14166 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 43 / Tuesday, March 5, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

Docket No. FAA–2012–1173; Directorate 

Identifier 2012–CE–038–AD. 

(a) Effective Date 

This airworthiness directive (AD) becomes 

effective April 9, 2013. 

(b) Affected ADs 

None. 

(c) Applicability 

This AD applies to Costruzioni 

Aeronautiche Tecnam srl P2006T airplanes, 

serial numbers 001/US through 9999/US, 

certificated in any category. 

(d) Subject 

Air Transport Association of America 

(ATA) Code 57, Wings. 

(e) Reason 

This AD was prompted by multiple cracks 

found on the outboard aileron hinge support 

of a P2006T airplane during an inspection. 

We are issuing this AD to require actions to 

address the unsafe condition on these 

products. 

(f) Actions and Compliance 

Unless already done, do the following 

actions following the Inspection Instructions, 

paragraph 2, numbers 1 through 8, in 

Costruzioni Aeronautiche TECNAM Service 

Bulletin No. SB 102–CS–Rev2, dated July 3, 

2012: 

(1) At the compliance times below, inspect 

all aileron hinge supports part numbers (P/ 

N) 26–1–1082–1/3, P/N 26–1–1081–1/3, P/N 

26–1–1081–2/4, and P/N 26–1–1082–2/4 for 

cracks: 

(i) For airplanes with 600 or more hours 

time-in-service (TIS) as of April 9, 2013 (the 

effective date of this AD): Within 30 days 

after April 9, 2013 (the effective date of this 

AD) or within the next 25 hours TIS after 

April 9, 2013 (the effective date of this AD), 

whichever occurs first, and repetitively 

thereafter at intervals not to exceed 100 hours 

TIS or 12 months, whichever occurs first, 

(ii) For airplanes with less than 600 hours 

TIS as of April 9, 2013 (the effective date of 

this AD): Within 30 days after accumulating 

600 hours TIS or within 25 hours TIS after 

accumulating 600 hours TIS, whichever 

occurs first, and thereafter at intervals not to 

exceed 100 hours TIS or 12 months, 

whichever occurs first. 

(2) If a crack is found during any 

inspection required by paragraph (f)(1) of this 

AD, before further flight, contact: Costruzioni 

Aeronautiche TECNAM at Costruzioni 

Aeronautiche TECNAM Airworthiness 

Office, Via Maiorise—81043 Capua (CE) Italy; 

telephone: +39 0823 620134; fax: +39 0823 

622899; email: m.oliva@tecnam.com or 

g.paduano@tecnam.com; Internet: 

www.tecnam.com/it-IT/documenti/servicebulletins.aspx; for replacement instructions 

and accomplish them accordingly. 

(g) Credit for Actions Accomplished in 

Accordance With Previous Service 

Information 

This AD provides credit for the actions 

required in this AD if already done before 

April 9, 2013 (the effective date of this AD) 

following Costruzioni Aeronautiche 

TECNAM Service Bulletin No. SB 102–CS– 

Rev1, dated June 29, 2012. 

(h) Other FAA AD Provisions 

The following provisions also apply to this 

AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, Standards Office, 

FAA, has the authority to approve AMOCs 

for this AD, if requested using the procedures 

found in 14 CFR 39.19. Send information to 

ATTN: Albert Mercado, Aerospace Engineer, 

FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, 

Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; 

telephone: (816) 329–4119; fax: (816) 329– 

4090; email: albert.mercado@faa.gov. Before 

using any approved AMOC on any airplane 

to which the AMOC applies, notify your 

appropriate principal inspector (PI) in the 

FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), 

or lacking a PI, your local FSDO. 

(2) Airworthy Product: For any requirement 

in this AD to obtain corrective actions from 

a manufacturer or other source, use these 

actions if they are FAA-approved. Corrective 

actions are considered FAA-approved if they 

are approved by the State of Design Authority 

(or their delegated agent). You are required 

to assure the product is airworthy before it 

is returned to service. 

(3) Reporting Requirements: For any 

reporting requirement in this AD, a federal 

agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 

person is not required to respond to, nor 

shall a person be subject to a penalty for 

failure to comply with a collection of 

information subject to the requirements of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that 

collection of information displays a current 

valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 

Control Number for this information 

collection is 2120–0056. Public reporting for 

this collection of information is estimated to 

be approximately 5 minutes per response, 

including the time for reviewing instructions, 

completing and reviewing the collection of 

information. All responses to this collection 

of information are mandatory. Comments 

concerning the accuracy of this burden and 

suggestions for reducing the burden should 

be directed to the FAA at: 800 Independence 

Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20591, Attn: 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, 

AES–200. 

(i) Related Information 

Refer to MCAI European Aviation Safety 

Agency (EASA) AD No.: 2012–0146, dated 

August 6, 2012; and Costruzioni 

Aeronautiche TECNAM Service Bulletin No. 

SB 102–CS–Rev2, dated July 3, 2012, for 

related information. 

(j) Material Incorporated by Reference 

(1) The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

(IBR) of the service information listed in this 

paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR 

part 51. 

(2) You must use this service information 

as applicable to do the actions required by 

this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise. 

(i) Costruzioni Aeronautiche TECNAM 

Service Bulletin No. SB 102–CS–Rev2, dated 

July 3, 2012. 

(ii) Reserved 

(3) For Costruzioni Aeronautiche TECNAM 

service information identified in this AD, 

contact Costruzioni Aeronautiche TECNAM 

Airworthiness Office, Via Maiorise—81043 

Capua (CE) Italy; telephone: +39 0823 

620134; fax: +39 0823 622899; email: 

m.oliva@tecnam.com or 

g.paduano@tecnam.com; Internet: 

www.tecnam.com/it-IT/documenti/servicebulletins.aspx. 

(4) You may view this service information 

at FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 

Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call (816) 329–4148. 

(5) You may view this service information 

that is incorporated by reference at the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). For information on 

the availability of this material at NARA, call 

202–741–6030, or go to: http:// 

www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibrlocations.html. 

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on 

February 20, 2013. 

John Colomy, 

Acting Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–04341 Filed 3–4–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Parts 117 and 121 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0358] 

Clarification of Flight, Duty, and Rest 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Clarification. 

SUMMARY: The FAA published a final 

rule on January 4, 2012, that amends the 

existing flight, duty and rest regulations 

applicable to certificate holders and 

their flightcrew members. Since then, 

the FAA has received numerous 

questions about the new flight, duty, 

and rest rule. This is a response to those 

questions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

technical questions, contact Dale E. 

Roberts, Air Transportation Division, 

Flight Standards Service, Federal 

Aviation Administration; email 

dale.e.roberts@faa.gov. For legal 

questions, contact Robert Frenzel, 

Regulations Division, Office of the Chief 

Counsel, Federal Aviation 

Administration; email 

robert.frenzel@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On January 4, 2012, the FAA 

published a final rule entitled, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 43 / Tuesday, March 5, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 14167 

1 77 FR 20530 (Apr. 5, 2012). 

2See 77 FR 28763 (May 16, 2012). 

3The regulatory provisions of part 117 can be 

found at 77 FR 398 (Jan. 4, 2012). 

4 14 CFR 117.1(b). 

5 14 CFR 117.1(c). 

6See 77 FR at 336 (stating that ‘‘pilots flying only 

part 91 passenger operations * * * are not subject 

to the provisions of this rule’’). 

7See 14 CFR 117.3, Flight Duty Period (stating 

that activities that occur between flight segments 

are part of the FDP unless a required intervening 

rest period has been provided). 

8See § 117.3 (definition of flight duty period). 

9See § 117.1(b) and (c). 

‘‘Flightcrew Member Duty and Rest 

Requirements’’ (77 FR 330). In that rule, 

the FAA created new part 117, which 

replaces the existing flight, duty, and 

rest regulations, contained in Subparts 

Q, R, and S, for part 121 passenger 

operations. As part of this rulemaking, 

the FAA also applied the new 14 CFR 

part 117 to certain 14 CFR part 91 

operations, and permitted all-cargo 

operations operating under 14 CFR part 

121 to voluntarily opt into the part 117 

flight, duty, and rest regulations. 

On April 5, 2012, the FAA published 

a notice explaining the procedures for 

submitting clarifying questions 

concerning these flight, duty, and rest 

regulations.1 Since then, the FAA 

received numerous questions 

concerning the new regulations. This is 

a response to those questions. 

II. Discussion 

A. Applicability 

i. Applicability of Previous Flight, Duty, 

and Rest Interpretations to Part 117 

Airlines for America (A4A) asked 

whether previous interpretations of the 

part 121 flight, duty, and rest rules are 

applicable to part 117. 

Part 117 creates a new flight, duty, 

and rest regulatory scheme for part 121 

passenger operations. As such, some 

interpretations of the regulatory scheme 

that preceded part 117 may have limited 

or no applicability to the provisions of 

part 117. The FAA will decide on a 

case-by-case basis to what extent an 

existing flight, duty, and rest 

interpretation applies to part 117. 

ii. Voluntary Implementation of Part 117 

Before January 4, 2014 

A4A asked whether carriers can 

implement more restrictive portions of 

part 117 before the effective date of the 

final rule that created part 117. 

The flight, duty, and rest rule that 

created part 117 will become effective 

on January 4, 2014.2 Until then, 

passenger operations operating under 

part 121 must comply with the flight, 

duty, and rest requirements set out in 

Subparts Q, R, and S of part 121. If a 

carrier wishes to voluntarily comply 

with a provision of part 117 before 

January 4, 2014, the carrier can do so as 

long as it also remains compliant with 

the provisions of Subparts Q, R, and S 

as applicable. 

For example, 14 CFR 121.471(b) and 

(c) specify the amount of rest that a 

flight crewmember on a domestic 

operation must receive in a 24-hour 

period. However, these subsections do 

not require that the rest period include 

an 8-hour sleep opportunity. 

Conversely, § 117.25(e) and (f) 3 will 

require that a rest period have an 8-hour 

uninterrupted sleep opportunity when 

part 117 becomes effective. Thus, a 

certificate holder operating a domestic 

operation who wishes to voluntarily 

ensure that its flight crewmembers have 

an 8-hour sleep opportunity during a 

rest period can do so because the sleep 

opportunity will not violate the 

provisions of § 121.471(b) and (c). 

The FAA emphasizes, however, that, 

before January 4, 2014, a certificate 

holder can only comply with those 

provisions of part 117 that do not 

contradict the requirements of Subparts 

Q, R, and S. For example, a certificate 

holder who wishes to engage in 

augmentation on domestic flights 

cannot do so before January 4, 2014, 

because, even though part 117 permits 

domestic augmentation, Subpart Q, 

which governs domestic operations, 

does not allow domestic augmentation. 

Likewise, a certificate holder operating 

supplemental passenger flights who 

wishes to avoid the compensatory rest 

requirements of Subpart S cannot rely 

on part 117 to do so before January 2014 

because, even though part 117 largely 

eliminates compensatory rest, part 117 

does not become effective until January 

2014. 

iii. Part 91 Flights 

Air Line Pilots Association, 

International (ALPA) and an individual 

commenter asked what amount of rest is 

necessary between a part 121 passenger 

flight and a part 91 ferry flight so that 

the part 91 flight does not have to 

function under part 117. ALPA asked 

whether part 91 operations that are not 

conducted under part 117 count toward 

the cumulative limits of part 117. 

Alaska Air asked whether a pilot who is 

only assigned part 91 flights (and does 

not have any part 121 assignments) is 

subject to part 117. 

Part 117 applies to all part 91 

operations (other than Part 91 Subpart 

K) that are directed by a part 121 

certificate holder ‘‘if any segment’’ is 

conducted as a part 121 passenger 

flight.4 Part 117 also applies to all 

flightcrew members who are 

participating in a part 91 operation 

(other than Part 91 Subpart K) on behalf 

of a part 121 certificate holder ‘‘if any 

flight segment’’ is conducted as a part 

121 passenger flight.5 As an initial 

matter, we note that a flightcrew 

member who flies only on part 91 

operations is not subject to part 117.6 In 

addition, because part 117 does not 

apply to part 91 operations that are not 

conducted by or on behalf of a part 121 

certificate holder, the remainder of this 

answer discusses part 91 operations that 

are conducted by or on behalf of a part 

121 certificate holder. This answer also 

assumes that the part 91 operations it 

discusses are not conducted under 

Subpart K of part 91. 

