PLT379: Alternate Airport Requirements
What code PLT379 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Alternate Airport Requirements before your checkride.
Recall regulations - alternate airport requirements
What this means for your checkride
When filing an IFR flight plan, the pilot must include an alternate airport unless the weather at the destination meets the exception in the rule. Fuel planning must also allow flight to the first airport of intended landing, then to the alternate airport, and after that for 45 minutes at normal cruising speed (30 minutes for helicopters).
Alternate and fuel planning ensure a safe option exists if the destination cannot be used.
The alternate can be omitted only when the specific weather and approach conditions in the rule are met, not simply when the forecast looks good.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.