Crew, Logs and Records — Page 95, Lesson 156

I want to walk you through the rules for crew composition, logs, and records — specifically how flight crew can be relieved during a flight and what the minimum crew requirements are for certain operations. Let's start with the relief of the Commander. The Commander — that's the captain, the pilot in command — may delegate the conduct of the flight to another suitably qualified pilot. So if the captain needs rest during a long flight, they can hand over control. For operations above FL200 — that's flight level 200, or 20,000 feet in pressure altitude — the Commander may be relieved by a pilot called a cruise relief pilot. That pilot must have four minimum qualifications. First, they must hold a valid ATPL(A) — an Airline Transport Pilot Licence for aeroplanes. Second, they must be converted and Type Rated on type — meaning they've completed the conversion course and hold a valid type rating for that specific aircraft model. Third, they must be recurrently trained and checked — so they've done the regular simulator and proficiency checks. Fourth, they must be route competent — familiar with the route being flown. Now for the relief of the Co-pilot. The co-pilot may only be relieved by another suitably qualified pilot, or by a cruise relief co-pilot who is qualified to operate in the role of co-pilot in the cruise only, and not below FL200 — so only above 20,000 feet. That relief co-pilot must have three minimum qualifications. First, they must hold a valid CPL(A) with IR(A) — a Commercial Pilot Licence for aeroplanes with an Instrument Rating. Second, they must be converted and Type Rated on type, but this excludes the requirement for take-off and landing — so they don't need to have demonstrated take-offs and landings on that type. Third, they must be recurrently trained and checked, again without the requirements for take-off and landing. There's an important point about recent experience for this cruise relief co-pilot: recent experience is not required. However, the pilot must carry out Flight Simulator recency and refresher flying skills training at intervals not exceeding 90 days. This training may be combined with other pilot recurrent training and checking that's already required. Next, we have the System Panel Operator. This is the crew member previously called a Flight Engineer. Where a system panel operator is required by the AFM — the Aeroplane Flight Manual — the flight crew must include one crew member who holds a Flight Engineer licence, or is a suitably qualified flight crew member and is acceptable to the Authority — that's the national aviation authority like the DGCA or EASA. The relief of a System Panel Operator works similarly: they may be relieved in flight by a crew member who holds a Flight Engineer's licence, or by another suitably qualified flight crew member with a qualification acceptable to the Authority. Now let's look at the Minimum Flight Crew for Operations under IFR or at Night. IFR stands for Instrument Flight Rules — flying solely by reference to instruments, typically in poor visibility or clouds. For operations under IFR or at night, the operator must ensure that the minimum flight crew for a turboprop aeroplane with a maximum approved passenger seating configuration of more than 9 — so more than nine passenger seats — and all turbojet aeroplanes — that's any jet aircraft — is two pilots. So you need at least two pilots in the cockpit for those aircraft types when flying IFR or at night. Other aeroplanes — those that don't meet that threshold — may be operated as single-pilot aeroplanes, but only under certain conditions. The Operations Manual must contain a pilot conversion course and a recurrent training programme to meet the needs for the additional requirements for single-pilot operations. Those requirements are to include — and the excerpt cuts off there, but the key point is that the manual must spell out the extra training needed to safely fly single-pilot. Let me recap the key numbers and limits: cruise relief for the Commander requires an ATPL(A), type rating, recurrent checks, and route competence, and applies above FL200. Cruise relief for the co-pilot requires a CPL(A) with IR, type rating without take-off/landing, recurrent checks without take-off/landing, and recency training every 90 days in the simulator — but no recent experience requirement. System panel operators need a Flight Engineer licence or equivalent acceptable to the Authority. And for IFR or night operations, turboprops with more than 9 passenger seats and all turbojets need two pilots; others can be single-pilot with an approved training programme in the Operations Manual.