The definition of flight duty period 

(FDP) in part 117 specifies that two 

flight segments are part of the same FDP 

if a ‘‘required intervening rest period’’ 

has not been provided between those 

flight segments.7 A ‘‘required 

intervening rest period’’ is the rest 

period that is specified in § 117.25. 

Pursuant to § 117.25(e), that rest period 

must be 10 consecutive hours of rest 

with an 8-hour uninterrupted sleep 

opportunity. However, depending on 

the specific nature of an individual 

flightcrew member’s schedule, the other 

subsections of § 117.25 may require a 

longer rest period. For example, if a 

flightcrew member has not been 

provided 30 consecutive hours of rest in 

the preceding 168-hour period, the 

‘‘required intervening rest period’’ 

would be 30 consecutive hours pursuant 

to § 117.25(b). 

Applying this discussion to the 

questions raised above, if a flightcrew 

member flies a part 121 passenger flight 

segment and a part 91 ferry flight 

segment without being provided an 

intervening rest period that satisfies 

§ 117.25, those flight segments would be 

part of the same FDP.8 Consequently, 

just like the part 121 passenger flights, 

the part 91 ferry flight segment would 

have to be conducted under the flight, 

duty, and rest rules of part 117.9

However, if a flightcrew member is 

provided with the rest period specified 

in § 117.25 between the part 91 ferry 

flight segment and the part 121 

passenger flight segment, those flight 

segments would not be part of the same 

FDP. In that case, the part 91 ferry flight 

segment would not be subject to the 

flight, duty, and rest provisions of part 

117. For purposes of this analysis, it is 

irrelevant whether the part 91 ferry 

flight segment takes place before or after 

the part 121 passenger flight segment— 

what matters is whether a rest period 


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10 § 117.23(a). 11See 77 FR at 379. 

that satisfies § 117.25 was provided 

between the two flight segments. 

We note, however, that the 

cumulative limitations set out in 

§ 117.23 include ‘‘all flying by 

flightcrew members on behalf of any 

certificate holder or 91K Program 

Manager.’’ 10 Thus, even if a part 91 

flight is not operated pursuant to part 

117, that flight still counts for purposes 

of the cumulative limitations of part 117 

if it is flown on behalf of a certificate 

holder or 91K Program Manager. 

B. Definitions 

i. Deadhead Transportation 

1. Length of Deadhead 

The Southwest Airlines Pilots 

Association (SWAPA) asked whether a 

flightcrew member could deadhead 

beyond the limits of Table B. SWAPA 

also asked whether there was a limit to 

the period of time that a flightcrew 

could be engaged in deadhead 

transportation at the conclusion of an 

FDP. 

Pursuant to the definition of FDP in 

§ 117.3, deadhead transportation that is 

followed by a flight segment without an 

intervening rest period is part of an FDP 

and is subject to the FDP limits in 

Tables B and C. All other deadhead 

transportation is not part of an FDP and 

is not subject to any limits under part 

117. However, if the deadhead 

transportation exceeds the limits of 

Table B, § 117.25(g) requires that the 

flightcrew member engaging in the 

deadhead transportation be provided 

with a compensatory rest period before 

beginning his/her next FDP. 

2. Transportation to a Suitable 

Accommodation 

ALPA asked whether there is a limit 

to how far a drive can be to still be 

considered transportation to/from a 

suitable accommodation. 

The definition of deadhead 

transportation in § 117.3 states that 

‘‘transportation to or from a suitable 

accommodation’’ is not deadhead 

transportation. ‘‘Transportation to or 

from a suitable accommodation’’ refers 

to transportation that is conducted for 

the purposes of a split-duty or mid-duty 

rest pursuant to § 117.15 and/or 

§ 117.27. While this type of 

transportation is not deadhead 

transportation, it is part of an FDP as 

split-duty and mid-duty rest take place 

between flight segments. Accordingly, 

transportation for split-duty and midduty rest would be limited by the 

pertinent FDP limits. 

The FAA emphasizes that 

transportation provided for a rest period 

required by § 117.25 would not be 

considered ‘‘transportation to or from a 

suitable accommodation’’ for deadhead 

purposes because there is no 

requirement in § 117.25 that rest periods 

must be provided in a suitable 

accommodation. 

ii. Duty 

1. Collective Bargaining Agreement 

Requirement 

A4A asked whether a requirement in 

the collective bargaining agreement to 

check a schedule or calendar, or to 

acknowledge a trip assignment, is 

considered duty. 

Section 117.3 defines duty as ‘‘any 

task that a flightcrew member performs 

as required by the certificate holder 

* * *’’ Thus, if a certificate holder 

requires that a flightcrew member check 

a schedule or calendar, or acknowledge 

a trip assignment, then the flightcrew 

member’s compliance with that 

requirement would be considered duty. 

The collective bargaining agreement has 

no impact on this analysis, as this 

agreement simply provides the legal 

basis for the certificate holder to require 

a flightcrew member to perform certain 

actions. 

2. Limitations on Duty 

SWAPA asked whether there are any 

limits on duty aside from the FDP 

limitations. 

The flight, duty, and rest notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposed 

a set of cumulative duty-period limits. 

However, in response to comments, the 

final rule eliminated those limits.11 As 

such, duty periods that are not part of 

an FDP are only limited to the extent 

that they may cause a flightcrew 

member to be too tired to safely perform 

his or her assigned duties. 

iii Flight Duty Period (FDP) 

1. Type of Duty That Is Included in an 

FDP 

SWAPA asked for clarification about 

the type of duty that is part of an FDP. 

SWAPA provided the following three 

types of duty as examples, and it asked 

which of these examples would be part 

of an FDP: (1) duty prior to an FDP; (2) 

duty after an FDP; and (3) flight training 

device duty after an FDP. 

The definition of FDP in § 117.3 states 

that ‘‘[a] flight duty period includes the 

duties performed by the flightcrew 

member on behalf of the certificate 

holder that occur before a flight segment 

or between flight segments without a 

required intervening rest period.’’ Thus, 

duty that occurs prior to an FDP is part 

of that FDP if there is no required 

intervening rest period between the 

duty and the flight segments that make 

up the FDP. Duty that takes place after 

an FDP, such as flight training device 

duty, is not part of an FDP, as it does 

not occur before a flight segment or 

between flight segments. 

2. Meaning of ‘‘Futher Aircraft 

Movement’’ 

Horizon Air (Horizon) and Regional 

Airline Association (RAA) asked 

whether the phrase ‘‘further aircraft 

movement’’ in the FDP definition meant 

movement for the purpose of flight. 

These commenters provided the 

following example. An aircraft is parked 

following the last flight and passengers 

deplane. The pilot then repositions the 

aircraft on the ground to a hangar. The 

commenters asked whether, in this 

situation, the FDP ends when the 

aircraft is first parked and deplaned. 

Another commenter, Alaska Air, asked 

whether time spent repositioning a 

plane from customs to a domestic gate 

would be part of an FDP. 

The definition of FDP in § 117.3 states 

that an FDP ends ‘‘when the aircraft is 

parked after the last flight and there is 

no intention for further aircraft 

movement by the same flightcrew 

member.’’ The phrase ‘‘further aircraft 

movement’’ in the FDP definition does 

not say that the movement must be for 

the purpose of flight. Rather, any aircraft 

movement by the flightcrew member is 

part of that flightcrew member’s FDP. 

Thus, moving the aircraft between 

different gates or moving the aircraft to 

a hangar would be considered ‘‘aircraft 

movement’’ and it would be part of a 

flightcrew member’s FDP. 

iv. Physiological Night’s Rest 

Allied Pilots Association (APA) asked 

whether the 8-hour sleep opportunity 

required by § 117.25 must take place 

between the hours of 0100 and 0700. 

Subsections (e) and (f) of § 117.25 

require that immediately prior to 

beginning an FDP, a flightcrew member 

must be provided with a 10-hour rest 

period that includes an 8-hour 

uninterrupted sleep opportunity. These 

subsections do not require that the 8- 

hour sleep opportunity take place 

during a specific time of day—they 

simply require that an 8-hour sleep 

opportunity be provided at some point 

during the 10-hour rest period. 

v. Rest Facility 

A4A asked about the publication date 

of Advisory Circular (AC) 121–31 

Flightcrew Sleeping Quarters and Rest 


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12 77 FR at 350. 

13 77 FR at 349. 

14 77 FR at 349. 

15 Id. 

16 77 FR at 354. 

Facilities. A4A also asked: (1) What the 

approval process will be like for rest 

facilities; and (2) what constitutes ‘‘near 

flat’’ for purposes of the Class 2 rest 

facility definition. 

The AC that provides guidance for 

rest facilities has been renamed as AC 

117–1, and was published on September 

19, 2012. This AC discusses what ‘‘near 

flat’’ means for purposes of qualifying a 

rest facility as Class 2. As far as the 

approval process for rest facilities, the 

FAA will approve rest facilities through 

an Operation Specification (OpSpec) 

that will specify the class(es) of rest 

facility that are inside a certificate 

holder’s aircraft. 

vi. Suitable Accommodation 

APA asked whether a layover facility 

could be a suitable accommodation. 

APA also asked whether a room that has 

multiple reclining chairs with multiple 

individuals resting could be a suitable 

accommodation. 

A layover facility could be a suitable 

accommodation if it meets the 

definition of suitable accommodation 

set out in § 117.3. A room that has 

multiple reclining chairs with multiple 

individuals resting could also be a 

suitable accommodation if it meets the 

suitable accommodation requirements 

of § 117.3. The FAA emphasizes that the 

definition of suitable accommodation in 

§ 117.3 does not require that access to a 

suitable accommodation be limited so 

that only one person can use it at any 

given time. 

C. Fitness for Duty 

i. Means of Certification 

A4A and Alaska Air asked whether 

flightcrew members could use electronic 

means, such as Aircraft 

Communications Addressing and 

Reporting System (ACARS) and cell 

phone applications, to certify their 

fitness for duty. 

Subsection 117.5(d) states that ‘‘[a]s 

part of the dispatch or flight release, as 

applicable, each flightcrew member 

must affirmatively state he or she is fit 

for duty prior to commencing flight.’’ 

This subsection does not preclude a 

flightcrew member from making his/her 

fitness for duty statement through 

electronic means. However, the 

preamble to the final rule explains that 

the fitness for duty statement ‘‘must be 

signed by each flightcrew member.’’ 12

Accordingly, if a flightcrew member 

chooses to submit his/her fitness for 

duty statement through electronic 

means, that flightcrew member would 

have to electronically sign the statement 

and the electronic signature would have 

to comply with the pertinent electronic 

signature requirements. 

ii. Certifying as to Specific Flight 

Segments 

Horizon and RAA were concerned 

with the following scenario. A pilot 

reports fit for an FDP that includes 6 

flight segments. After the fourth flight 

segment, the pilot notifies the company 

that he will be too fatigued to fly the 

sixth flight segment, but will be fit to fly 

the fifth flight segment. Horizon and 

RAA asked whether § 117.5(c) allowed 

the company to permit the pilot to fly 

the fifth flight segment. 

Section 117.5 places a joint 

responsibility for fitness for duty on the 

certificate holder and the flightcrew 

member. The flightcrew member must: 

(1) Report for an FDP ‘‘rested and 

prepared to perform his/her duties;’’ (2) 

sign a statement before beginning a 

flight segment affirmatively stating that 

he or she is fit for duty; and (3) 

immediately notify the certificate holder 

if he/she is too fatigued to perform the 

assigned duties. For its part, the 

certificate holder must: (1) ‘‘Provide the 

flightcrew member with a meaningful 

rest opportunity that will allow the 

flightcrew member to get the proper 

amount of sleep;’’ 13 (2) immediately 

terminate a flightcrew member’s FDP if 

the flightcrew member does not 

affirmatively state before beginning a 

flight segment that he/she is fit to safely 

perform the assigned duties; and (3) 

immediately terminate a flightcrew 

member’s FDP if the flightcrew member 

informs the certificate holder that he/ 

she is too tired to safely perform the 

assigned duties. 

