Aviation light signals

From Free net encyclopedia

In the case of a radio failure or aircraft not equipped with a radio, air traffic control may use a light gun to direct the aircraft. The light gun has a focused bright beam and is capable of emitting three different colors: Red, white and green. These colors may be flashed or steady, and have different meanings to aircraft in flight or on the ground. Planes can acknowledge the instruction by wiggling their wings, moving the ailerons if on the ground, or by flashing their landing or navigation lights during hours of darkness.

	Aircraft In Flight	Aircraft On the Ground	Ground Vehicles or Personnel
Flashing White	N/A	Return to starting point
Steady Green	Cleared to land	Cleared for takeoff	Cleared to cross/proceed
Flashing Green	cleared to approach airport, or return to land	Cleared to taxi	N/A
Steady Red	Continue circling, give way to other aircraft	Stop
Flashing Red	Airport unsafe, do not land	Immediately taxi clear of runway in use	Clear the taxiway/runway
Alternating Red and Green	Danger, continue current action with caution
Red-red-green sequence	Nearing restricted airspace	N/A
Blinking Runway Lights	vehicles, planes, and pedestrians immediately clear landing area in use