FAR ninety-one dot one oh three and the four words that make every flight your legal responsibility before you ever start the engine

FAR 91.103 is one of the shortest regulations in the Federal Aviation Regulations — and one of the most powerful. It requires every pilot in command to “become familiar with all available information concerning that flight” before departure. Those four words, all available information, define a legal standard the FAA uses to evaluate whether a pilot did their homework when something goes wrong.

What Does FAR 91.103 Actually Say?

The regulation has two parts. The first is a broad mandate that applies to every flight: become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. Pattern work at your home airport, a trip to the practice area, a cross-country — it doesn’t matter.

The second part adds specific requirements for flights not in the vicinity of an airport and for any IFR flight. Those requirements include:

• Weather reports and forecasts
• Fuel requirements
• Alternatives available if the planned flight cannot be completed
• Any known traffic delays
• Runway lengths at airports of intended use
• Takeoff and landing distance data for the aircraft under actual operating conditions

Why Does 91.103 Apply Even for Local Flights?

This is where many pilots, including experienced ones, get tripped up. The “all available information” clause applies even when you’re staying in the pattern on a clear day at your home airport.

For a local flight, the baseline includes checking the weather, reviewing NOTAMs (Notices to Air Missions) for your airport, confirming current ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service), and verifying the active runway and wind conditions. You should also know if a runway is shortened for construction or if a TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) exists nearby.

Consider this scenario: a student pilot heads out for a solo session on a clear afternoon. The sky is blue, the windsock is limp, so they skip the weather briefing and NOTAMs — they were at the airport just yesterday. Midway through the session, a helicopter appears near the approach end of the runway, part of a survey operation covered by a NOTAM they never checked. Nothing bad happens, but if something had gone wrong, the answer to “Did you comply with 91.103?” would have been no.

How Does FAR 91.103 Apply to Cross-Country Flights?

Cross-country planning is where the regulation’s specific requirements become checkride-critical. Here’s what each element means in practice:

Weather reports and forecasts means obtaining a real weather briefing — not just glancing at an app. You need to interpret METARs, TAFs, the Graphical Forecast for Aviation, and any AIRMETs or SIGMETs along your route. Examiners want a pilot who understands the weather picture, not just someone who can read a current ceiling.

Fuel requirements means doing the actual math. Know your fuel burn rate for the planned power setting and altitude. FAR 91.151 requires enough fuel to reach your first point of intended landing plus 30 minutes at normal cruise for day VFR and 45 minutes for night VFR. But 91.103 is the regulation that says you must do this calculation before departure. And remember: fuel gauges in small aircraft are only required to be accurate when they read empty. Visually verify your fuel.

Alternatives means having a general awareness of your options before you take off. Identify two or three airports along your route where you could divert if weather deteriorates, your destination goes below minimums, or you encounter a mechanical issue. The habit of thinking about outs before you need them is exactly what 91.103 is designed to build.

Runway lengths and performance data means knowing more than just the published runway length at your destination. You need takeoff and landing distances adjusted for field elevation, temperature, runway surface, and wind — not the sea-level standard-day numbers from the POH.

What Happens When Pilots Skip Performance Planning

A private pilot plans a weekend trip to a mountain airport at 5,000 feet elevation with a 3,200-foot asphalt runway. Weather is clear. Looks straightforward.

What he doesn’t calculate is landing distance at 5,000 feet on an 85-degree day. The density altitude pushes close to 8,000 feet, increasing his landing distance by roughly 30% over the sea-level book numbers. He also skips the NOTAMs and doesn’t discover that the first 300 feet of runway has a displaced threshold due to an approach-end obstruction.

He lands long, runs off the end at low speed, and damages the nose gear. The FAA investigator’s question: Did you check your performance data for the conditions at this airport?

That’s 91.103.

Why “All Available Information” Is Intentionally Broad

The FAA wrote this regulation with a deliberately wide scope. Every flight is different, so listing every possible preflight item would be impractical. Instead, the standard is reasonableness: would a reasonable pilot in your situation have checked for this information? If yes, and you didn’t, you have a problem.

For a calm-morning pattern flight, reasonable preflight action might include weather, NOTAMs, and ATIS. For a 400-mile cross-country over mountainous terrain, it means a full weather briefing, performance calculations, weight and balance, a detailed nav log, fuel planning, and terrain awareness.

The word “shall” in the regulation is also significant. In regulatory language, shall means must. This is not a recommendation — it’s a requirement. The FAA can take certificate action under 91.103 if they determine a pilot didn’t adequately prepare for a flight.

How to Make 91.103 a Habit

Build a personal planning checklist. Before every flight, run through it: weather, NOTAMs, ATIS/AWOS, fuel, weight and balance, runway lengths (if going somewhere new), and performance data (if conditions are unusual). This takes five to ten minutes and covers your bases.

Use an official weather briefing service. Flight Service (1-800-WX-BRIEF or online at 1800wxbrief.com) provides time-stamped, recorded briefings. If you ever need to demonstrate that you did your homework, a recorded Flight Service briefing is the gold standard.

Run weight and balance every time. Different passenger, different fuel load, bags in the back — the numbers change. The regulation doesn’t say “become familiar with information you haven’t already memorized.” It says all available information concerning that flight.

Check NOTAMs every single time. Even at your home airport. Construction happens. Lighting outages happen. TFRs pop up. The one time you skip it is the time a presidential TFR sits between you and the practice area.

What the Examiner Expects on Your Checkride

Preflight planning is the very first task evaluated in the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) for the private pilot certificate. Before you get in the airplane, the examiner wants to see that you can gather weather information, interpret it correctly, calculate performance, assess risks, and make a go/no-go decision.

When the examiner hands you a scenario — a destination, a weather picture, passengers with bags — they’re testing whether you understand what “all available information” means in practice. That entire evaluation is built on 91.103.

Key Takeaways

• FAR 91.103 applies to every flight, not just cross-countries — even a pattern session at your home airport requires checking weather, NOTAMs, and ATIS
• “All available information” is intentionally broad — the FAA uses a reasonableness standard to evaluate whether you checked what a competent pilot would have checked
• “Shall” means “must” — this is a legal requirement, not a suggestion, and the FAA can take certificate action if you fail to comply
• Performance data must reflect actual conditions — book numbers at sea level on a standard day are not sufficient for density altitude, surface, and wind variables
• Preflight planning is the first ACS task evaluated on the private pilot checkride — demonstrate it thoroughly