In the example provided by Horizon 

and RAA, a flightcrew member certifies, 

pursuant to § 117.5(d), that he is fit to 

fly the fifth flight segment but will not 

be fit to fly the sixth flight segment. 

Because § 117.5 does not require a 

certificate holder to second-guess a 

fitness-for-duty certification made by a 

flightcrew member, the company would 

not violate § 117.5(c) if it permits the 

flightcrew member to take off on the 

fifth flight segment. However, the FAA 

emphasizes that the flightcrew member 

in this example would be in violation of 

§ 117.5 if he certifies that he is fit for 

duty when he is actually too tired to 

safely perform the assigned duties. 

The FAA also cautions certificate 

holders that, as the preamble to the final 

rule explains, ‘‘there are objective signs 

that could be used to identify 

crewmember fatigue.’’ 14 ‘‘The FAA has 

simply chosen not to impose a 

mandatory regulatory requirement 

because the signs used to identify 

fatigue cannot be synthesized into a 

general objective standard.’’ 15 Thus, 

§ 117.5 should not be read as 

prohibiting a certificate holder from 

voluntarily terminating the FDP of a 

fatigued flightcrew member who does 

not self-report his/her fatigue. Indeed, 

the FAA strongly encourages certificate 

holders to voluntarily terminate the 

FDPs of flightcrew members who are 

showing signs of fatigue. 

D. Fatigue Risk Management System 

(FRMS) 

i. Scope of an FRMS 

ALPA also asked: (1) Whether a 

certificate holder could use an FRMS to 

avoid a large portion of part 117 (e.g. all 

of Table A); (2) whether FRMS 

authorization is applied on a routespecific basis; (3) whether route-specific 

data could be used to justify an FRMS 

on another route; and (4) whether each 

certificate holder’s FRMS request must 

be supported by data that is specific to 

that certificate holder. 

Section 117.7 permits a certificate 

holder to exceed the provisions of part 

117 pursuant to a Fatigue Risk 

Management System (FRMS) ‘‘that 

provides for an equivalent level of safety 

against fatigue-related accidents or 

incidents.’’ The preamble to the final 

rule clarifies that ‘‘a certificate holder 

may use an FRMS for any of the 

elements of the flight and duty 

requirements provided under this 

rule.’’ 16 Thus, a certificate holder can 

submit a wide range of FRMS requests 

ranging from narrow requests 

concerning a specific route to broad 

requests that seek to establish 

alternatives to large portions of part 117. 

However, because an FRMS request has 

to be supported by evidence showing an 

equivalent level of safety if the FRMS is 

approved, a broad FRMS will likely be 

more difficult to obtain than a narrow 

FRMS. 

The specific data that could be used 

to support an FRMS request would 

depend on the nature of the request and 

the nature of the certificate holder’s 

operations. While certificate holders are 

not prohibited from using each other’s 

data for an FRMS request, the FAA 

plans to evaluate each certificate 

holder’s FRMS request on an individual 

basis. Because of the differences 

between certificate holders’ specific 

operations, the FAA expects that each 

FRMS request will be tailored to the 


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17See 77 FR 28763 (May 16, 2012). 

18See 77 FR 28763 (May 16, 2012). 

19See 77 FR at 352. 

20 77 FR at 363. 

21 Id. 

requesting certificate holder’s 

operations, and the FAA will not allow 

multiple certificate holders to operate 

under the same FRMS. 

ii. Implementing an FRMS Before 

January 4, 2014 

ALPA asked whether a certificate 

holder could implement an FRMS 

before January 4, 2014. 

The final rule that created the FRMS 

alternative for the flight, duty, and rest 

requirements in parts 117 and 121 will 

not become effective until January 4, 

2014.17 While certificate holders can 

immediately begin gathering data that 

will be used to support an FRMS 

request, the FAA cannot actually 

approve an FRMS until the pertinent 

regulations become effective, which will 

be January 4, 2014. 

E. Fatigue Education and Awareness 

Training Program 

i. Whether the Program Has To Be 

Approved or Accepted 

Alaska Air pointed out that § 117.9(a) 

requires that a fatigue education and 

awareness training program must be 

approved by the FAA Administrator 

while § 117.9(c) requires that updates to 

the program must be accepted by the 

FAA Administrator. Alaska Air asked 

whether the fatigue education and 

awareness training program has to be 

approved or accepted by the 

Administrator. 

Subsection 117.9(a) states that the 

initial fatigue education and awareness 

training program must be approved by 

the FAA and § 117.9(c)(1) states that 

updates to this program only need to be 

accepted by the FAA. The FAA 

considers a minor change to the 

program to be an update that does not 

need to go through the approval process. 

That is why § 117.9(c) only requires 

FAA acceptance for these types of 

changes. Conversely, the initial fatigue 

education and awareness training 

program and all non-minor changes to 

that program must receive FAA 

approval per § 117.9(a). The FAA 

emphasizes that a major change to the 

fatigue education and awareness 

training program would be considered a 

new program, and this change would 

have to be approved by the FAA before 

it is implemented. 

ii. Whether Training Needs To Begin 

Before January 4, 2014 

A4A asked whether fatigue education 

and awareness training pursuant to 

§ 117.9 must begin before January 4, 

2014. 

The final rule that created part 117 

will not become effective until January 

4, 2014.18 Accordingly, certificate 

holders are not required to comply with 

the fatigue education and training 

requirements of § 117.9 until January 4, 

2014. The FAA notes, however, that a 

part 121 certificate holder is currently 

responsible for fulfilling its obligations 

under its Fatigue Risk Management 

Plan. 

iii. Completion Date for Initial Training 

Alaska Air asked about the deadline 

by which initial fatigue education and 

awareness training needs to be 

completed. Alaska Air also asked 

whether training under § 117.9 is 

mandated every 12 months or every 

calendar year. 

Subsection 117.9(a) requires that the 

fatigue education and awareness 

training program must provide ‘‘annual 

education and awareness training.’’ The 

FAA interprets the word ‘‘annual’’ as 

referring to a 12-calendar-month period. 

Because the training must be provided 

on an annual basis, the initial fatigue 

education and awareness training must 

be completed within 12 calendar 

months after the certificate holder’s 

program has been approved by the 

Administrator. 

iv. Credit for Previously-Completed 

Training 

Alaska Air also asked whether credit 

would be provided for previouslycompleted training. 

The preamble to the final rule 

specifies that covered personnel do not 

need to repeat fatigue education and 

awareness training ‘‘if that training 

meets the requirements of [§ 117.9].’’ 19

F. Flight Time Limitations 

The FAA received a number of 

questions concerning FDP and flight 

time extensions. This section answers 

questions concerning the flight-time 

extension. Discussion of FDP extensions 

is set out in another section. 

i. Taking Off Knowing That the Flight 

Will Exceed Flight Time Limits 

A4A and ALPA asked whether a crew 

can depart if they show up to the airport 

and the weather conditions indicate that 

the flight will exceed flight time limits. 

SWAPA asked whether an aircraft must 

return to the gate if, after taxi out but 

prior to takeoff a flightcrew member is 

forecast to exceed flight time limits. 

Section 117.11 sets out the flight time 

limitations for augmented and 

unaugmented flights. Subsection 

117.11(b) allows a flightcrew member to 

exceed these limitations to the extent 

necessary to safely land the aircraft at 

the next destination or alternate airport 

‘‘[i]f unforeseen operational 

circumstances arise after takeoff that are 

beyond the certificate holder’s control.’’ 

The preamble to the final rule explains 

that this exception was added to prevent 

diversions because ‘‘[i]f unexpected 

circumstances significantly increase the 

length of the flight while the aircraft is 

in the air, the only way for a flightcrew 

member to comply with the flight-time 

limits imposed by this rule would be to 

conduct an emergency landing.’’ 20

However, the preamble emphasizes that 

‘‘this extension only applies to 

unexpected circumstances that arise 

after takeoff,’’ and ‘‘[i]f a flightcrew 

member becomes aware, before takeoff, 

that he or she will exceed the applicable 

flight-time limit, that flightcrew member 

may not take off, and must return to the 

gate.’’ 21

Thus, if a flightcrew member finds out 

before takeoff that the flight segment 

that he/she is about to fly will cause 

him/her to exceed the flight time limits, 

that flightcrew member may not take off. 

It does not matter if the flightcrew 

member acquires this knowledge after 

taxi out because, as the preamble to the 

final rule explains, until the flightcrew 

member actually takes off from the 

airport, that flightcrew member is still 

able to return to the gate without a 

diversion. Accordingly, if a flightcrew 

member finds out after taxi out but 

before takeoff that the flight segment 

that he or she is about to fly will cause 

him/her to exceed the pertinent flighttime limit, that flightcrew member must 

return to the gate. 

SWAPA provided an example of a 4- 

leg FDP with a 9-hour flight-time limit 

in which the crew realizes, after Leg 2, 

that their total flight time will be 9 

hours and 5 minutes if they complete 

the remaining two legs. SWAPA then 

asked whether the fligthcrew can depart 

on Leg 3 of this FDP. In response, the 

FAA notes that if completing Leg 3 of 

the scheduled FDP will not cause the 

flightcrew to exceed the 9-hour flighttime limit, then the flightcrew can take 

off on Leg 3. 

SWAPA and ALPA also provided 

another example. In this example, a 

flightcrew member exceeds the limits of 

Table A and lands at an alternate airport 

due to unforeseen operational 

circumstances that arose after takeoff 

and were beyond the certificate holder’s 

control. SWAPA and ALPA asked 

whether the flightcrew member could, 


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22Letter to James W. Johnson from Donald Byrne, 

Assistant Chief Counsel (June 22, 2000) (quoting 

Memorandum to AGL–7, from Dewey R. Roark, Jr., 

Acting Associate General Counsel, Regulations and 

Codification Division (Oct. 18, 1972)). 

23See Johnson Letter. 

24 Id. 25See § 1.1 (definition of flight time). 

26 77 FR at 358. 

27See id. (stating that an FDP begins to run at the 

time that it is scheduled to begin even if the 

flightcrew member arrives late). 

after landing, proceed to a follow-on leg 

from the alternate airport to the original 

destination. 

As discussed above, a flightcrew 

member cannot take off on a flight 

segment if he knows that taking off on 

that flight segment will cause him to 

exceed the pertinent flight-time limit. In 

SWAPA and ALPA’s example, a 

flightcrew member exceeds his flighttime limit while flying to an alternate 

airport. Thus, the flightcrew member 

will have already exceeded the 

pertinent flight-time limit upon landing 

at the alternate airport. Accordingly, 

once the flightcrew member lands at the 

alternate airport, that flightcrew member 

cannot commence any flight segments 

under part 117 until he/she receives a 

legal rest period. 

ii. Flight Time During a Taxiing Delay 

APA provided three scenarios in 

which an aircraft, prior to takeoff, waits 

for an hour at a holding spot on a ramp 

and then takes off. In two of the 

scenarios, the aircraft: (1) Taxies to the 

holding spot under its own power, (2) 

shuts down its engines once it reaches 

the holding spot; and (3) restarts its 

engines, finishes taxiing, and takes off 

once the one-hour wait is over. In the 

third scenario, the aircraft is towed to 

the holding spot for the one-hour wait, 

and once the wait is over, restarts its 

engines and proceeds to taxi out and 

takeoff. APA asked whether there was 

any difference as far as how flight time 

is calculated for these three scenarios. 

