Federal Aviation Regulations

14 CFR § 91.9 — Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements

Volume 2 · Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 2025 annual edition. U.S. Government work — public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

The regulation, in full

Sec.  91.9  Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements.

    (a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, no person 
may operate a civil aircraft without complying with the operating 
limitations specified in the approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight 
Manual, markings, and placards, or as otherwise prescribed by the 
certificating authority of the country of registry.
    (b) No person may operate a U.S.-registered civil aircraft--
    (1) For which an Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual is required by

What this means for the knowledge test

Our own study notes for this section — reviewed through our AI instructional-review system, not by a certificated flight instructor. Not an authoritative source.

• Certain documents must be aboard the aircraft, commonly remembered by the mnemonic ARROW: the Airworthiness certificate, the Registration certificate, the Radio station license (required for international operations), the Operating limitations (found in the approved flight manual and placards), and the Weight and balance data. The airworthiness and registration certificates must be present for the aircraft to be legally operated.

  14 CFR 91.9 / 91.203

• Certain documents must be aboard the aircraft, commonly remembered by the mnemonic ARROW: the Airworthiness certificate, the Registration certificate, the Radio station license (for international operations), the Operating limitations (approved flight manual and placards), and the Weight and balance data. The airworthiness certificate must be displayed so it is legible to occupants, and the aircraft may not be operated without the required operating limitations available.

  14 CFR 91.9 / 91.203

• Certain documents must be aboard the aircraft, commonly remembered as ARROW: the Airworthiness certificate, the Registration certificate, the Radio station license (for international operations), the Operating limitations (found in the approved flight manual, placards, and markings), and Weight and balance data. The airworthiness and registration certificates must be displayed or available as required.

  14 CFR 91.9 / 91.203 (ARROW)

Lessons that cover § 91.9

• Required Documents: On the Pilot and in the Aircraft
• Documents, Equipment and Preflight Action
• Documents, Inspections and Airworthiness

Practice questions on § 91.9 (3)

• In the ARROW mnemonic for required aircraft documents, which item is required only for international operations?

  Answer Radio station license

  ARROW stands for Airworthiness, Registration, Radio license, Operating limitations, and Weight and balance; the radio station license is required only for international operations.

• In the ARROW mnemonic for required aircraft documents, what does the second "R" represent?

  Answer Radio station license

  ARROW stands for Airworthiness certificate, Registration certificate, Radio station license, Operating limitations, and Weight and balance data.

• The memory aid ARROW lists the documents that must be aboard an aircraft. What does the second "R" represent?

  Answer Radio station license (for international operations)

  ARROW stands for Airworthiness certificate, Registration certificate, Radio station license, Operating limitations, and Weight and balance data.

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