217 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 121.617 

the United States, the certificate hold-
er may dispatch an airplane over that 
route or route segment if the pilot in 
command and dispatcher find that 
communication and navigation facili-
ties equal to those required are avail-
able and are in satisfactory operating 
condition. 

[Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19222, Dec. 31, 1964, as 
amended by Amdt. 121–253, 61 FR 2614, Jan. 
26, 1996] 

§ 121.609

Communication and naviga-

tion facilities: Supplemental oper-
ations. 

No person may release an aircraft 

over any route or route segment unless 
communication and navigation facili-
ties equal to those required by § 121.121 
are in satisfactory operating condition. 

§ 121.611

Dispatch or flight release 

under VFR. 

No person may dispatch or release an 

aircraft for VFR operation unless the 
ceiling and visibility en route, as indi-
cated by available weather reports or 
forecasts, or any combination thereof, 
are and will remain at or above appli-
cable VFR minimums until the aircraft 
arrives at the airport or airports speci-
fied in the dispatch or flight release. 

§ 121.613

Dispatch or flight release 

under IFR or over the top. 

Except as provided in § 121.615, no per-

son may dispatch or release an aircraft 
for operations under IFR or over-the- 
top, unless appropriate weather reports 
or forecasts, or any combination there-
of, indicate that the weather condi-
tions will be at or above the authorized 
minimums at the estimated time of ar-
rival at the airport or airports to 
which dispatched or released. 

[Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19222, Dec. 31, 1964, as 
amended by Amdt. 121–33, 32 FR 13912, Oct. 6, 
1967] 

§ 121.615

Dispatch or flight release 

over water: Flag and supplemental 
operations. 

(a) No person may dispatch or release 

an aircraft for a flight that involves ex-
tended overwater operation unless ap-
propriate weather reports or forecasts 
or any combination thereof, indicate 
that the weather conditions will be at 
or above the authorized minimums at 

the estimated time of arrival at any 
airport to which dispatched or released 
or to any required alternate airport. 

(b) Each certificate holder con-

ducting a flag or supplemental oper-
ation or a domestic operation within 
the State of Alaska shall conduct ex-
tended overwater operations under IFR 
unless it shows that operating under 
IFR is not necessary for safety. 

(c) Each certificate holder con-

ducting a flag or supplemental oper-
ation or a domestic operation within 
the State of Alaska shall conduct other 
overwater operations under IFR if the 
Administrator determines that oper-
ation under IFR is necessary for safety. 

(d) Each authorization to conduct ex-

tended overwater operations under 
VFR and each requirement to conduct 
other overwater operations under IFR 
will be specified in the certificate hold-
er’s operations specifications. 

[Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19222, Dec. 31, 1964, as 
amended by Amdt. 121–33, 32 FR 13912, Oct. 6, 
1967; Amdt. 121–253, 61 FR 2614, Jan. 26, 1996] 

§ 121.617

Alternate airport for depar-

ture. 

(a) If the weather conditions at the 

airport of takeoff are below the landing 
minimums in the certificate holder’s 
operations specifications for that air-
port, no person may dispatch or release 
an aircraft from that airport unless the 
dispatch or flight release specifies an 
alternate airport located within the 
following distances from the airport of 
takeoff: 

(1) 

Aircraft having two engines. 

Not 

more than one hour from the departure 
airport at normal cruising speed in 
still air with one engine inoperative. 

(2) 

Aircraft having three or more en-

gines. 

Not more than two hours from 

the departure airport at normal cruis-
ing speed in still air with one engine 
inoperative. 

(b) For the purpose of paragraph (a) 

of this section, the alternate airport 
weather conditions must meet the re-
quirements of the certificate holder’s 
operations specifications. 

(c) No person may dispatch or release 

an aircraft from an airport unless he 
lists each required alternate airport in 
the dispatch or flight release. 

VerDate Sep<11>2014 

08:20 May 17, 2019

Jkt 247048

PO 00000

Frm 00227

Fmt 8010

Sfmt 8010

Y:\SGML\247048.XXX

247048