PLT502: Light Gun Signals
What code PLT502 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Light Gun Signals before your checkride.
Recall universal signals - hand / light / visual
What this means for your checkride
When radios fail, the tower uses a light gun to signal aircraft and vehicles. Steady green means cleared to land or take off; flashing green, return to land or cleared to taxi; steady red, stop or give way; flashing red, taxi clear of the runway or do not land; flashing white, return to the starting point; alternating red and green, exercise extreme caution.
Light-gun signals are the fallback for lost communications, so the FAA tests each color and its meaning in the air and on the ground.
Pilots blank on flashing versus steady. Steady red means stop or give way; flashing red on the ground means taxi clear of the runway, and in the air means do not land for now, keep circling.
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.