Section 1.1 states that flight time 

‘‘commences when an aircraft moves 

under its own power for the purposes of 

flight and ends when the aircraft comes 

to rest after landing.’’ The FAA has 

previously found that ‘‘the time spent 

towing the airplane prior to the moment 

it first moves under its own power for 

the purpose of flight is not flight 

time.’’ 22 However, once the airplane 

moves under its own power with the 

intention to eventually take off, that 

movement is part of flight time even if 

the airplane shuts down its engines at 

some point during this process.23 Thus, 

the FAA concluded that if, before 

takeoff, an airplane taxies to a de-icing 

station on its own power, the de-icing 

procedures are part of flight time even 

if the airplane’s engines are shut down 

during the de-icing process.24

Applying the above discussion to 

APA’s scenarios, in the first two 

scenarios an airplane taxies to a holding 

spot under its own power with the 

intention of eventually taking off on a 

flight. In those two scenarios, the time 

spent taxiing to the holding spot and the 

time spent at the holding spot would be 

considered flight time. As the FAA’s 

previous interpretations point out, the 

fact that the airplane shuts down its 

engines at the holding spot is irrelevant 

for flight time purposes, as the airplane 

has moved under its own power with 

the intention of eventually taking off. In 

APA’s third scenario, the airplane is 

towed to the holding spot and does not 

arrive to that spot on its own power. In 

that scenario, the time spent towing the 

airplane and the time that the airplane 

spends at the holding spot would not be 

flight time because that time occurs 

prior to when the aircraft first moves 

under its own power. 

iii. Repositioning From Customs to a 

Domestic Gate 

Alaska Air asked whether time spent 

repositioning a plane from customs to a 

domestic gate would constitute flight 

time. For purposes of this question, we 

will assume that everyone, including 

the flightcrew, exits the plane at the 

customs gate in order to go through 

customs and passport control. 

As discussed above, flight time 

‘‘commences when an aircraft moves 

under its own power for the purposes of 

flight and ends when the aircraft comes 

to rest after landing.’’25 An empty plane 

that is parked at a customs gate has 

come to a rest. As such, the flight time 

from the previous flight segment flown 

by that airplane is no longer running, as 

the plane has come to a rest after 

landing. When the airplane is 

subsequently moved from customs to a 

domestic gate, that movement would 

not be for purposes of flight because the 

purpose of the movement would be to 

move the plane to another gate. 

Accordingly, in Alaska Air’s scenario, 

moving an airplane from customs to a 

domestic gate after a flight would not 

constitute flight time. However, we note 

that, as discussed above, this movement 

would be part of a flightcrew member’s 

FDP. 

G. Flight Duty Period: Unaugmented 

Operations 

i. Adjusting FDP Start Time 

A number of commenters also asked 

whether FDP start time of a flightcrew 

member could be delayed by notifying 

that flightcrew member of the delay 

before beginning his/her FDP. 

In the preamble to the final flight, 

duty, and rest rule, the FAA stated that 

‘‘FDP limits are determined by 

scheduled reporting time and not by 

actual reporting time.’’26 The scheduled 

reporting time for an FDP is created 

once that FDP has been assigned to a 

flightcrew member. In order to change 

this scheduled reporting time, the 

flightcrew member would have to be 

shifted into either long-call or short-call 

reserve for the pertinent FDP. 

If long-call reserve is used to change 

the FDP start time, the flightcrew 

member would have to be provided 

proper notification of the change to the 

previously-scheduled FDP. Pursuant to 

the definition of long-call reserve in 

§ 117.3, a flightcrew member on longcall reserve must be notified of the 

change to FDP start time before he or 

she begins the rest period specified in 

§ 117.25. In addition, if the FDP 

infringes on the window of circadian 

low (WOCL), § 117.21(d) requires that 

the flightcrew member receive a 12-hour 

notice of the change to the FDP start 

time. 

If short-call reserve is used to change 

the FDP start time, the flightcrew 

member would have to be placed on 

short-call reserve at the time that his 

FDP was originally scheduled to begin. 

In that scenario, instead of beginning an 

FDP at the originally-scheduled start 

time, the flightcrew member would 

simply begin his reserve availability 

period (RAP) pursuant to § 117.21. The 

FAA emphasizes that if an FDP start 

time is not changed pursuant to the 

long-call or short-call reserve provisions 

of § 117.21, then the FDP begins at the 

time that it was originally scheduled to 

begin.27

ii. Adjusting the Number of Flight 

Segments 

A number of commenters asked 

whether a diversion on an unaugmented 

flight counts as a flight segment in Table 

B that would change a flightcrew 

member’s maximum FDP limit. 

American Eagle (AE) asked whether 

cancelling previously-scheduled flight 

segments after an FDP has begun would 

affect the applicable FDP limit. Horizon 

asked whether a flight that is aborted 

after taxi out but before takeoff counts 

as a flight segment. Horizon also asked 

whether, in that situation, the taxi-out 

time would count as FDP and/or flight 

time. 

The unaugmented FDP limits in Table 

B are determined using two pieces of 

information: (1) The time that the FDP 

is scheduled to begin, and (2) the 


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28As discussed above, in order to change a 

previously-scheduled FDP, a certificate holder must 

comply with the long-call-reserve notice 

requirements. 

29See 77 FR at 356–57. 

30See § 117.3. 

31See § 1.1 (definition of flight time). 32 77 FR at 368. 

number of flight segments that will be 

flown during the FDP. Once an FDP 

begins, the scheduled time of start 

cannot be changed, as that FDP has 

already started.28 However, a certificate 

holder can change the number of flight 

segments in an FDP after that FDP has 

started by either assigning the flightcrew 

members additional flight segments or 

cancelling previously-scheduled flight 

segments. A change in the number of 

flight segments assigned to a flightcrew 

member would change the pertinent 

FDP limit in Table B. 

Thus, a certificate holder could 

potentially decrease or increase the 

applicable FDP limit by assigning 

additional flight segments or cancelling 

previously-assigned flight segments. For 

example, consider a 3-segment 

unaugmented FDP that begins at 1100. 

Pursuant to Table B, the FDP limit 

applicable to this FDP is 13 hours. 

However, if the certificate holder 

cancels one of the flight segments after 

the FDP begins, then the pertinent FDP 

limit would increase to 14 hours, as that 

is the limit that applies to a 2-segment 

unaugmented FDP that starts between 

0700 and 1159. 

The FAA cautions that changing the 

number of flight segments may not 

always change the pertinent FDP limit. 

For example, a flightcrew member could 

be assigned to an unaugmented FDP 

consisting of four flight segments that 

begins at 0800. The applicable FDP limit 

for that FDP would be 13 hours. If a 

certificate holder subsequently cancels 

one of the four segments, the applicable 

FDP limit would still be 13 hours 

because Table B assigns the same FDP 

limit to three and four-segment FDPs 

that are scheduled to start between 0700 

and 1159. 

Turning to diversions, the portion of 

the final rule preamble that discusses 

flight segments makes no mention of a 

diversion counting as a separate flight 

segment.29 Accordingly, because there 

was no intent to treat diversions as 

flight segments, a diversion does not 

constitute a new flight segment for 

purposes of part 117. However, we 

emphasize that, while a diversion may 

not count as a flight segment, the time 

spent on diversion would still count for 

purposes of the FDP and flight time 

limits. This is because the flight-time 

limit applies to all time that is spent 

piloting an aircraft and the FDP limit 

applies to all time between when a pilot 

first reports for duty with the intention 

of flying a plane and when the pilot 

completes his/her final flight segment. 

With regard to cancelled flights, if a 

flight is cancelled before takeoff, then it 

does not count as a segment for Table 

B purposes. This is because a flight 

segment consists of a takeoff and a 

landing, and the lack of a takeoff/ 

landing means that there is no flight 

segment. However, the taxi out time for 

the cancelled flight segment would still 

constitute FDP time because the taxi out 

would have taken place after the 

flightcrew member reported for duty 

with the intention of conducting a 

flight.30 If the aircraft moved under its 

own power for the taxi out, then the taxi 

out would also count as flight time 

because the aircraft would have moved 

under its own power for purposes of 

flight.31

H. Split Duty 

i. Extending the 14-hour Split Duty 

Limit 

A4A asked whether the maximum 14- 

hour split duty limit could be extended. 

In response, the FAA notes that 

§ 117.15(f) explicitly states that the 

combined time of the FDP and the splitduty rest opportunity may not exceed 14 

hours. Section § 117.15 does not 

indicate that there are any exceptions to 

this 14-hour limit. Thus, if the 

combined split duty rest opportunity 

and FDP time of a flightcrew member 

exceeds 14 hours, then the amount of 

split duty rest that caused the 

exceedance would not count as split 

duty. Instead, this time would simply 

count as part of the flightcrew member’s 

FDP, and it would be subject to the FDP 

extensions specified in § 117.19. 

ii. Actual Split Duty Rest Exceeding 

Scheduled Rest 

An individual commenter asked about 

a situation in which the actual split 

duty rest exceeds the scheduled split 

duty rest. The individual commenter 

asked whether in that situation it would 

be the actual or scheduled rest that 

would be considered split-duty rest 

under § 117.15. 

Subsection 117.15(d) states that the 

actual split-duty rest opportunity may 

not be less than the scheduled split-duty 

rest opportunity. However, § 117.15 

does not prohibit actual split-duty rest 

from exceeding the scheduled split-duty 

rest. If the actual split-duty rest period 

exceeds the scheduled rest period, then 

the actual rest provided to the 

flightcrew member would be considered 

split-duty as long as that rest period is 

within the 14-hour limit specified in 

§ 117.15(f). 

iii. Time Zone on Which Split Duty Rest 

is Based 

Horizon and RAA asked whether the 

time zone used for § 117.15(a) is 

determined using base/acclimated or 

local time. 

Subsection 117.15(a) states that the 

split-duty rest opportunity must be 

‘‘provided between the hours of 22:00 

and 05:00 local time.’’ (emphasis 

added). Thus, in order to determine 

compliance with § 117.15(a), the 

certificate holder must use local time at 

the location where the split-duty rest is 

being provided regardless of whether 

the flightcrew member is acclimated to 

the theater that encompasses that 

location. 

I. Flight Duty Period: Augmented 

Operations 

i. Three-Flight-Segment Limit 

A4A and ALPA asked whether the 

three-flight-segment limit on augmented 

operations can be extended for 

diversions. ALPA also asked whether 

this limit could be extended if the 

diversion is for a fuel stop made 

necessary by winds or other operational 

issues. 

Subsection 117.17(d) prohibits an 

augmented FDP from exceeding three 

flight segments. However, as discussed 

above, a diversion is not a flight 

segment. Accordingly, a diversion 

would not count toward the 3-segment 

limit that applies to augmented 

operations. 

ii. Mixed Operations 

APA and ALPA asked whether 

augmentation could be used to increase 

the limits on an FDP that is already in 

progress. The FAA will assume that the 

FDP in question began as an 

unaugmented FDP. 

In the preamble to the final flight, 

duty, and rest rule, the FAA explained 

that ‘‘if an FDP contains both an 

augmented and an unaugmented flight, 

that FDP is subject to the unaugmented 

FDP-limits set out in Table B and the 

unaugmented flight-time limits set out 

in Table A.’’ 32 Accordingly, an 

unaugmented flightcrew member’s FDP 

limit cannot be increased by augmenting 

the flightcrew. 

iii. Time Each Augmented Flightcrew 

Member Spends at the Controls 

ALPA asked whether there is any 

restriction on the amount of time that 

each flightcrew member on an 

augmented flightcrew can spend at the 


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33 77 FR at 371. 

controls of the aircraft. Subsection 

117.17(c) states that the pilot flying the 

aircraft during landing must be 

provided with a two-consecutive-hour 

in-flight rest opportunity in the second 

half of his/her FDP. This subsection also 

states that the pilot performing 

monitoring duties during landing must 

be provided with a 90-consecutiveminute in-flight rest opportunity. Apart 

from these required rest opportunities, 

there is no restriction as to the amount 

of time that a pilot can spend at the 

controls of an aircraft during an 

operation that meets the pertinent FDP, 

flight time, and cumulative limits. 

iv. Broken Rest Facility 

ALPA asked a number of questions 

about how to treat a rest facility that is 

broken. First, ALPA asked whether an 

aircraft with a Class 3 rest facility can 

continue to operate under the Class 3 

augmented FDP limits if the designated 

rest seat is inoperative. Second, ALPA 

asked whether an aircraft with a Class 

2 rest facility with a non-functional 

privacy curtain would be subject to the 

Class 2 or Class 3 augmented FDP 

limits. 

