SUBJECT: AIRCRAFT LIGHTS: A EXPLAINATION                     FILE: UFO1579




For Field          Mutual UFO Network - MUFONET-BBS Network   Copyright 1991
Investigators     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~    Mutual UFO
                       THE INVESTIGATOR'S EDGE, No. 10           Network
                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       AIRCRAFT LIGHTS: An Explanation
*By Ken Spencer         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 2, 1991

Aircraft lights come in different sizes, shapes, and are used for several
different purposes.  When first developed,  aircraft lights were designed to
fulfill the same purpose as lights originally installed on boats or ships.  A
sailor observing a ship moving on the open waters at night found it difficult
to determine its direction of travel or its position relative to his own.  In
the interest of safety, lights were located on the port side (left), starboard
side (right), and one at the stern (aft) end of the ship.  The colors of the
lights were red, green and white respectively.  That way an individual
observing the ship from a distance would be able to easily determine how the
ship was positioned relative to the individual and also determine its
direction of travel.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) require that
aircraft have position or navigational lights configured in the same manner.
As the pilot faces forward in the cockpit, he would find a green light on his
right wing tip, a red light on his left wing tip and a white light on the
tail.  These position lights are required to be on for all operations, ground
and flight, between the hours of official sunset and sunrise.

Aside from the position or navigational lights, a variety of other lights are
found on aircraft which may be of interest to those of us involved in the
field of U.F.O.  Investigations.  Let's take a minute to look at some of
these lights, their location on an aircraft and the situations under which
they might be used.  We need to bear in mind, as we examine these lighting
systems, that aircraft vary in size and type of operation.  We will therefore
restrict our examination to the more common lighting systems associated with
conventional aircraft.


ANTICOLLISION LIGHTS

Anticollision lights are used primarily to assist in assuring that an aircraft
is readily seen while on the ground or in flight.  These lights are generally
mounted in the wing tips not far from the position lights.  With most airline
operated aircraft these lights are white and are generally of the strobe
variety.   Another type of anticollision light is red, (strobe, flashing,
oscillating or rotating beacon type) and is located on top and/or underneath
the fuselage (main body structure) of the aircraft.  These lights are
generally on for all operations, ground and flight, day and night, below
18,000 feet.  At night these lights are kept on regardless of altitude.


LANDING LIGHTS

The aircraft landing lights are used for both illumination of the
landing/take-off area as well as for collision avoidance in flight.  Landing
lights, depending on the size and type of aircraft, can be mounted in a number
of locations.  They can be located in the left and right leading edge of the
wings, on the nose gear strut, or in some cases are extended below the wings.
In the case of most airline operations these lights are generally on from
the time a takeoff clearance is issued until the aircraft reaches 18,000 feet
or from 18,000 feet until the aircraft clears the runway after landing.


RUNWAY TURNOFF LIGHTS

Runway turnoff lights, sometimes referred to as taxi lights, visually assist
the pilot at night when maneuvering between the terminal and the runway.
These lights are either mounted on the leading edge of the wings, on the nose
gear strut or some location which will provide sufficient illumination in
front of the aircraft.  These lights are rarely operated while the aircraft is
in flight unless they are an integral part of the landing light system or
unless the pilot deems it necessary for safety reasons (i.e. additional
collision avoidance).


WING LIGHTS

In order to assist the pilot in viewing a section of the wing or engine
nacelles (engine enclosures), lights are flush mounted in the fuselage and
pointed outward in the appropriate direction.  These lights would be operated
by the pilot when he wishes to inspect the wing section or engine in the event
of an abnormal situation such as icing or structural damage.


LOGO LIGHTS

Marketing people are always looking for creative ways to advertise or promote
a product.  With the airline industry, one such creative genius led to the use
of logo lights on aircraft.  These lights are usually mounted in the
horizontal stabilizer (horizontal part of the tail) pointing in the direction
of the vertical stabilizer (vertical part of the tail).  Besides illuminating
the logo on the tail of the aircraft, the pilot uses the logo lights for an
additional means of collision avoidance.  Most of the airlines require that
the logo lights, if installed and operational, be turned on continuously
between sunset and sunrise.


UTILITY LIGHTS

A number of other exterior lights may be installed on an aircraft such as
cargo door lights and emergency evacuation lights.  The cargo door lights
illuminate the area around the cargo compartment and are generally used to
assist cargo/ramp agents in loading cargo into the aircraft.  The normal
procedure is to extinguish these lights once the cargo operation has been
completed.  Another set of lights, sometimes called evacuation lights, are
used to assist passengers during an emergency evacuation from the aircraft.
These are usually flush mounted into the fuselage of the aircraft adjacent to
a passenger door or emergency exit.  These lights are used to illuminate the
evacuation area and are generally set to automatically energize in the event
of an emergency.

As I indicated early on in this article, most of the light configurations
described here are applicable to conventional aircraft.  These lighting
systems may vary slightly depending on the type of aircraft, the manufacturer,
and the kind of operating environment.  If, as an investigator, a witness
observes a lighting system typical to what was presented here, there is always
the possibility that the object may be an aircraft.  On the other hand, we
need to document, in sufficient detail, the observation regardless of whether
it coincides with an aircraft lighting system or not, for the record.


[*Note: Ken is a contributing writer for the Colorado MUFON Newsletter, MUFON
Member and employed by a major airline at Denver International Airport.]

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