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4 Answers

for airline logbook, can i use flight number instead of aircraft registration?

Asked by: 1872 views FAA Regulations

a legal answer vs practical/real-life answer from those with commercial/airline experience would be appreciated

thank you in advance

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4 Answers



  1. Gary Moore on Jun 11, 2021

    https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/61.51

    I’d say Yes….

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  2. Jon Moore on Jun 13, 2021

    According to 14 CFR 61.51(b), the type and identification of the aircraft are required elements of a logbook entry. Flight number doesn’t identify the aircraft. You can put the flight number in your logbook, but you also need the registration number (tail number), serial number, or some identifier for the specific airplane.

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  3. KDS on Jun 14, 2021

    Practical Real Life Answers:

    Why would you not use both unless you want to be a legal test case?

    If nobody ever looks at your records, you can do anything you want. If someone does look at your records and they do not include the information they are looking for, they are going to keep looking deeper.

    Part 121 and Part 135 operators go out of business and records are lost or stolen. The FAA maintains the registration numbers of the aircraft.

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  4. Jeff Baum on Jun 14, 2021

    In addition to the regulation 61.51(b), having the Flight Number vs the Aircraft Identification might raise an eyebrow durning a logbook review. So why would you want to?

    As a DPE I would have some questions as to your understanding of regulations and proper documentation. Commercial Pilot ACS CA.I.A.K1 and ATP ACS AA.I.G.K1.

    As one who has been involved in pilot selection with a couple of airlines, I would certainly question flight numbers instead of registration numbers. If you are trying to get on with an airline you want to appear as standard as possible. Airlines prefer pilots who follow procedures because we fly with new crew members all the time. Being non-standard is considered a safety of flight issue. My current airline is planning on hiring about 700 to 800 pilots next year. The last number which I’ve heard is that we have over 10,000 applications. You DO want to stand out from the crowd with qualifications and experience. You DO NOT want to stand out by “different” , and one Red Flag is using non-standard documentation. The winnowing of applicants is fast due to the numbers. Anything which makes one question the application is usually cause to drop that one and move on to the next application.

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