In order to qualify as a Class 1, 2, or 

3 rest facility, a rest facility must meet 

the specific definition for the pertinent 

class of rest facility set out in § 117.3. 

The definitions of rest facility in § 117.3 

presume that a rest facility is fully 

functional. Thus, if a required part of a 

rest facility stops functioning, the 

certificate holder would need to use the 

minimum-equipment-list (MEL) 

provisions of § 121.628 in order to 

prevent a downgrade of that rest facility. 

If the non-functional part of the rest 

facility does not meet the pertinent MEL 

requirements, then that part cannot be 

used to meet the rest-facility standards 

set out in § 117.3. 

Turning to ALPA’s questions, § 117.3 

defines a Class 3 rest facility as ‘‘a seat 

in an aircraft cabin or flight deck that 

reclines at least 40 degrees and provides 

leg and foot support.’’ If a seat is 

inoperative and cannot recline at least 

40 degrees, then, if it does not satisfy 

the MEL provisions of § 121.628, that 

seat would not meet the requirements 

for a Class 3 rest facility. Similarly, 

§ 117.3 states that a Class 2 rest facility 

must, among other things, be ‘‘separated 

from passengers by a minimum of a 

curtain to provide darkness and some 

sound mitigation.’’ If a rest facility does 

not have a functional privacy curtain (or 

something similar) then, if it does not 

satisfy the MEL provisions of § 121.628, 

that rest facility would not meet the 

requirements for a Class 2 rest facility. 

That rest facility may, however, meet 

the requirements for a Class 3 rest 

facility. 

J. Flight Duty Period Extensions 

i. Determining Whether Pre or PostTakeoff FDP Extension Applies 

SWAPA asked whether the final 

check for a pre-takeoff FDP extension is 

done prior to takeoff. SWAPA provided 

an example in which after taxiing but 

before takeoff a flightcrew member 

realizes that he/she will exceed the limit 

of Table B or C by over two hours. 

SWAPA asked whether the flightcrew 

member in that example must return to 

the gate instead of taking off. 

ALPA provided a scenario in which 

an FDP is scheduled near the FDP limit 

and the destination airport is forecast to 

be influenced by a typhoon. In that 

scenario, the certificate holder elects, 

before takeoff, to operate the flight as 

originally scheduled while 

simultaneously planning with a high 

degree of confidence for a diversion that 

would exceed the pertinent FDP limit. 

ALPA asked whether the certificate 

holder in this situation would be 

allowed to use the post-takeoff FDP 

extension. 

Section 117.19 provides for two ways 

to extend a flightcrew member’s FDP: 

(1) A pre-takeoff FDP extension, and (2) 

a post-takeoff FDP extension. The posttakeoff FDP extension applies to an FDP 

in which a situation arises after takeoff 

that would cause a flightcrew member 

to exceed the pertinent FDP limit. This 

type of extension is more generous than 

a pre-takeoff FDP extension because 

once an airplane is in the air, ‘‘the 

certificate holder and pilot in command 

have very little discretion concerning 

FDPs and flight time limits,’’ as they 

cannot change the flightcrew while the 

plane is in the air.33

For situations that are known before 

takeoff, the more stringent pre-takeoff 

FDP extensions can be utilized. That is 

because the certificate holder and pilot 

in command have more options for 

dealing with unexpected situations that 

arise while the plane is still on the 

ground. Thus, the distinction between 

pre- and post-takeoff FDP extensions 

comes from determining whether the 

flightcrew member and certificate 

holder had a reasonable expectation 

before takeoff that the flight segment 

would be completed within the 

pertinent FDP limit. 

In SWAPA’s example a flightcrew 

member realizes after taxi out but before 

takeoff that he will exceed the pertinent 

FDP limit by over two hours. In order 

for this flightcrew member to extend his 

FDP, he would need to use the pretakeoff FDP extension because the plane 

was not airborne at the time that the 

flightcrew member realized that he 

would exceed the pertinent FDP limit. 

Since the pre-takeoff FDP extension is 

limited to two hours, the flightcrew 

member in SWAPA’s example would be 

unable to commence a segment that 

exceeds his FDP limit by over two 

hours. 

Turning to ALPA’s example, the 

certificate holder has a high degree of 

confidence, before takeoff, that the 

destination airport will be hit by a 

typhoon. As discussed above, in order 

to utilize the post-takeoff FDP 

extension, the flightcrew and certificate 

holder have to have a reasonable 

expectation, prior to takeoff, that they 

will complete the flight segment within 

the pertinent FDP limit. Because the 

certificate holder in this example has a 

high degree of confidence that the 

destination airport will be hit by a 

typhoon, that certificate holder does not 

have a reasonable expectation that the 

flight segment will be completed as 

scheduled. Accordingly, the certificate 

holder would need to utilize a pretakeoff FDP extension in order for the 

flightcrew in this example to exceed the 

pertinent FDP limits. 

ii. Diversions and FDP Extensions 

ALPA posed the following scenario. 

Unforeseen operational circumstances 

arise after takeoff that require a 

diversion to an alternate airport without 

an exceedance of the pertinent FDP 

limit. Once at the alternate airport, 

completion of the FDP to the intended 

destination will require an FDP 

extension. ALPA asked whether the 

post-takeoff FDP extension would apply 

to this scenario. SWAPA posed an 

alternative scenario in which the 

flightcrew members’ FDP is extended 

in-flight by over two hours during the 

diversion to an alternate airport. In this 

alternate scenario, SWAPA asked 

whether the flightcrew would have to 

immediately enter a rest period upon 

reaching the alternate airport. 

As discussed above, a post-takeoff 

FDP extension can be taken in response 

to a situation that arises after takeoff. 

However, under § 117.19(b)(1), the posttakeoff FDP extension only encompasses 

the time ‘‘necessary to safely land the 

aircraft at the next destination airport or 

alternate airport, as appropriate.’’ Thus, 

the post-takeoff FDP extension 

terminates once the airplane has landed. 

Applying the above discussion to 

SWAPA’s example, a situation arises 

mid-flight that requires a diversion. The 

diversion results in a flightcrew member 

exceeding his FDP limit by over two 


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34This is subject to the FDP extensions specified 

in § 117.19. 

hours. This exceedance is valid under 

the post-takeoff FDP extension because 

that extension permits a flightcrew 

member to finish the flight during 

which unexpected circumstances arose. 

However, the extension terminates once 

the flight lands at the destination or 

alternate airport. As such, the flightcrew 

member in SWAPA’s example would 

have to terminate his FDP once he lands 

at the alternate airport because at that 

time he would have exceeded the 

pertinent FDP limit by over two hours 

and the post-takeoff FDP extension 

would cease applying once the plane 

has landed. 

Turning to ALPA’s example, a flight 

is diverted but the diversion does not 

result in exceedance of the pertinent 

FDP limit. Because the flightcrew 

member’s FDP does not need to be 

extended during the diversion, there is 

no need to utilize the post-takeoff FDP 

extension. Once the plane lands at the 

alternate airport, the PIC and certificate 

holder could utilize the pre-takeoff FDP 

extension to begin a new flight segment 

and fly the plane from the alternate 

airport to the destination airport. 

However, because the pre-takeoff FDP 

extension is limited to two hours, the 

certificate holder would be able to use 

this extension only if the new flight 

segment could be completed within the 

FDP-limit+two-hours timeframe. 

iii. Exceeding the Cumulative Limits 

ALPA posed another scenario in 

which a flightcrew member’s FDP was 

extended using a post-takeoff FDP 

extension. ALPA asked whether the 

post-takeoff FDP extension would 

extend the flightcrew member’s 

cumulative limits for the duration of the 

flight or for the entire cumulative period 

in which the flight took place. 

Under § 117.19(b)(3), a post-takeoff 

FDP extension allows a flightcrew 

member to exceed the cumulative FDP 

limits. However, as discussed above, a 

post-takeoff FDP extension is limited in 

that it expires once the airplane lands. 

Once the flight on which the posttakeoff extension was used has been 

completed, the flightcrew member 

would again be bound by the 

cumulative FDP limitations. Thus, the 

post-takeoff FDP extension allows a 

flightcrew member to exceed the 

cumulative FDP limits only to the extent 

necessary to complete the flight on 

which the extension is utilized. 

iv. PIC Concurrence in FDP Extension 

ALPA asked whether the PIC needed 

to concur if the PIC does not need an 

FDP extension but another flightcrew 

member needs an FDP extension in 

order to finish the assigned schedule. 

ALPA also asked whether the PIC could 

concur on the condition that only one 

hour of the two-hour FDP extension is 

utilized. A4A asked whether carriers 

could use existing procedures for 

acknowledging joint responsibility 

between pilots and carriers for 

extensions that exceed 30 minutes. 

Under § 117.19(a)(1) the ‘‘pilot in 

command and the certificate holder’’ 

must both concur in order to utilize an 

FDP extension. Thus, § 117.19(a)(1) 

requires PIC concurrence for all FDP 

extensions taken pursuant to § 117.19, 

even if the PIC is not the flightcrew 

member who is using the extension. If 

the PIC believes that the flightcrew is 

too fatigued for a two-hour FDP 

extension, the PIC could concur to a 

shorter FDP extension that he/she 

believes could safely be carried out by 

the flightcrew. We also note that, 

pursuant to § 117.5, each flightcrew 

member would also have to certify that 

he/she would not be too fatigued to 

operate the aircraft during the 

extension. 

A record of PIC concurrence can take 

any reasonable form as long as there is 

evidence that the PIC concurred with 

the extension. For example, the PIC 

could note his/her concurrence with an 

FDP extension on a flight release or in 

an ACARS message. 

v. Using Multiple Extensions 

A4A, Alaska Air, and AE posed a 

scenario in which a flightcrew that has 

already used their over-30-minute FDP 

extension discovers, after takeoff, that 

they will need to again extend more 

than 30 minutes. The commenters asked 

whether the flightcrew in this scenario 

would need to divert in order to comply 

with the pertinent FDP limits. 

Under § 117.19(a)(2) and (b)(2), an 

FDP extension of greater than 30 

minutes can only be taken once before 

a flightcrew member is provided with 

30 hours of rest pursuant to § 117.25(b). 

Thus, the flightcrew and the certificate 

holder in the above example would be 

in violation of part 117 if the flightcrew 

exceeds the pertinent FDP limits. It is 

irrelevant that the exceedance in this 

example was caused by unexpected 

circumstances because, at the time of 

the exceedance, the flightcrew members 

had each already used up their one 

over-30-minutes FDP extension. 

Accordingly, once a flightcrew member 

uses up their FDP extension, the FAA 

strongly recommends that the certificate 

holder: (1) adds buffers to that 

crewmember’s schedule to account for 

possible unexpected events; and (2) 

provides the crewmember with a 30- 

hour rest period as soon as possible in 

order to reset the FDP extension. 

K. Reserve 

i. Airport Reserve 

APA asked whether the reserve period 

has to be physically located on airport 

property in order to be classified as 

airport/standby reserve. Horizon, Alaska 

Air, and RAA asked whether the time a 

pilot spends in airport reserve is 

considered FDP if that pilot does not 

pilot a flight during the reserve period. 

Section 117.3 defines airport/standby 

reserve as a ‘‘duty period during which 

a flightcrew member is required by a 

certificate holder to be at an airport for 

a possible assignment.’’ (emphasis 

added). In order to ‘‘be at an airport,’’ 

a flightcrew member would have to be 

physically located on airport property. 

