June 4, 1999

Captain Rich Rubin
7700 N.E. 8th Court
Boca Raton, Florida 33487

Dear Captain Rubin:

This responds to your request for an interpretation of the Federal Aviation Regulations 14 C.F.R. § 121.471, Flight time limitations and rest requirements: All flight crewmembers. Section 121.471(b) states as follows:

Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no certificate holder conducting domestic operations may schedule a flight crewmember and no flight crewmember may accept an assignment for flight time during the 24 consecutive hours preceding the scheduled completion of any flight segment without a scheduled rest period during that 24 hours of at least the following:

(1) 9 consecutive hours of rest for less than 8 hours of scheduled flight time;
(2) 10 consecutive hours of rest for 8 or more but less than 9 hours of scheduled flight time;
(3) 11 consecutive hours of rest for 9 or more hours of scheduled flight time.

You present the following hypothetical:

You begin reserve duty after completing a scheduled 48 hour 2 day off period. You are then assigned a block of five days reserve duty commencing at 0001 on day one until 2359 on day 5. You do not receive any notice of a prospective rest period by the air carrier for any of the five served duty days. You are not called for flight duty during day one of your reserve duty. On day two, you are called at 1900 for a flight duty period that will commence on day two at 2300 and will end at 0745 on day three.

Please note that you request an interpretation under 14 C.F.R. § 12l.471(b), but state that you are an international captain for an air carrier. Section 121.471(b) only applies to domestic operations. Flight time limitations for flag (international) carriers are specified in Subpart R Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Since you have specifically asked about the interpretation of § 121.471(b) in questions 1 -5, this interpretation is restricted to that section and the rest requirements for domestic operations. Additionally you use the term "flight duty" in your above hypothetical. The FAA uses the terms "flight time" and "rest" in § 121.471(b). For purposes of this interpretation, we have assumed your use of the term "flight duty" to be synonymous with the term "flight time." Finally, you have not specified what you mean when you use the term "reserve duty." Therefore, for purposes of this interpretation, we assume that this means you have a present responsibility for work should the occasion arise.

No. We have consistently stated that reserve duty is not rest when the reserve flight crewmember must maintain accessibility (via telephone or pager/beeper) to the employer and there is a present responsibility to work. Therefore, the certificated carrier must provide an opportunity for the flight crewmember to obtain appropriate rest when scheduling the flight crewmember for flight time. In this instance, when you are called at 1900 for flight duty you receive 4 hours notice that you will be required to report for flight duty at 2300. Your flight duty will end at 0745 on day three; thus it will be 8 hours and 45 minutes long. In order to be in compliance with Section 121.471(b), the air carrier conducting domestic operations and the pilot must be able to look back over the 24 consecutive hours preceding the scheduled completion of the flight segment and find the required scheduled rest period. In this instance, looking back 24 hours from the end of the pilot's scheduled flight time (0745 on day three), the pilot only had 4 hours of rest - the time period between 1900- 2300¹. The regulations (§ 121.471(b)(2)), however, require a pilot scheduled for more than 8 hours but less than 9 hours of flight time to have 10 consecutive hours of rest. Since you received only 4 hours of rest in the 24-hour period, the flight schedule would be in violation of Section 121.471(b)(2). Furthermore, the reduced rest provisions of Section 121.471(c)(2) would not be met with only 4 hours of rest.

1 We assume that once you are notified at 1900 to report for a flight at 2300 that you no longer have a present responsibility for work between 1900 and 2300.

Question 2: Using the above example, would I [the pilot] be in violation of FAR 121.471(b) if I accepted the flight duty assignment that begins at 2300 on day two.

Section 121.471(b) applies to pilots and other flight crewmembers as well as the air carrier. Consequently, you would be in violation of this section if you accepted the flight assignment prior to completing the required rest period.

Question 3: Does the FAA expect an air carrier to schedule pilots in compliance with FAR 121.471(b)? If so, how is operator compliance measured and enforced?

The law requires an air carrier to schedule its pilots in compliance with the regulations - in this instance § 121.471. Section 121.471(b) applies to the air carrier. Thus, the air carrier is expected to schedule pilots in compliance with § 121.471(b) as well as all other pertinent Federal Aviation Regulations. Compliance is measured by analyzing the facts and the applicable safety regulations published in the Code of Federal Regulations. The Flight Standards Service is responsible for investigating alleged violations of § 121.471 and for initiating enforcement actions.

Question 4: Does the F AA expect crewmembers to comply with the requirements of FAR 121.471(b)? If so, how is crewmember compliance measured and enforced?

See the answer to Question No. 3.

Question 5: What does the FAA advise a reserve crewmember to do if he/she is scheduled for flight duty and he/she has not received an appropriate prospective rest period as required by FAR 121.471(b)?

You seek advice as to what a reserve crewmember should do if the rest specified in § 121.471 has not been provided. First, the reserve crewmember must determine whether all of the elements of § 121.471, including the reduced rest provisions in § 121.471(c), have been met. Second, if § 121.471(c) cannot be used, you are hereby advised that § 121.471(b) specifically prohibits a flight crewmember from accepting an assignment that violates this provision. In the event any flight crewmember finds himself/herself scheduled in violation of § 121.471, he/she should, at a minimum, advise the appropriate person at the air carrier. Depending on the air carrier's protocol, this may be the Chief Pilot, the Director of Operations or the Director of Safety. Additionally, a pilot always has a duty under § 91.13(a) to notify the certificate holder when he/she is too fatigued to fly.

Question 6: Can off duty time incurred during layovers fulfill the 24 hours off in 7-day rest requirement?

Yes. We assume that "off duty time" means that the pilot does not have a present responsibility for work should the occasion arise.

Question 7. If the answer to the above question is yes, what are the requirements for this rest period? Can pilots be reassigned during this period? Is it protected from interruption or contact?

The FAA has consistently interpreted "rest" to mean a continuous period of time during which the flight crewmember is free from all restraint by a certificate holder. This includes freedom from work and freedom from responsibility for work should the occasion arise. See Letter of Interpretation to James Baxter, March 25, 1997 (copy enclosed). Thus, a crewmember who was required to be near a phone, carry a beeper, or maintain contact by computer so that he would be available should the carrier need to notify him/her of a reassignment would not be on rest. However, there would be no rest violation where an air carrier does not impose any requirements on the crewmember during the rest period, and the crewmember just happens to answer the phone (or otherwise contact the employer) when the air carrier calls to notify him/her of a reassignment that will begin after the completion of his/her rest.

Question 8: Does an air carrier have a responsibility for recordkeeping and administration that requires it to compute and inform crewmembers of the prospective rest periods covered under Part 121 Subparts Q and R of the Federal Aviation Regulations.

A part 119-certificate holder operating under part 121 is required to maintain crewmember flight and duty records under § 121.683. Please provide us with additional information and a more detailed explanation of the nature of your question regarding "compute and inform crewmembers of the prospective rest periods." Additionally, please explain how that question relates to the rest issues under both Subpart Q and Subpart R.

This interpretation was prepared by Carol Moors Toth, Attorney, Operations Law Branch and reviewed by Joseph A. Conte, Manager, Operations Law Branch. It has been coordinated with the Air Transportation Division of the Flight Standards Service at FAA Headquarters. We hope that this information satisfies your request.

Sincerely,

Nicholas G. Garaufis
Chief Counsel