§ 91.144 Temporary restriction on flight operations during abnormally high barometric pressure conditions.

Section 91.144 prohibits operations during severe weather watches/warnings except in compliance with restrictions imposed by the Administrator. The rule was added after the 1985 Delta 191 windshear accident at DFW shaped FAA thinking on weather-related operations.

What this covers: The reg authorizes the FAA to restrict operations when severe weather conditions (tornadoes, hail-producing thunderstorms, microbursts, certain wind-shear conditions) are forecast or in progress. The restriction is typically implemented via NOTAM or ATC traffic management initiative.

Operational reality: § 91.144 is rarely invoked as a primary enforcement charge. The more common application is the ATC traffic flow management response — ground stops, ground delay programs, miles-in-trail restrictions, and reroutings that the pilot must comply with under § 91.123 (compliance with ATC). The rule provides the legal backing for those operational measures.

Pilot responsibility: Independent of any FAA restriction, the PIC is obligated by § 91.103 (preflight action) to be familiar with weather and forecasts, and by § 91.13 (careless/reckless) to avoid operations that endanger the flight. § 91.144 adds a regulatory floor — the FAA can declare 'no operations' even when an individual pilot might otherwise consider the flight safe.

Reference: AIM 7-1 on meteorology and severe weather; Aviation Weather Center for current SIGMETs, AIRMETs, and convective outlooks.