Originally Posted by
extricate
Hi,
Anyone can point me to the right place where I can find information on the legal amount of fuel to takeoff from the point of dispatch?
I'm thinking of a scenario where ground delay leading up to holding point caused my contingency fuel and taxi fuel to be wiped out. I'm left with Trip fuel, Alternate fuel and Final Reserve (30mins) fuel, is it still legal to takeoff?
Thanks!
As others have said, yes it is legal but as 99% of the times there is a fuel discussion legality and sound judgement can quickly split up. To be legal You basically need to land anywhere with at least 30 min of fuel in the tanks or more according to regional regulations (EASA vs FAA etc..). Sound judgement contemplates the fact that You want to complete the flight from A to B safely with margins for
reasonable* "what if scenarios" especially in period of deteriorating weather conditions and/or high traffic volume at destination.
*I was recently planned with 1st alternate being the closest one and a NOTAM stating that due to limiting parking space available the diversion could not be assured, on top of that NPA only... destination single runway with NPA only, weather ok but gambling in aviation is generally not working well, so I took fuel for the next alternate, nice big airport with an ILS and plenty of parking (uh uh !).