ACS Alignment

FAA-S-ACS-8 — Instrument Rating, Rotorcraft–Helicopter · Area of Operation VII. Emergency Operations · Task: A — Loss of Communications

IR.VII.A.K1 — 14 CFR 91.185 lost-comm rules IR.VII.A.K2 — route & altitude (AVEF / MEA) selection IR.VII.A.S1 — squawk 7600 & fly the predictable procedure IR.VII.A.R1 — risk: ambiguity & deviating from the plan

⚑ FLAG (Walter): confirm Task letter (A) and K/R/S sub-numbers for the helicopter Loss-of-Communications Task in the current FAA-S-ACS-8.

Loss of Communications (IFR)

Stay predictable: squawk 7600, then fly the route and altitude the regs expect of you.

By the end of this lesson you can:

State the immediate actions: confirm the failure, squawk 7600, and try alternate means (other radio, frequency, cell/relay).
Apply 14 CFR 91.185: if in VFR conditions, continue VFR and land as soon as practicable.
In IMC, choose the route (Assigned → Vectored → Expected → Filed) and altitude (highest of Assigned / Expected / MEA) for each segment.
Plan the approach and timing so ATC can predict and protect your path.

1 · First actions

First, fly the aircraft and confirm it really is a communications failure — check volume, frequency, headset, and the correct radio. Try the previous frequency, a nearby facility, or a relay. Squawk 7600 so ATC knows to expect lost-comm procedures and can clear traffic around your predicted path. If you can receive but not transmit, listen and comply, and use ident as requested.

2 · VFR conditions — the simple rule

If the failure occurs in VFR conditions, or you encounter VFR conditions afterward, the rule is straightforward: continue VFR and land as soon as practicable. This keeps you out of the IMC lost-comm complexity entirely and is almost always the safest outcome when it's available.

3 · IMC — route and altitude under 91.185

Choose your ROUTE (in order)	Choose your ALTITUDE (highest of)
Assigned — the route last assigned	Assigned — last assigned altitude
Vectored — if being vectored, the direct route to the fix/route specified in the vector	Expected — the altitude ATC said to expect
Expected — the route ATC said to expect	MEA — the minimum en-route altitude for the segment
Filed — the route filed in the flight plan

Remember AVEF for route and highest of Assigned / Expected / MEA for altitude, applied segment by segment. For the arrival, leave the clearance limit to begin the approach at the expected-further-clearance time (or as close as practical to your ETA), then fly an approach and land.

4 · Watch

Curated reference clip — “Lost Communications Procedures | FAR 91.185,” FlightInsight (YouTube), verified via oEmbed. Embedded with the creator's player; we don't host or alter it.

5 · Reference sources

Use the authoritative references

📄 14 CFR 91.185 — IFR operations: Two-way radio communications failure 📄 AIM 6-4 — Two-Way Radio Communications Failure

Your aircraft: the avionics, transponder type, and any backup comm/relay capability are installation-specific — note your R44's radios and transponder (and how to set 7600) from the POH Section 7 (Systems Description) and the avionics supplement.

✍️ Fill in for the aircraft you fly Installed comm radios & transponder, how to select code 7600, and any backup comm (handheld/second radio) — look it up in the R44 POH (Systems Description / avionics supplement) and confirm with your CFI.

⚑ FLAG (Walter): the R44 is a VFR-certificated helicopter; confirm lost-comm scenarios are practiced in the IFR trainer/sim and that the transponder/avionics behavior matches what the student will fly.

Risk management (the “Consider”): the lost-comm danger is unpredictability — the regs exist so ATC can protect a path it can anticipate. Don't improvise: squawk 7600, fly AVEF route and the highest-of-three altitude, and if VFR is available, take it and land. Keep trying to re-establish contact, and write down your plan so you don't second-guess it. Predictable beats clever.