flight deck work environment, the greater the need for explicit, yet simple and clear SOPs. The overall goal is for operators to develop standardized pilot procedures that will increase the pilot’s awareness but will not increase his/her workload while taxiing the aircraft.
6. USE OF SOPs.
The use of SOPs should be:
- Emphasized during the certification and proficiency training of all pilots;
- Emphasized and used during all phases of flight, including ground operations; and
- Evaluated during the flight review of all certificated pilots (refer to 14 CFR part 61, § 61.56).
7. SINGLE-PILOT PROCEDURES.
The potential for runway incidents and accidents can be reduced through adequate planning, coordination, and communication. The following guidelines are intended to help pilots cope more effectively with current airport conditions during taxi operations. All pilots will benefit from this guidance, which expands on and is grouped into seven major categories: Planning, Situational Awareness, Written Taxi Instructions, Pilot/Passenger Communications, ATC/Pilot Communication, Taxiing, and Exterior Lighting.
Thorough planning for taxi operations is essential for a safe operation. Pilots should plan for the airport surface movement portion of the flight just as they plan for the other phases of flight. Planning for taxi operations should be an integral part of the pilot’s flight planning process and should be completed in two phases: review items and briefing items.
Because of the constantly changing airport conditions and guidance information, the pilot must be aware of any changes made to regulatory and guidance information sources. The pilot also needs to have a thorough understanding of the items in this AC and other relevant reading material.
(a) FAA initiatives are updating airport signage, marking, and lighting. Be sure you are thoroughly familiar with the updates. Also, there are initiatives that are taking place in airport lighting, and it is important to know what the lighting is displaying to the flightcrews (e.g., Surface Movement Guidance Control System (SMGCS) and RWSL).
(b) Without explicit ATC clearance, do not cross any runway hold short lines or an instrument landing system (ILS) critical area if in use.
(c) Review the current airport NOTAM and the automated terminal information service (ATIS) for runway and taxiway closures, construction activity, and other airport-specific risks. It is assumed that ATC has firsthand knowledge of runway and taxiway status. If a clearance is received to use a runway/taxiway that a NOTAM/ATIS broadcast indicates is closed, query the controller for verification of clearance.