Radio failure: light gun signals and what to do (NORDO)
A dead radio is not an emergency, but it is a moment you want rehearsed before it happens. The tower can still talk to you with a light gun, and you can still land safely.
First, troubleshoot
Before you declare anything lost, check the volume, the squelch, the frequency, the headset plugs, and the audio panel. Most “radio failures” turn out to be a knob in the wrong place.
If it is truly dead
Squawk 7600, the lost-communications code, and fly toward the airport. You can still land at a towered field without a radio — the tower will direct you with a light gun.
The light gun signals
Steady green: cleared to land in the air, cleared for takeoff on the ground. Flashing green: return for landing in the air, cleared to taxi on the ground. Steady red: give way and keep circling in the air, stop on the ground. Flashing red: airport unsafe, do not land in the air; taxi clear of the runway on the ground. Flashing white (on the ground): return to your starting point on the airport. Alternating red and green: general warning, use extreme caution.
How to acknowledge
Let the tower know you saw the signal. By day, rock your wings. By night, flash your landing light or your navigation lights.
A way to remember it
Steady is a state, flashing is an instruction; green generally means come or go, red generally means stop or stay. You will not use this often, so the time to learn it cold is on the ground.
Rehearse the recovery
The calm in a real radio failure comes from having pictured it beforehand. Practice the normal towered calls until they are automatic, so a quiet radio is the only new variable. Free on Clearspar.
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