Turning to Horizon, Alaska Air, and 

RAA’s question, § 117.21(b) states that 

‘‘[f]or airport/standby reserve, all time 

spent in a reserve status is part of the 

flightcrew member’s flight duty period.’’ 

Thus, all time that is spent on airport/ 

standby reserve is part of a flightcrew 

member’s FDP regardless of what 

happens during the airport/standby 

reserve. 

ii. Short-Call Reserve 

1. Determining What FDP Limit Applies 

for Each FDP + Reserve Limit 

ALPA and RAA asked at what time 

does a flightcrew member enter FDP 

Table B or C in order to determine the 

FDP + RAP limit. AE asked whether the 

RAP is associated with each specific 

crewmember. 

The short-call reserve regulations in 

§ 117.21 limit the total number of hours 

that a flightcrew member on short call 

reserve may spend in a RAP and an 

FDP. For an augmented operation, 

under § 117.21(c)(4), the combined 

number of hours spent in a RAP and an 

FDP may not exceed the pertinent FDP 

limit in Table C plus four hours. For an 

unaugmented operation, under 

§ 117.21(c)(3), the combined number of 

hours spent in a RAP and FDP may not 

exceed the smaller of: (1) Pertinent FDP 

limit in Table B plus four hours; or (2) 

16 hours.34

The RAP and RAP + FDP limits, as 

well as the other limits in § 117.21, 

apply to each flightcrew member 

individually. The pertinent FDP limit 

for the RAP + FDP regulations in 

§ 117.21 is determined using the time at 

which the FDP begins. The examples 

below help illustrate how the RAP + 

FDP limit works. 

For the first example, an acclimated 

flightcrew member begins a RAP at 

0600. That flightcrew member is then 


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assigned to an unaugmented FDP that 

begins at 1200 and consists of two flight 

segments. According to Table B, the 

FDP limit for a two-segment FDP that 

begins at 1200 is 13 hours. The 

applicable 13-hour FDP limit plus 4 

hours equals 17 hours. Because this is 

greater than 16 hours, under 

§ 117.21(c)(3), the pertinent RAP + FDP 

limit for this unaugmented operation is 

16 hours. Given that the flightcrew 

member in this example began his RAP 

at 0600, he will have 6 hours of RAP 

time by the time his FDP will start at 

1200. As a result, to stay within the 16- 

hour RAP + FDP limit, this flightcrew 

member’s FDP cannot exceed 10 hours 

without an extension, as his RAP will 

use up 6 hours of the 16-hour RAP + 

FDP limit. 

For the second example, an 

acclimated flightcrew member begins a 

RAP at 1100. That flightcrew member is 

then assigned to an unaugmented FDP 

consisting of five flight segments that 

begin at 1500. According to Table B, the 

FDP limit for a five-segment FDP that 

begins at 1500 is 11.5 hours. The 

applicable 11.5-hour FDP limit plus 4 

hours equals 15.5 hours. Because this is 

smaller than 16 hours, under 

§ 117.21(c)(3), the pertinent FDP + RAP 

limit for this unaugmented operation is 

15.5 hours. Since the flightcrew member 

in this example began his RAP at 1100, 

he will have 4 hours of RAP time by the 

time his FDP will start at 1500. 

Consequently, this flightcrew member 

can take the full 11.5-hour FDP as the 

11.5-hour FDP plus the 4 hours of RAP 

will not exceed the 15.5-hour RAP + 

FDP limit. 

2. Rest Period Before Being Assigned A 

RAP 

RAA asked whether § 117.21 allows a 

RAP to be assigned upon completion of 

a multi-day trip when the flightcrew 

member still has not reached the FDP 

limits specified in Table B. To illustrate 

its question, RAA provided the 

following scenario. A reserve pilot is 

assigned a three-day trip. On Day 3, he 

begins an FDP at 0700, and flies one 

flight segment until 1430. Upon 

completion of the one flight segment, 

the flightcrew member arrives back on 

base and the carrier assigns him 3 

additional flight segments. RAA stated 

that the revised schedule would not 

exceed the pertinent FDP or flight time 

limitations, and it would also not 

exceed any cumulative limitations. RAA 

asked whether this schedule would be 

permissible under § 117.21. 

Subsection 117.25(e) prohibits a 

flightcrew member from beginning a 

RAP unless that flightcrew member 

receives 10 hours of rest with an 8-hour 

sleep opportunity immediately before 

the RAP. Thus, a flightcrew member 

cannot begin a RAP immediately after 

ending an FDP because that flightcrew 

member would not have received 10 

hours of rest immediately before 

beginning the RAP. 

However, as discussed above, the 

number of flight segments in an FDP can 

be changed after an FDP begins. Thus, 

in RAA’s example a certificate holder 

could utilize a flightcrew member’s 

remaining allowable FDP time by 

adding three more flight segments to the 

flightcrew member’s FDP. However, the 

FAA emphasizes that: (1) the addition of 

flight segments to an FDP will require 

a recalculation of the pertinent FDP 

limit in Table B using the updated 

number of flight segments; and (2) the 

flightcrew member will have to reaffirm 

his or her fitness for duty before 

beginning each flight segment. 

3. Early Termination of a RAP 

APA asked whether a pilot could be 

released from a RAP early without 

serving the entire permitted RAP period. 

APA also asked whether there is a 

requirement for a pilot in these 

circumstances to receive a physiological 

night’s rest. RAA provided an example 

in which a pilot is assigned a RAP of 

0700 to 2100. At 0800, the air carrier 

contacts the pilot and notifies him that 

his RAP has ended. The carrier then 

notifies the pilot that he is being given 

10 hours of rest, and that he will begin 

a new RAP at 1800. RAA asks whether 

the air carrier’s actions in this scenario 

are permissible under part 117. 

The regulations in § 117.21 do not 

prohibit a certificate holder from 

releasing a flightcrew member from a 

RAP early. Thus, a flightcrew member 

completes a RAP once he or she has 

been released from that RAP by the 

certificate holder. However, once the 

flightcrew member is released from a 

RAP, § 117.25(e) requires that the 

flightcrew member be provided with 10 

hours of rest that include 8 

uninterrupted hours of sleep 

opportunity before the flightcrew 

member begins a new RAP. Section 

117.25 does not require that this rest 

period be provided during a 

physiological night. Thus, RAA’s 

example in which a certificate holder 

terminates a RAP early and then 

provides the flightcrew member with 10 

hours of rest would be permissible 

under § 117.21 and § 117.25 because the 

certificate holder in that example would 

provide a legal rest period between two 

RAPs. 

4. Additional Questions 

APA provided a scenario in which a 

pilot is assigned to a RAP. After 3 hours 

of being on-call during the RAP, the 

pilot is contacted to report for an FDP 

of 10 hours, all of which is in 

compliance with the pertinent 

provisions of part 117. APA asked how 

much of this time would count toward 

the cumulative FDP limitation of 60 

hours in a 168-hour period. APA also 

asked whether this answer would 

change if the FDP was assigned during 

airport reserve instead of short-call 

reserve. 

Short-call reserve consists of: (1) a 

RAP, and (2) an FDP if the FDP is 

assigned during the reserve. The RAP is 

not part of an FDP, and as such, the time 

spent on an FDP is the only aspect of 

short-call reserve that is counted toward 

the cumulative FDP limits. Thus, the 10 

hours that the pilot in APA’s example 

spent on an FDP would count toward 

the cumulative FDP limits while the 3- 

hours that pilot spent on a RAP would 

not count toward those limits. 

This situation would change if the 

pilot was to be assigned to airport/ 

standby reserve instead of short-call 

reserve. Under § 117.21(b), the entire 

time that is spent in airport/standby 

reserve is considered to be FDP. Thus, 

if the pilot in APA’s example was to be 

assigned to airport/standby reserve, the 

entire 13 hours that he spends on 

reserve would be counted toward the 

cumulative FDP limits, as well as the 

daily FDP limits. 

iii. Long-Call Reserve 

ALPA asked a number of questions 

about long-call reserve. First, ALPA 

asked whether, for long-call reserve that 

operates into the WOCL, the regulations 

require 12 hours of notice before 

beginning the FDP or 12 hours of rest. 

Second, ALPA also asked whether the 

12-hour notice is required for an FDP 

that starts during the WOCL. Third, 

ALPA asked whether the WOCL is 

determined using local time or lastacclimated time. Finally, ALPA asked 

whether this same 12-hour-notice 

requirement applied to short-call 

reserve. 

For long-call reserve, § 117.21(d) 

requires that flightcrew members 

assigned to an FDP ‘‘that will begin 

before and operate into the flightcrew 

member’s window of circadian low 

* * * must receive a 12 hour notice of 

report time from the certificate holder.’’ 

Because this regulatory text specifies a 

‘‘notice of report time’’ and does not set 

out any rest requirements, § 117.21(d) 

only requires a 12-hour notice and not 


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35See, e.g., § 117.15(a). 

36See § 117.19(a)(3). 37 77 FR at 383. 

38Letter to Glenn Jimenez from Rebecca 

MacPherson (June 9, 2011). 

a 12-hour rest period for long-call 

reserve that operates into the WOCL. 

In addition, the 12-hour notice 

requirement is only applicable to FDPs 

that ‘‘begin before and operate into’’ the 

WOCL. Thus, this requirement would 

not apply to an FDP that begins during 

the WOCL, as that FDP would not begin 

before the WOCL. The time zone from 

the flightcrew member’s last-acclimated 

theater is used to determine the WOCL 

period. This is because part 117 

explicitly states when local time is to be 

used instead of last-acclimated time,35

and § 117.21(d) does not instruct the 

certificate holder to use local time. 

Finally, the 12-hour notice requirement 

does not apply to short-call reserve 

because the requirements of § 117.21(d) 

apply only to long-call reserve. 

L. Cumulative Limitations 

A4A and ALPA asked whether the 

flight time and FDP cumulative limits 

were hard limits or whether they could 

be extended under certain 

circumstances. ALPA provided the 

following example. The return segment 

of a trans-oceanic flight is scheduled 

within all FDP and flight-time limits. 

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the 

flight holds for an extended period and 

then diverts to an alternate airport. In 

order to begin a new flight segment from 

the alternate airport and complete the 

original schedule, one of the flightcrew 

members would have to exceed one of 

the cumulative flight time or FDP limits. 

ALPA asked whether the flightcrew 

member would be allowed to exceed the 

cumulative FDP limitations in this case. 

The cumulative FDP and flight time 

limits of part 117 are set out in § 117.23. 

While these are generally hard limits, 

they can be extended in certain 

circumstances. For example, a posttakeoff FDP extension taken under 

§ 117.19(b)(3) would be permitted to 

exceed the cumulative limits of § 117.23 

and the flight-time limits of § 117.11 

while a pre-takeoff FDP extension 

would not be permitted to exceed those 

limits.36

In ALPA’s example a flightcrew 

member who is at an alternate airport 

seeks to begin a new flight segment that 

would exceed the cumulative FDP 

limits. Because that flightcrew member 

knows before takeoff that he will exceed 

the pertinent limits, he cannot utilize 

the post-takeoff FDP extension. Since 

the pre-takeoff FDP extension does not 

allow a flightcrew member to exceed the 

cumulative FDP limits, the flightcrew 

member in ALPA’s example would not 

be allowed to begin a new flight 

segment from the alternate airport. 

M. Rest Period 

i. Sleep Opportunity 

1. Definition of Sleep Opportunity 

APA asked the FAA to define 

‘‘uninterrupted sleep opportunity.’’ 

APA also asked whether the sleep 

opportunity has to take place at a 

specific location, such as the flightcrew 

member’s home. 

Subsection 117.25(e) requires a 

certificate holder to provide a flightcrew 

member with 10 hours of rest that 

includes an 8-hour uninterrupted sleep 

opportunity immediately before the 

flightcrew member begins a reserve or 

FDP. Subsection 117.25(f) requires the 

flightcrew member to notify the 

certificate holder if he or she determines 

that his/her rest period will not provide 

an 8-hour uninterrupted sleep 

opportunity. 

