Crew, Logs and Records — Page 112, Lesson 178

I want to walk you through the limits and record-keeping rules that govern how much a professional flight crew can actually fly and work. This is the part of the regulations that protects you, your passengers, and the aircraft from the effects of fatigue. Let's start with the annual and 28-day block hour limits. First, a block hour is the time from when the aircraft first moves under its own power for the purpose of flight, until it comes to a complete stop at the parking position after the flight. The regulations set two hard caps on block hours: no more than 900 block hours in a calendar year, and no more than 100 block hours in any 28 consecutive days. These are absolute limits for a crew member. Now, operators can be given permission to extend the Flight Duty Period, or FDP, by adding extra crew members. That's done on a case-by-case basis, not as a blanket rule. Let's move to the Maximum Daily Flight Duty Period. The basic maximum daily FDP is 13 hours. But that number changes depending on how many sectors you fly that day. A sector is one take-off and one landing. If you fly 3 sectors, the maximum FDP drops to 12.5 hours. For 4 sectors, it's 12 hours. For 5 sectors, it's 11.5 hours. And for 6 or more sectors, the maximum FDP is 11 hours. The FDP is further reduced if the flight starts or ends during the WOCL, which stands for the Window of Circadian Low. That's the period in the early morning, roughly between 0200 and 0559, when the human body is naturally at its lowest alertness. If the flight commences during the WOCL, the FDP is reduced by 100% of the encroachment — meaning the full amount of time that overlaps the WOCL is subtracted. If the flight ends during the WOCL, the reduction is 50% of the encroachment. There are also rules for extending the FDP. You can extend the FDP by up to one hour, but no more than twice in any 7-day period, and you cannot do this extension if the FDP already encroaches on the WOCL. In exceptional circumstances, the Commander can further extend the FDP by up to 2 hours, or by 3 hours with an augmented crew, or to allow the aircraft to continue to its destination or alternate aerodrome. After any extension, you must ensure minimum crew rest is taken. And a report must be submitted to the operator, which must be copied to the Authority — that's the national aviation regulatory body — within 28 days. Now, let's talk about Rest. Unless the operator has special permission from the Authority, when you are operating from your home base, the minimum rest period is 12 hours, or the length of the preceding FDP, whichever is greater. When you are operating away from home base, the minimum rest is 10 hours or the duration of the preceding FDP, whichever is greater. However, operators must also take into account travelling time and the effects of time zone changes. In all cases, a clear 8 hours of rest must be allowed for — that means an uninterrupted period where you are free from all duties. Next is Standby. If a crew member is required to be on airport standby, the operator must provide a quiet and comfortable area that is not open to the public. Airport standby time counts toward the total duty hours limits we discussed earlier. For standby at a location other than an airport, the operator calculates the duty hours in a manner acceptable to the Authority, taking into account the facilities for rest and other factors that may affect your fitness to fly. Finally, we have Flight Duty, Duty and Rest Period Records. The operator must ensure that crew members' records include three things: block times; the start, duration, and end of each duty or flight duty period; and rest periods and days free of all duties. These records must be maintained to ensure compliance with the requirements of this subpart, and copies must be made available to the crew member upon request. Additionally, the records must include all reports of extended FDP and reduced rest periods.