Definition
A light gun signal directed from the control tower to an aircraft on the ground, consisting of a repeatedly flashing white beam. It instructs the pilot to return to the starting point on the airport. Flashing white is used only for aircraft on the surface; it has no meaning for aircraft in flight.
Plain English
If the tower shines a blinking white light at you while you are on the ground, it means: go back to where you started on the airport.
Context Anchor
Seen in the light gun signal chart used when radio communication is lost or unavailable at a towered airport.
Why Pilots Care
Enables safe compliance with tower instructions on the airport surface without voice contact, preventing runway incursions or confusion.
Intuition Check
Do not read flashing white as a general warning or as permission to continue. In this FAA signal, it specifically means return to the starting point on the airport surface.
Example Sentence 1
After losing radio contact while taxiing, the pilot saw a flashing white light from the tower and turned the aircraft back toward the ramp where they had started.
Example Sentence 2
Receiving flashing white during ground operations, the student returned to the starting point as instructed.