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1/2 Hr. fuel reserve on an IFR flight plan?

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FAA Regulations

Part 91.167.  "IFR conditions". If I were to take this wording @ face value, this would mean " Weather conditions" Ergo: If I were on an IFR flight plan and it was VFR weather, I would NOT have to have more than 1/2 hr. fuel reserve after landing @ the filed destination. (See CFI Pro on YouTube and tell me what you think)

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2 Answers



  1. John D Collins on Sep 20, 2020

    I agree with the wording analysis in the video, but I don’t find a General Counsel opinion he talked about that supports the position. My reading of 91.167 is that is applies to “operate a civil aircraft in IFR conditions ” and not to IFR rules or operating under IFR. 91.151 is similarly worded for “flight in VFR conditions”. However, 91.13 Careless and reckless may come into play if the pilot did not consider other preflight information such as traffic. An example might be on a CAVU day one files an IFR flight plan to a Sun N Fun or Oshkosh event and does not take into account the strong possibility of delays. Also, if in flight, one encounters stronger than forecast head winds or unforecast IMC, a diversion or plan B might be necessary.

    Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIOSHVNl8Co&ab_channel=ToddShellnutt

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  2. Mark Kolber on Sep 20, 2020

    It’s a nice academic question and he’s probably correct. I doubt there’s much practical use for the information, though.

    I think his reference to the Chief Counsel opinions is more, “can you find one that says I’m wrong,” rather than “there’s one there which supports me.”

    I did a quick search in a more extensive database than the online ones and find no Chief Counsel letter or NTSB case specifically saying it’s OK under 91.167 or the former 91.23. But there are a number of NTSB cases which talk about IFR flights which took place or began in VMC. While “he ran out of fuel, but the planning was correct because it was VMC” is not part of any of the decisions I read, the focus is pretty clearly on the weather conditions, not on whether the flight was under IFR.

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