Federal Aviation Administration, DOT

Section 121.565

in command, and shall have the decision recorded. If they cannot communicate with the pilot, they shall declare an emergency and take any action that they consider necessary
under the circumstances.
(c) Whenever emergency authority is
exercised, the pilot in command or the
appropriate management personnel
shall keep the appropriate communication facility fully informed of the
progress of the flight. The person declaring the emergency shall send a
written report of any deviation,
through the certificate holder-s director of operations, to the Administrator
within 10 days after the flight is completed or, in the case of operations outside the United States, upon return to
the home base.
[Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19219, Dec. 31, 1964, as
amended by Amdt. 121-253, 61 FR 2614, Jan.
26, 1996; Amdt. 121-333, 72 FR 31682, June 7,
2007]

Section 121.561 Reporting potentially hazardous meteorological conditions
and irregularities of ground facilities or navigation aids.
(a) Whenever he encounters a meteorological condition or an irregularity
in aground facility or navigation aid,
in flight, the knowledge of which he
considers essential to the safety of
other flights, the pilot in command
shall notify an appropriate ground station as soon as practicable.
(b) The ground radio station that is
notified under paragraph (a) of this section shall report the information to the
agency directly responsible for operating the facility.
[Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19219, Dec. 31, 1964, as
amended by Amdt. 121-333, 72 FR 31682, June
7, 2007]

Section 121.563 Reporting mechanical irregularities.
The pilot in command shall ensure
that all mechanical irregularities occurring during flight time are entered
in the maintenance log of the airplane
at the end of that flight time. Before
each flight the pilot in command shall
ascertain the status of each irregu-

larity entered in the log at the end of
the preceding flight.
[Doc. No. 17897, 45 FR 41594, June 19, 1980, as
amended by Amdt. 121-179, 47 FR 33390, Aug.
2, 1982]

Section 121.565 Engine inoperative: Landing;
reporting.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph
(b) of this section, whenever an airplane engine fails or whenever an engine is shutdown to prevent possible
damage, the pilot in command must
land the airplane at the nearest suitable airport, in point of time, at which
a safe landing can be made.
(b) If not more than one engine of an
airplane that has three or more engines
fails or is shut down to prevent possible damage, the pilot-in-command
may proceed to an airport that the
pilot selects if, after considering the
following, the pilot makes a reasonable
decision that proceeding to that airport is as safe as landing at the nearest
suitable airport:
(1) The nature of the malfunction and
the possible mechanical difficulties
that may occur if flight is continued.
(2) The altitude, weight, and useable
fuel at the time that the engine is
shutdown.
(3) The weather conditions en route
and at possible landing points.
(4) The air traffic congestion.
(5) The kind of terrain.
(6) His familiarity with the airport to
be used.
(c) The pilot-in-command must report each engine shutdown in flight to
the appropriate communication facility as soon as practicable and must
keep that facility fully informed of the
progress of the flight.
(d) If the pilot in command lands at
an airport other than the nearest suitable airport, in point of time, he or she
shall (upon completing the trip) send a
written report, in duplicate, to his or
her director of operations stating the
reasons for determining that the selection of an airport, other than the nearest airport, was as safe a course of action as landing at the nearest suitable
airport. The director of operations
shall, within 10 days after the pilot returns to his or her home base, send a
copy of this report with the director of

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