Under FAR 91.209, aircraft lights fall under two operating rules: position lights must be on from sunset to sunrise, and any installed anti-collision light system must be on whenever the aircraft is in operation, day or night.1eCFR. 14 CFR 91.209 – Aircraft Lights The regulation carves out narrow exceptions for parked, taxiing, and anchored aircraft, and it uses a different trigger altogether in Alaska.
Position Lights: Sunset to Sunrise
Position lights, which pilots often call nav lights, must be on during the period from sunset to sunrise based on the official local time for your location.1eCFR. 14 CFR 91.209 – Aircraft Lights The trigger is the clock, not the sky. If local sunset is 6:47 PM, the lights are on at 6:47 PM, even if the ramp still looks bright.
Anti-Collision Lights: Any Time the Aircraft Is Operating
If the aircraft is equipped with an anti-collision light system, those lights have to be on whenever the aircraft is in operation. That requirement sits in a separate subsection from the sunset-to-sunrise rule, so it applies around the clock.1eCFR. 14 CFR 91.209 – Aircraft Lights Anti-collision lights are the bright flashing strobes or rotating beacons, designed to draw attention more aggressively than the steady position lights.
The rule includes a safety valve. The pilot-in-command may turn the anti-collision lights off when operating conditions make it safer to do so.1eCFR. 14 CFR 91.209 – Aircraft Lights Strobes reflecting off clouds or fog at night can temporarily blind the crew, and on a crowded ramp the flash can disorient nearby ground workers. The judgment call belongs to the PIC.
The Alaska Standard
Alaska replaces the sunset-to-sunrise trigger with a visibility-based test. Lights are required when a prominent unlighted object cannot be seen from a distance of three statute miles, or when the sun is more than six degrees below the horizon.1eCFR. 14 CFR 91.209 – Aircraft Lights Strict sunset-to-sunrise timing wouldn’t map well onto an Alaskan summer, when the sun barely drops below the horizon.
Exceptions for Parked and Taxiing Aircraft
You don’t always need position lights on when the aircraft is parked or being moved near a night flight operations area. Any one of three conditions satisfies the rule: the aircraft is clearly illuminated, the aircraft has its position lights on, or the aircraft is in an area marked by obstruction lights.1eCFR. 14 CFR 91.209 – Aircraft Lights A well-lit ramp covers you even with the position lights off, which helps avoid draining the battery on an aircraft that isn’t running.
Exceptions for Anchored Aircraft
Seaplanes and amphibious aircraft anchored on the water follow a parallel structure. The aircraft must have lighted anchor lights, or it must be in an area where anchor lights are not required for vessels.1eCFR. 14 CFR 91.209 – Aircraft Lights That aligns aircraft with the maritime rules the surrounding boat traffic already follows.
How 91.209 Differs From Other “Night” Rules
Aviation uses at least three different windows tied to darkness, and mixing them up is a common mistake. Position lights come on at sunset under 91.209. The regulatory definition of “night” for logging flight time under 14 CFR 1.1 is the period between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight.2eCFR. 14 CFR 1.1 – General Definitions Civil twilight ends roughly 30 minutes after sunset, so there is a gap where your lights must be on but the clock hasn’t started for night flight logging.
Passenger-carrying currency uses yet another window. To carry passengers at night, you need recent takeoff and landing experience during the period beginning one hour after sunset and ending one hour before sunrise.3eCFR. 14 CFR 61.57 – Recent Flight Experience: Pilot in Command Position lights come on first at sunset, official night for logging starts later at the end of civil twilight, and the passenger currency window starts later still, one hour after sunset.
If a Required Light Is Inoperative
Finding a burned-out position light or dead strobe before a planned night flight is a real problem, because 91.205 requires approved position lights and an approved anti-collision light system for night VFR.4eCFR. 14 CFR 91.205 – Powered Civil Aircraft With Standard U.S. Airworthiness Certificates: Instrument and Equipment Requirements 14 CFR 91.213 generally prevents you from taking off with required equipment inoperative unless the aircraft has an approved Minimum Equipment List that addresses the specific item.5eCFR. 14 CFR 91.213 – Inoperative Instruments and Equipment Most light general aviation aircraft don’t operate under an MEL.
Without an MEL, 91.213(d) allows flight with inoperative equipment only if that equipment isn’t required by 91.205 or any other applicable rule for the kind of operation you’re conducting.5eCFR. 14 CFR 91.213 – Inoperative Instruments and Equipment An inoperative position light or anti-collision light grounds you for night VFR until it’s fixed. Day VFR may still be possible if the light isn’t required for day operations.
There is one built-in allowance worth knowing about. If any light in the anti-collision system fails during flight, 91.205 lets you continue operating to a location where repairs can be made.4eCFR. 14 CFR 91.205 – Powered Civil Aircraft With Standard U.S. Airworthiness Certificates: Instrument and Equipment Requirements A strobe burning out mid-flight doesn’t force an immediate diversion.
Penalties for Violating 91.209
Flying without required lighting isn’t a technicality the FAA overlooks. The agency can pursue certificate action ranging from a warning letter to suspension, depending on the circumstances and your enforcement history. Under 49 U.S.C. § 46301, an individual who violates an FAA regulation faces a civil penalty of up to $1,100 per violation under the general provision, though more recent legislation has authorized higher maximums for certain enforcement actions.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 46301 – Civil Penalties
The safety consequence is the larger one. Position lights are the primary way other pilots identify your presence and direction of travel in darkness. Take that away near a busy airport and the paperwork problem becomes a collision problem.