A sleep opportunity generally 

commences once a flightcrew member is 

at a location where the flightcrew 

member can reasonably be expected to 

go to sleep and not have that sleep 

interrupted. The sleep opportunity does 

not need to take place at the flightcrew 

member’s home, but it must take place 

at a location where the flightcrew 

member can reasonably expect to obtain 

8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. In 

addition, as the FAA pointed out in the 

preamble to final rule, specific sleep 

situations ‘‘are difficult to capture in a 

regulatory standard.’’37 That is why 

§ 117.25(f) requires the flightcrew 

member to notify the certificate holder 

if the flightcrew member determines 

that he or she cannot get the requisite 

amount of uninterrupted sleep. 

2. Interruptions to the Sleep 

Opportunity That Are Not Caused by 

Carrier 

A4A, APA, and AE asked whether an 

interruption not from the air carrier, 

such as a hotel fire alarm, would 

interrupt the 8-hour sleep opportunity. 

A4A and AE asked whether the 

flightcrew member is required to inform 

the carrier if a sleep opportunity has 

been interrupted. 

Subsection 117.25(f) requires a 

flightcrew member to notify the air 

carrier if the flightcrew member 

determines that his/her rest period will 

not provide 8 hours of uninterrupted 

sleep. This section provides the 

flightcrew member with discretion to 

determine whether his or her sleep has 

been interrupted. However, if the 

flightcrew member determines that his/ 

her sleep has been interrupted, then the 

flightcrew member must notify the air 

carrier of the interruption. For this 

determination, it is irrelevant whether 

the interruption to the flightcrew 

member’s sleep was caused by the air 

carrier. 

Taking the fire alarm example, if the 

fire alarm sounds for only a few 

seconds, some flightcrew members may 

have no problem getting back to sleep, 

and they may determine that their sleep 

was not interrupted. Conversely, other 

flightcrew members may find it difficult 

to get back to sleep even if their sleep 

was interrupted for only a short period 

of time. These flightcrew members may 

determine that their sleep opportunity 

was interrupted, at which point they 

would have to notify the carrier of the 

interruption. 

ii. Requirement To Perform a Task 

During a Rest Period 

A4A and ALPA asked whether 

carriers could require a pilot to check a 

calendar, text, or email during a rest 

period. AE asked whether a pilot could 

check the schedule/calendar voluntarily 

during a rest period. 

During a rest period, a crewmember 

must be free from all restraint by the 

certificate holder.38 If a crewmember is 

required to do something by the 

certificate holder, then that 

crewmember is not free from all 

restraint, and that crewmember is not on 

a valid rest period. Accordingly, a 

certificate holder cannot require a 

flightcrew member to perform any tasks 

during a rest period, including tasks 

such as checking the schedule/calendar, 

checking a text message, or checking an 

email message. 

However, if a flightcrew member 

performs a task of his/her own volition 

without being required to perform the 

task by the certificate holder, then that 

task is not a restraint imposed by the 

certificate holder. Thus, it is permissible 

for a flightcrew member to voluntarily 

decide to check the schedule/calendar 

during his or her rest period. We 

emphasize, however, that a flightcrew 

member’s decision to perform a task 

during a rest period must be entirely 

voluntary. 

iii. One-Phone Call Rule 

A number of commenters asked 

whether the required 8-hour sleep 

opportunity eliminates the one-phonecall rule or places additional restrictions 

on when the phone call can be made. 

ALPA asked whether a flightcrew 

member is required to notify the 


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39 Id. 

40 Id. 

41 77 FR 28763, 28764 (May 16, 2012). 

42 Id. at 28763. 

43Letter to B. Stephen Fortenberry from Donald 

P. Byrne (June 24, 1991). 

44 77 FR at 348. 

45This answer assumes that the flightcrew 

member is not on short-call or airport/standby 

reserve at the time of the contact. 

certificate holder if the certificate 

holder’s phone call prevents the 

flightcrew member from receiving an 8- 

hour sleep opportunity. 

The FAA has a ‘‘one phone call’’ 

policy that ‘‘generally allows a 

certificate holder to initiate one phone 

call during [a] crewmember’s rest 

period.’’39 If the crewmember 

voluntarily chooses to answer this 

phone call, then the FAA does not view 

the call as disruptive and breaking the 

rest period.40 The sleep-opportunity 

requirements of § 117.25 do not 

eliminate this policy. However, the FAA 

cautions that a flightcrew member may 

have difficulty getting back to sleep after 

being woken up by a certificate holder’s 

phone call. In that situation, a 

flightcrew member may notify the 

certificate holder, pursuant to 

§ 117.25(f), that his or her sleep 

opportunity has been interrupted. Thus, 

a certificate holder runs the risk of 

interrupting a flightcrew member’s sleep 

opportunity if the certificate holder calls 

a flightcrew member during the 

flightcrew member’s rest period. 

iv. Point of Reference for the 30-Hour 

Rest Period 

An individual commenter asked 

whether the point of reference for the 

168-hour period specified in § 117.25(b) 

was the beginning of an FDP or the end 

of an FDP. 

Subsection 117.25(b) originally stated 

that ‘‘[b]efore beginning any reserve or 

flight duty period a flightcrew member 

must be given at least 30 consecutive 

hours free from all duty in any 168 

consecutive hour period.’’ In May 2012, 

the FAA issued a correction, changing 

the regulatory text of this subsection to 

require 30 hours free from all duty 

‘‘within the past 168 consecutive hour 

period.’’41 The FAA’s correction 

explained that this change was made ‘‘to 

clarify that the ‘168 consecutive hour 

period’ is the period that precedes the 

beginning of the flight duty period.’’42

Thus, the point of reference for the 168- 

hour period specified in § 117.25(b) is 

the beginning of an FDP. 

v. Prospective Identification of a Rest 

Period 

APA asked whether the 30-hour rest 

period in § 117.25(b) has to be 

prospectively identified. More 

specifically, APA asked whether a rest 

period that is scheduled for less than 30 

hours can be extended to 30 hours to 

satisfy the requirements of § 117.25(b). 

A rest period must be prospective in 

nature, which means that a flightcrew 

member must be told in advance that he 

or she will be on a rest period for a 

specified duration. This is so that a 

flightcrew member has an opportunity 

to plan out his or her rest period in 

order to maximize the sleep 

opportunities available during that rest 

period. 

In this case § 117.25(b) requires that a 

flightcrew member be provided with a 

30-consecutive-hour rest period in the 

168-hour period immediately preceding 

an FDP. Because a flightcrew member 

would need to plan ahead in order to 

maximize the multiple sleep 

opportunities available during this 30- 

hour rest period, the flightcrew member 

must be told before the rest period 

begins that he/she will be receiving 30 

hours of rest in order for that rest to 

satisfy § 117.25(b). The FAA notes that 

this approach is consistent with a 1991 

interpretation in which the FAA stated 

that a pertinent rest period had to be 

identified in advance as a 24-hour rest 

period in order for that rest period to 

satisfy a regulation requiring 24 hours of 

rest.43

vi. Assigning an FDP 

A4A and Alaska Air asked whether a 

rest period that is longer than the 

regulatory minimum could be 

terminated early if the resulting rest 

satisfied the minimum regulatory 

requirements. ALPA asked whether an 

air carrier could contact a flightcrew 

member when the flightcrew member is 

off duty but not on a rest period to give 

a flight assignment. If so, ALPA 

questioned whether the carrier must 

provide at least 10 hours of rest prior to 

the flight assignment. ALPA also asked 

whether a flightcrew member could 

voluntarily elect to ‘‘pick up a trip’’ 

from open time if he or she will have 

the requisite rest prior to the report time 

for that trip. 

As discussed above, the start of a 

previously-scheduled FDP can only be 

changed by utilizing the reserve 

provisions of § 117.21. As such, a 

certificate holder that wishes to bump 

up the time of a previously-scheduled 

FDP would have to provide the 

flightcrew member with the pertinent 

long-call-reserve notice of the FDP 

change. Alternatively, if a certificate 

holder anticipates that it may need to 

call in a flightcrew member for an FDP, 

then that certificate holder should 

provide the flightcrew member with the 

required 10-hour rest period and then 

place the flightcrew member on shortcall reserve. 

These circumstances change if a 

flightcrew member decides, on his/her 

own initiative, to pick up a trip from 

open time, as the regulations do not 

prohibit this practice as long as the 

flightcrew member has received the 

required rest. However, the FAA 

cautions flightcrew members that 

§ 117.5(a) requires a flightcrew member 

to ‘‘report for any flight duty period 

rested and prepared to perform his or 

her assigned duties.’’ The preamble to 

the final rule explains that this 

provision was added to the regulations 

to, among other things, ‘‘discourage 

flightcrew-member practices such as 

picking up extra hours.’’ 44 Thus, while 

a flightcrew member is free to 

voluntarily pick up extra flight hours 

from open time, the flightcrew member 

may be in violation of § 117.5(a) if this 

activity results in the flightcrew member 

becoming unduly fatigued. 

Turning to ALPA’s other question, if 

a flightcrew member is not on a rest 

period, the certificate holder may 

contact the flightcrew member to 

schedule a flight assignment.45

However, pursuant to § 117.25(b) and 

(e), the certificate holder would then 

need to provide that flightcrew member 

with the requisite rest period prior to 

beginning the FDP. The certificate 

holder would also have to follow the 

FDP notification requirements of longcall reserve, as this type of contact and 

FDP assignment would qualify as longcall reserve pursuant to the definition of 

that term in § 117.3. 

vii. Requirements of § 117.25(d) 

A4A and AE asked whether 

§ 117.25(d) requires 60 degrees of travel 

in one direction and 168 consecutive 

hours away from the flightcrew 

member’s home base together to trigger 

the 56 consecutive hours of rest 

requirement. ALPA asked whether the 

rest requirement of § 117.25(d) would 

trigger if a flightcrew member never 

enters a new theater. ALPA also 

provided an example in which a 

flightcrew member flies a series of two 

144-hour time-away-from-base trips 

which are separated by a 10-hour rest 

period at home base. ALPA asked 

whether this situation would trigger the 

56-hour rest requirement of § 117.25(d). 

Subsection 117.25(d) requires that a 

flightcrew member be given a minimum 

of 56 consecutive hours of rest upon 

return to home base if that flightcrew 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES
14178 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 43 / Tuesday, March 5, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

46See 77 FR at 383 (explaining § 117.25(d)). The 

FAA intends to issue a correction clarifying the 

regulatory language in § 117.25(d). 47See § 117.3 (FDP definition). 

48 77 FR at 376. 

49 Id. 

50 Id. at 376. 

member has been away from home base 

for more than 168 consecutive hours as 

part of an FDP or series of FDPs that 

required that flightcrew member to 

travel more than 60 degrees longitude.46

Thus, in order to trigger the 56-hour rest 

requirement of § 117.25(d), a flightcrew 

member must satisfy both of the 

following requirements: (1) The 

flightcrew member has to be away from 

home base for over 168 consecutive 

hours; and (2) the time away from home 

base must take place during FDP(s) that 

require the flightcrew member to travel 

over 60 degrees longitude. 

The requirement to travel over 60 

degrees longitude refers to travel in a 

single direction, as a flightcrew member 

who travels 30 degrees in one direction 

and then 30 degrees back would wind 

up in the same place where he started. 

Because this requirement does not refer 

to theaters, it is irrelevant whether a 

flightcrew member changes theaters 

during his/her FDP(s)—all that matters 

is whether the flightcrew member has 

traveled more than 60 degrees longitude 

in one direction away from home base. 

