"Pilots are requested" on charts...

[Old Geek]

What's up with the semantics here? I learned that a "request" was not the same as "commanded" or "required". Yet on any sectional, there's areas and text blocks where "pilots are requested" to do such and such and it's pretty clear that bad things can happen if they ignore the request.

Does anyone know why the the word "requested" is used when the meaning is clearly "required"? Has anyone legally questioned the meaning?

 

[Jim Logajan]

What's up with the semantics here? I learned that a "request" was not the same as "commanded" or "required". Yet on any sectional, there's areas and text blocks where "pilots are requested" to do such and such and it's pretty clear that bad things can happen if they ignore the request.

Does anyone know why the the word "requested" is used when the meaning is clearly "required"? Has anyone legally questioned the meaning?

I suspect, but am not sure, that "requested" appears for areas that a pilot may get in trouble with agencies other than the FAA (e.g. National Park Service or U.S. Forest Service.) Such as flight below 2000' over sensitive bird nesting areas.