FAA Aircraft Dispatcher (ADX)Flight Planning and PerformanceMedium
A dispatcher is planning a flight to an airport served only by nonprecision approaches. If no alternate minimums are published for that airport, what are the standard IFR alternate weather minimums that must be forecast for the ETA?
- A1,000-foot ceiling and 3 statute miles visibility
- B1,500-foot ceiling and 3 statute miles visibility
- C800-foot ceiling and 2 statute miles visibility
- D600-foot ceiling and 2 statute miles visibility
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. 800-foot ceiling and 2 statute miles visibility
Standard alternate minimums are 600-2 for airports with a precision approach and 800-2 for airports with only nonprecision approaches available, per 14 CFR 91.169 and applicable Part 121 alternate criteria.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. 1,000-3 is not a standard alternate minimum figure.
- B. 1,500-3 is excessive and not the standard nonprecision minimum.
- D. 600-2 applies when a precision approach is available, not nonprecision-only.
Standard Alternate Minimums
Default IFR alternate weather minimums when none are published: 600-2 for precision approaches, 800-2 for nonprecision-only airports.
- 600-2 = ceiling 600 ft, visibility 2 SM (precision)
- 800-2 = ceiling 800 ft, visibility 2 SM (nonprecision)
- Used only when airport has no published alternate minimums
Memory trick: 'Six hundred, precise; eight hundred, less nice.'