Turning to ALPA’s example, in that 

example, a flightcrew member goes on 

two trips each of which requires him to 

spend 144 hours away from home base 

and has a rest period at home base 

between the trips. Because each trip 

does not exceed 168 hours away from 

home base, each of these trips is 

insufficient to trigger the rest 

requirement of § 117.25(d). In addition, 

it is important to note that a flightcrew 

member must be away from home base 

for more than 168 ‘‘consecutive’’ hours 

in order to trigger the rest requirement 

in § 117.25(d). Because the two trips in 

ALPA’s example were separated by a 

rest period at home base, the time away 

from home for these two trips cannot be 

combined for § 117.25(d) purposes, as 

that time away from home was not 

consecutive. Thus, ALPA’s example 

would not trigger the rest requirements 

of § 117.25(d), as the flightcrew member 

in that example would not spend over 

168 consecutive hours away from home 

base. It would, however trigger the 30- 

hour consecutive-rest requirement of 

§ 117.25(b) once the flightcrew member 

reached 168 hours. 

viii. Deadheading 

The National Air Carrier Association 

(NACA) asked how the compensatory 

rest for deadheading is calculated if the 

deadhead has multiple legs with a 

sleep/rest opportunity between 

deadhead segments. RAA and AE 

provided the following scenario. A 

flightcrew member reports for duty at 

0430 and operates a single flight that 

blocks in at 0800. At 1100 he starts to 

deadhead to another city to fly the next 

day and the series of deadhead flights 

arrives at 1530. RAA and AE asked how 

much rest this flightcrew member 

would need. RAA also asked how much 

rest this flightcrew member would need 

if this entire assignment had consisted 

solely of deadhead transportation. 

Subsection 117.25(g) states that ‘‘[i]f a 

flightcrew member engaged in deadhead 

transportation exceeds the applicable 

flight duty period in Table B of this part, 

the flightcrew member must be given a 

rest period equal to the length of the 

deadhead transportation’’ but not less 

than the 10-hour rest period required by 

§ 117.25(e). Because Table B is used to 

calculate FDPs, the total length of the 

deadhead is determined in a similar 

manner as the total length of an FDP. 

More specifically, flight segments that 

are not separated by a ‘‘required 

intervening rest period’’ 47 would be 

considered part of the same deadhead. 

As discussed above, a ‘‘required 

intervening rest period’’ refers to a rest 

period specified by § 117.25. Thus, two 

deadhead segments that are separated 

by a five-hour rest period would be 

considered a single deadhead period 

because five hours is not a required 

intervening rest period. Conversely, two 

deadhead segments separated by 10 

hours of rest with an 8-hour sleep 

opportunity would constitute two 

separate deadhead periods, as they 

would be separated by a required 

intervening rest period. 

Turning to RAA and AE’s scenario, a 

flightcrew member reports for a onesegment FDP at 0430 and flies a single 

flight segment that concludes at 0800. 

The FAA will assume that this 

flightcrew member is acclimated. 

Because the flightcrew member 

concludes his one flight segment at 

0800, his FDP terminates at that time. 

Then, at 1100, the flightcrew member 

begins a series of deadhead flights that 

terminate at 1530. This deadhead 

assignment consists of 4.5 hours (the 

time from 1100 to 1530). While RAA 

and AE have not specified how many 

flight segments make up this deadhead 

assignment, the 4.5 hours of this 

assignment would be well within the 

bounds of any of the FDP limits in Table 

B. Because this deadhead assignment 

has not exceeded the pertinent FDP 

limits of Table B, § 117.25(g) would not 

require a compensatory rest period in 

this case. 

If the entire assignment in RAA and 

AE’s scenario consisted of deadhead 

transportation, then the total amount of 

deadhead transportation, which would 

take place from 0430 to 1530, would be 

11 hours. This would exceed the 

pertinent limits of Table B, as the 

highest FDP limit for an FDP that begins 

at 0430 is 10 hours. Accordingly, 

§ 117.25(g) would require a 

compensatory rest period equal to the 

length of the deadhead transportation 

before the flightcrew member begins a 

new FDP. In this case, the length of the 

compensatory rest period would be 11 

hours. 

N. Consecutive Nighttime Operations 

i. Applicability to Augmented 

Operations 

A4A asked whether the consecutivenight-provisions of § 117.27 apply to 

augmented operations. 

Section 117.27 requires that a 

flightcrew member be provided with a 

two-hour mid-duty rest break during 

each consecutive FDP that infringes on 

the WOCL in order for that flightcrew 

member to be scheduled for more than 

three consecutive nighttime FDPs. The 

preamble to the final rule rejected a 

commenter’s suggestion to exempt 

augmented operations from this 

provision. 48 The preamble explained 

this decision by pointing out that 

augmented operations need the 

mitigation provided by nighttime midduty breaks to the same extent as 

unaugmented operations.49

Accordingly, the consecutive-night 

provisions of § 117.27 apply to 

augmented operations that infringe on 

the WOCL. 

ii. Applicability to FDPs That Begin 

During the WOCL 

A4A, Jeppesen, and Alaska Air asked 

whether an FDP that begins during the 

WOCL infringes on the WOCL for 

purposes of § 117.27. 

As discussed above, § 117.27 

prohibits a flightcrew member from 

accepting and a certificate holder from 

scheduling five consecutive FDPs ‘‘that 

infringe on the window of circadian 

low’’ if the flightcrew member assigned 

to these FDPs does not receive mid-duty 

rest periods that are specified in 

§ 117.27. In the preamble to the final 

rule, the FAA explained that ‘‘[t]he 

consecutive-night limit is intended to 

apply to FDPs that infringe on the 

WOCL because operations conducted 

during the WOCL significantly increase 

cumulative fatigue.’’ 50 Accordingly, an 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 43 / Tuesday, March 5, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 14179 

1Public Law 104–134, 110 Stat. 1321–373 (1996) 

(codified at 28 U.S.C. 2461 note). 

2 28 U.S.C. 2461 note. 

3 Increased CMPs apply only to violations that 

occur after the increase takes effect. 

4 28 U.S.C. 2461 note (3)(2). 

5The Commission may by order affirm, modify, 

remand, or set aside sanctions, including civil 

monetary penalties, imposed by the PCAOB. See 

Section 107(c) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 

15 U.S.C. 7217. The Commission may enforce such 

orders in federal district court pursuant to Section 

21(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. As a 

result, penalties assessed by the PCAOB in its 

disciplinary proceedings are penalties ‘‘enforced’’ 

by the Commission for purposes of the Act. See 

Adjustments to Civil Monetary Penalty Amounts, 

Release No. 33–8530 (Feb. 4, 2005) [70 FR 7606 

(Feb. 14, 2005)]. 

6 28 U.S.C. 2461 note (5). 

7 28 U.S.C. 2461 note (3)(3). 

8 28 U.S.C. 2461 note (5)(b). 

9 28 U.S.C. 2461 note (5)(a)(1)–(6). 

FDP ‘‘infringe[s] on the window of 

circadian low’’ for the purposes of 

§ 117.27 if any portion of that FDP takes 

place during the WOCL. 

Thus, an operation that begins during 

the WOCL would ‘‘infringe on the 

window of circadian low’’ and be 

subject to § 117.27 because a portion of 

that operation would be conducted 

during the WOCL. An operation that 

remains entirely free of the WOCL 

would not ‘‘infringe on the window of 

circadian low’’ for the purposes of 

§ 117.27 because no portion of that 

operation would be conducted during 

the WOCL. 

iii. How Often the Mid-Duty Break Must 

Be Provided 

ALPA asked whether the two-hour 

mid duty rest break must be given on 

the day a pilot first reports for duty if 

he or she is scheduled for five days of 

flight that infringe on the WOCL. 

Section 117.27 requires that, in order 

to exceed three consecutive nighttime 

FDPs, the two-hour mid-duty rest break 

be given ‘‘during each of the 

consecutive nighttime duty periods’’ 

that infringe on the WOCL. Accordingly, 

if a pilot is scheduled for five 

consecutive FDPs that infringe on the 

WOCL, that pilot must be provided with 

a two-hour mid-duty break during each 

of those FDPs. This would include the 

first FDP in the series that infringes on 

the WOCL. 

iv. Whether Reserve Triggers § 117.27 

SWAPA asked whether a RAP that 

infringes on the WOCL would trigger 

the requirements of § 117.27. Horizon 

and RAA asked whether a pilot can be 

scheduled for more than 3 consecutive 

airport reserve periods that infringe on 

the WOCL. 

Section 117.27 only applies to ‘‘flight 

duty periods that infringe on the 

window of circadian low.’’ Because a 

reserve availability period is not a flight 

duty period, a RAP does not trigger the 

requirements of § 117.27. However, if a 

flightcrew member on short-call reserve 

is assigned an FDP at least a portion of 

which takes place during the WOCL, 

that FDP would infringe on the WOCL 

for purposes of § 117.27. 

Turning to airport/standby reserve, 

§ 117.21(a) states that ‘‘[f]or airport/ 

standby reserve, all time spent in a 

reserve status is part of the flightcrew 

member’s flight duty period.’’ Because 

time spent in airport/standby reserve is 

considered to be part of an FDP, 

consecutive airport reserve periods that 

infringe on the WOCL would trigger the 

requirements of § 117.27. 

O. Applicability to Flight Attendants 

Alaska Air asked whether flight 

attendants operating under part 117 

must comply with the fatigue education 

and awareness training program 

provisions of § 117.9. Alaska Air also 

asked whether these flight attendants 

must declare their fitness for duty 

pursuant to the provisions of § 117.5. 

If a flight attendant operates under 

part 117, that flight attendant must 

comply with the provisions of part 117 

that apply to flightcrew members. 

Flightcrew members are required to 

declare their fitness for duty pursuant to 

§ 117.5(d) and go through fatigue 

education and awareness training 

pursuant to § 117.9. Accordingly, these 

requirements would also extend to flight 

attendants operating under part 117. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 28, 

2013. 

Mark Bury, 

Acting Assistant Chief Counsel for 

International Law, Legislation, and 

Regulations Division, AGC–200. 

[FR Doc. 2013–05083 Filed 3–4–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

17 CFR Part 201 

[Release Nos. 33–9387; 34–68994; IA–3557; 

IC–30408] 

Adjustments to Civil Monetary Penalty 

Amounts 

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule implements the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by 

the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 

1996. The Commission is adopting a 

rule adjusting for inflation the 

maximum amount of civil monetary 

penalties under the Securities Act of 

1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 

1934, the Investment Company Act of 

1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 

1940, and certain penalties under the 

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 

DATES: Effective Date: March 5, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James A. Cappoli, Senior Special 

Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, 

at (202) 551–7923, or Miles S. Treakle, 

Senior Counsel, Office of the General 

Counsel, at (202) 551–3609. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

This rule implements the Debt 

Collection Improvement Act of 1996 

(‘‘DCIA’’).1 The DCIA amended the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990 (‘‘FCPIAA’’) 2 to 

require each federal agency to adopt 

regulations at least once every four years 

that adjust for inflation the maximum 

amount of the civil monetary penalties 

(‘‘CMPs’’) under the statutes 

administered by the agency.3

A civil monetary penalty (‘‘CMP’’) is 

defined in relevant part as any penalty, 

fine, or other sanction that: (1) Is for a 

specific amount, or has a maximum 

amount, as provided by federal law; and 

(2) is assessed or enforced by an agency 

in an administrative proceeding or by a 

federal court pursuant to federal law.4

This definition covers the monetary 

penalty provisions contained in the 

statutes administered by the 

Commission. In addition, this definition 

encompasses the civil monetary 

penalties that may be imposed by the 

Public Company Accounting Oversight 

Board (the ‘‘PCAOB’’) in its disciplinary 

proceedings pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 

7215(c)(4)(D).5

The DCIA requires that the penalties 

be adjusted by the cost-of-living 

adjustment set forth in Section 5 of the 

FCPIAA.6 The cost-of-living adjustment 

is defined in the FCPIAA as the 

percentage by which the U.S. 

Department of Labor’s Consumer Price 

Index for all-urban consumers (‘‘CPI– 

U’’) 7 for the month of June for the year 

preceding the adjustment exceeds the 

CPI–U for the month of June for the year 

in which the amount of the penalty was 

last set or adjusted pursuant to law.8

The statute contains specific rules for 

rounding each increase based on the 

size of the penalty.9 Agencies do not 

have discretion over whether to adjust 

a maximum CMP, or the method used 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES