Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

5 Answers

Rules for flying over water – Different if the water (Lake Michigan) is frozen??

Asked by: 3675 views FAA Regulations

Do the flotation device rules (or time, distance, etc.) apply if flying over a FROZEN lake?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

5 Answers



  1. Mark Kolber on Jan 18, 2016

    If I were (1) flying a large or fractional aircraft or (2) operating for hire (the two situations in which there is a flotation device rule), I wold keep them on board whether or not the rule required it.

    But my WAG is that it does apply. A body of water does not become less a body of water when it appears frozen. On a body of water as large as Lake Michigan, I would expect there to be varying ice thickness. Of course, I guess you could argue, since you’d probably die of exposure pretty quickly anyway, water or not, it’s superfluous.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Kris Kortokrax on Jan 20, 2016

    Better yet, how would you determine that ice covered the portion of the lake over which your route would take you?

    NOAA’s website does contain some information concerning ice cover for the Great Lakes. It shows that as of 1/19/2016, there was 12.3% ice coverage over all the Great Lakes. On 1/19/2015, there was 24.7 ice coverage. On 1/19/2014, there was 33% ice coverage.

    Flotation devices are not that heavy, nor that bulky, nor that complicated to operate. Why would you elect NOT to carry them?

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Tyler Connell on Jan 20, 2016

    Kris, brings up a great point. I think you have to put safety first in this circumstance and if something goes wrong and you manage to escape it over the lake, how will this look in the eyes of the FAA. It almost sounds like you are trying to cut a corner, which usually doesn’t end well with lawyers and regulations.

    Error on the side of safety and call it a lake, not a hard surface. I’d still give the same answer if a website said it was 80% frozen. It’s not worth risking your safety or your certificates, in my opinion.

    Always remember, they can easily throw 91.13 at you for careless or reckless operation. Not bringing flotation device because a lake is frozen and you consider it to be hard enough to land on sounds a bit careless to me.

    That’s just an opinion, of course.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  4. Skyfox on Jan 21, 2016

    Considering the regulations that specify the requirement for flotation devices, signal flares, etc. for various types of flight (ie. for hire when over water greater than the power off gliding distance from shore) make no distinction between frozen or thawed bodies of water, I’d have to say that the rules are no different. Additionally, you really don’t know whether the spot in the ice where you plan to crash is going to be thick enough to support the weight of an aircraft, so it would be best to be prepared to prevent yourself and your other occupants from following the plane down to Davy Jones’ FBO. It would be best to follow the regs in this matter and not treat frozen water the same as dry land.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  5. Nibake on Jan 23, 2016

    Just a though:
    Maybe the OP is asking about “flotation device rules” and not whether it is a good idea. It is good to have a thorough understanding of the regs regardless of whether one is actually considering doing such a thing.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.