240
14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition)
§ 121.647
paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section), the
certificate holder must ensure that the
airplane carries the greater of the fol-
lowing amounts of fuel in anticipation
of possible icing during the diversion:
(A) Fuel that would be burned as a
result of airframe icing during 10 per-
cent of the time icing is forecast (in-
cluding the fuel used by engine and
wing anti-ice during this period).
(B) Fuel that would be used for en-
gine anti-ice, and if appropriate wing
anti-ice, for the entire time during
which icing is forecast.
(iv) Fuel to account for engine dete-
rioration. In calculating the amount of
fuel required by paragraph (b)(1)(i) of
this section (after completing the wind
calculation in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of
this section), the airplane also carries
fuel equal to 5% of the fuel specified
above, to account for deterioration in
cruise fuel burn performance unless the
certificate holder has a program to
monitor airplane in-service deteriora-
tion to cruise fuel burn performance.
(2) Fuel to account for holding, ap-
proach, and landing. In addition to the
fuel required by paragraph (b)(1) of this
section, the airplane must carry fuel
sufficient to hold at 1500 feet above
field elevation for 15 minutes upon
reaching an ETOPS Alternate Airport
and then conduct an instrument ap-
proach and land.
(3) Fuel to account for APU use. If an
APU is a required power source, the
certificate holder must account for its
fuel consumption during the appro-
priate phases of flight.
[Doc. No. FAA–2002–6717, 72 FR 1882, Jan. 16,
2007, as amended by Amdt. 121–348, 75 FR
12121, Mar. 15, 2010]
§ 121.647 Factors for computing fuel
required.
Each person computing fuel required
for the purposes of this subpart shall
consider the following:
(a) Wind and other weather condi-
tions forecast.
(b) Anticipated traffic delays.
(c) One instrument approach and pos-
sible missed approach at destination.
(d) Any other conditions that may
delay landing of the aircraft.
For the purposes of this section, re-
quired fuel is in addition to unusable
fuel.
§ 121.649 Takeoff and landing weather
minimums: VFR: Domestic oper-
ations.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph
(b) of this section, regardless of any
clearance from ATC, no pilot may
takeoff or land an airplane under VFR
when the reported ceiling or visibility
is less than the following:
(1) For day operations—1,000-foot
ceiling and one-mile visibility.
(2) For night operations—1,000-foot
ceiling and two-mile visibility.
(b) Where a local surface restriction
to visibility exists (e.g., smoke, dust,
blowing snow or sand) the visibility for
day and night operations may be re-
duced to
1
⁄
2
mile, if all turns after take-
off and prior to landing, and all flight
beyond one mile from the airport
boundary can be accomplished above or
outside the area of local surface visi-
bility restriction.
(c) The weather minimums in this
section do not apply to the VFR oper-
ation of fixed-wing aircraft at any of
the locations where the special weather
minimums of § 91.157 of this chapter are
not applicable (See part 91, appendix D,
section 3 of this chapter). The basic
VFR weather minimums of § 91.155 of
this chapter apply at those locations.
[Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19222, Dec. 31, 1964, as
amended by Amdt. 121–39, 33 FR 4097, Mar. 2,
1968; Amdt. 121–206, 54 FR 34331, Aug. 18, 1989;
Amdt. 121–226, 56 FR 65663, Dec. 17, 1991]
§ 121.651 Takeoff and landing weather
minimums: IFR: All certificate hold-
ers.
(a) Notwithstanding any clearance
from ATC, no pilot may begin a takeoff
in an airplane under IFR when the
weather conditions reported by the
U.S. National Weather Service, a
source approved by that Service, or a
source approved by the Administrator,
are less than those specified in—
(1) The certificate holder’s operations
specifications; or
(2) Parts 91 and 97 of this chapter, if
the certificate holder’s operations
specifications do not specify takeoff
minimums for the airport.
(b) Except as provided in paragraphs
(d) and (e) of this section, no pilot may
continue an approach past the final ap-
proach fix, or where a final approach
fix is not used, begin the final approach
241
Federal Aviation Administration, DOT
§ 121.651
segment of an instrument approach
procedure—
(1) At any airport, unless the U.S.
National Weather Service, a source ap-
proved by that Service, or a source ap-
proved by the Administrator, issues a
weather report for that airport; and
(2) At airports within the United
States and its territories or at U.S.
military airports, unless the latest
weather report for that airport issued
by the U.S. National Weather Service,
a source approved by that Service, or a
source approved by the Administrator,
reports the visibility to be equal to or
more than the visibility minimums
prescribed for that procedure. For the
purpose of this section, the term ‘‘U.S.
military airports’’ means airports in
foreign countries where flight oper-
ations are under the control of U.S.
military authority.
(c) A pilot who has begun the final
approach segment of an instrument ap-
proach procedure in accordance with
paragraph (b) of this section, and after
that receives a later weather report in-
dicating below-minimum conditions,
may continue the approach to DA/DH
or MDA. Upon reaching DA/DH or at
MDA, and at any time before the
missed approach point, the pilot may
continue the approach below DA/DH or
MDA if either the requirements of
§ 91.176 of this chapter, or the following
requirements are met:
(1) The aircraft is continuously in a
position from which a descent to a
landing on the intended runway can be
made at a normal rate of descent using
normal maneuvers, and where that de-
scent rate will allow touchdown to
occur within the touchdown zone of the
runway of intended landing;
(2) The flight visibility is not less
than the visibility prescribed in the
standard instrument approach proce-
dure being used;
(3) Except for Category II or Cat-
egory III approaches where any nec-
essary visual reference requirements
are specified by authorization of the
Administrator, at least one of the fol-
lowing visual references for the in-
tended runway is distinctly visible and
identifiable to the pilot:
(i) The approach light system, except
that the pilot may not descend below
100 feet above the touchdown zone ele-
vation using the approach lights as a
reference unless the red terminating
bars or the red side row bars are also
distinctly visible and identifiable.
