During taxi operations through pits without refueling, which lights must be ON?

During taxi operations through pits without refueling, which lights must be ON?

• A. Landing light and/or taxi light: ON
• B. Position: ON
• C. Anti-collision: ON
• D. Searchlight: ON

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is that on the ground, during taxiing in a restricted area like pits, the lighting focus is on lighting the path and ensuring you’re seen by ground personnel. The required lights are the landing light and/or the taxi light. They illuminate the forward path and make the helicopter obvious to people working in the pits, which is the primary safety concern in this situation. Anti-collision lights are mainly about alerting other traffic and are not specified as mandatory for this specific ground taxi scenario, so they’re not required to be ON in this context. The same isn’t typically the purpose of a position light or a searchlight during standard pit taxi operations. Always follow the local SOPs, but for this circumstance, the landing and/or taxi lights on is the correct practice.

The key idea here is that on the ground, during taxiing in a restricted area like pits, the lighting focus is on lighting the path and ensuring you’re seen by ground personnel. The required lights are the landing light and/or the taxi light. They illuminate the forward path and make the helicopter obvious to people working in the pits, which is the primary safety concern in this situation.

Anti-collision lights are mainly about alerting other traffic and are not specified as mandatory for this specific ground taxi scenario, so they’re not required to be ON in this context. The same isn’t typically the purpose of a position light or a searchlight during standard pit taxi operations. Always follow the local SOPs, but for this circumstance, the landing and/or taxi lights on is the correct practice.