ICAO Annex 6 — Page 8, Lesson 17

I want to walk you through the navigation lighting requirements from ICAO Annex 6. This is a fundamental piece of aircraft equipment that helps other air users determine your direction of travel, especially at night or in reduced visibility. Let's start with the basic layout. Navigation lights are positioned on the aeroplane to indicate to another air user the direction that the aeroplane is heading. There are three lights: a red light on the port side — that's the left side — a green light on the starboard side — the right side — and a white light at the tail. Now, the horizontal coverage angles are very specific. The port and starboard lights each show horizontally through an angle of 110° either side of dead ahead. So if you imagine looking straight forward from the nose, the red light on the left covers 110° to the left of that line, and the green light on the right covers 110° to the right. The tail light shows through an angle of 70° either side of the plane of symmetry — that's the fore-and-aft axis of the aeroplane — giving a total of 140° of coverage aft. Vertically, the port and starboard lights show through 180°, and that arc is in the direction of indication — meaning the red light shines 180° out to the left side, and the green light shines 180° out to the right side. The tail light is visible through a full 360° vertically, so it can be seen from any angle above or below the aircraft. Now, let's talk about the lighting scheme. The majority of aeroplanes now flying have navigation lights that show a steady light at all times. That's the modern standard. Older aircraft may have lights which alternate on and off together, or they may alternate on and off independently of each other. So you might see a pattern where all three flash in unison, or each light flashes on its own cycle. Finally, anti-collision lights. These are separate from the navigation lights. They may be of the rotating beacon type — the kind you see with a rotating reflector that sweeps a beam around — or the high intensity strobe discharge type, sometimes called a Flacon beacon. These are designed to make the aircraft more conspicuous to other traffic, especially during critical phases of flight like takeoff and landing. So to summarise: red left, green right, white tail. Each has defined horizontal and vertical coverage angles. Most aircraft show them steady, but older systems may flash. And anti-collision lights add an extra layer of visibility.