(ii) The threshold.
(iii) The threshold markings.
(iv) The threshold lights.
(v) The runway end identifier lights.
(vi) The visual approach slope indi-
cator.
(vii) The touchdown zone or touch-
down zone markings.
(viii) The touchdown zone lights.
(ix) The runway or runway markings.
(x) The runway lights; and
(4) When the aircraft is on a straight-
in nonprecision approach procedure
which incorporates a visual descent
point, the aircraft has reached the vis-
ual descent point, except where the air-
craft is not equipped for or capable of
establishing that point, or a descent to
the runway cannot be made using nor-
mal procedures or rates of descent if
descent is delayed until reaching that
point.
(d) A pilot may begin the final ap-
proach segment of an instrument ap-
proach procedure other than a Cat-
egory II or Category III procedure at
an airport when the visibility is less
than the visibility minimums pre-
scribed for that procedure if the airport
is served by an operative ILS and an
operative PAR, and both are used by
the pilot. However, no pilot may con-
tinue an approach below the authorized
DA/DH unless the requirements of
§ 91.176 of this chapter, or the following
requirements are met:
(1) The aircraft is continuously in a
position from which a descent to a
landing on the intended runway can be
made at a normal rate of descent using
normal maneuvers and where such a
descent rate will allow touchdown to
occur within the touchdown zone of the
runway of intended landing;
(2) The flight visibility is not less
than the visibility prescribed in the
standard instrument approach proce-
dure being used; and
(3) Except for Category II or Cat-
egory III approaches where any nec-
essary visual reference requirements
are specified by the authorization of
the Administrator, at least one of the
242
14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition)
§ 121.652
following visual references for the in-
tended runway is distinctly visible and
identifiable to the pilot:
(i) The approach light system, except
that the pilot may not descend below
100 feet above the touchdown zone ele-
vation using the approach lights as a
reference unless the red terminating
bars or the red side row bars are also
distinctly visible and identifiable.
(ii) The threshold.
(iii) The threshold markings.
(iv) The threshold lights.
(v) The runway end identifier lights.
(vi) The visual approach slope indi-
cator.
(vii) The touchdown zone or touch-
down zone markings.
(viii) The touchdown zone lights.
(ix) The runway or runway markings.
(x) The runway lights.
(e) A pilot may begin the final ap-
proach segment of an instrument ap-
proach procedure, or continue that ap-
proach procedure, at an airport when
the visibility is reported to be less than
the visibility minimums prescribed for
that procedure if the pilot uses an op-
erable EFVS in accordance with § 91.176
of this chapter and the certificate hold-
er’s operations specifications for EFVS
operations.
(f) For the purpose of this section,
the final approach segment begins at
the final approach fix or facility pre-
scribed in the instrument approach
procedure. When a final approach fix is
not prescribed for a procedure that in-
cludes a procedure turn, the final ap-
proach segment begins at the point
where the procedure turn is completed
and the aircraft is established inbound
toward the airport on the final ap-
proach course within the distance pre-
scribed in the procedure.
(g) Unless otherwise authorized in
the certificate holder’s operations
specifications, each pilot making an
IFR takeoff, approach, or landing at a
foreign airport shall comply with the
applicable instrument approach proce-
dures and weather minimums pre-
scribed by the authority having juris-
diction over the airport.
[Doc. No. 20060, 46 FR 2291, Jan. 8, 1981, as
amended by Amdt. 121–303, 69 FR 1641, Jan. 9,
2004; Amdt. 121–333, 72 FR 31682, June 7, 2007;
Docket FAA–2013–0485, Amdt. 121–376, 81 FR
90175, Dec. 13, 2016]
§ 121.652 Landing weather minimums:
IFR: All certificate holders.
(a) If the pilot in command of an air-
plane has not served 100 hours as pilot
in command in operations under this
part in the type of airplane he is oper-
ating, the MDA or DA/DH and visi-
bility landing minimums in the certifi-
cate holder’s operations specification
for regular, provisional, or refueling
airports are increased by 100 feet and
one-half mile (or the RVR equivalent).
The MDA or DA/DH and visibility
minimums need not be increased above
those applicable to the airport when
used as an alternate airport, but in no
event may the landing minimums be
less than 300 and 1. However, a Pilot in
command employed by a certificate
holder conducting operations in large
aircraft under part 135 of this chapter,
may credit flight time acquired in op-
erations conducted for that operator
under part 91 in the same type airplane
for up to 50 percent of the 100 hours of
pilot in command experience required
by this paragraph.
(b) The 100 hours of pilot in command
experience required by paragraph (a) of
this section may be reduced (not to ex-
ceed 50 percent) by substituting one
landing in operations under this part in
the type of airplane for 1 required hour
of pilot in command experience, if the
pilot has at least 100 hours as pilot in
command of another type airplane in
operations under this part.
(c) Category II minimums and the
sliding scale when authorized in the
certificate holder’s operations speci-
fications do not apply until the pilot in
command subject to paragraph (a) of
this section meets the requirements of
that paragraph in the type of airplane
he is operating.
[Doc. No. 7594, 33 FR 10843, July 31, 1968, as
amended by Amdt. 121–143, 43 FR 22642, May
25, 1978; Amdt. 121–253, 61 FR 2615, Jan. 26,
1996; Amdt. 121–333, 72 FR 31682, June 7, 2007]
§ 121.653 [Reserved]
§ 121.655 Applicability of reported
weather minimums.
In conducting operations under
§§ 121.649 through 121.653, the ceiling
and visibility values in the main body
of the latest weather report control for
VFR and IFR takeoffs and landings and