Flight & Duty Limitations
OPERATIONSp.1
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§ 117.1 Applicability.p.2
(a) This part prescribes flight and duty limitations and rest requirements for all flight crew members and certificate holders conducting operations under GACAR Part 121. (b) This part applies to all operations directed by certificate holders.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, a certificate holder may conduct under GACAR Part 117 its GACAR Part 121 special unscheduled operations pursuant to GACAR §121.1001(b).
§ 117.3 Use of Terms.p.2
The following terms used in this part have meanings as prescribed below. In the event there is a conflict in definitions GACAR Part 1 and the meanings used in this part, the meanings in this part take precedence.
Calendar day means a 24-hour period from 0000 through 2359 using Coordinated Universal Time or local time. Certificate holder means a person who holds or is required to hold an air operator certificate issued under GACAR Part 119 for operations conducted under GACAR Part 121.
Scheduled means to appoint, assign, or designate for a fixed time.
§ 117.5 Fitness for Duty.p.2
(a) Each flight crew member must report for any flight duty period rested and prepared to perform his assigned duties. (b) No certificate holder may assign and no flight crew member may accept assignment to a flight duty period if the flight crew member has reported for a flight duty period too fatigued to safely perform his assigned duties.
(c) No certificate holder may permit a flight crew member to continue a flight duty period if the flight crew member has reported him or herself too fatigued to continue the assigned flight duty period.
(d) As part of the dispatch or flight release, as applicable, each flight crew member must affirmatively state he is fit for duty prior to commencing flight.
§ 117.7 Fatigue Risk Management System.p.3
No certificate holder may exceed any provision of this part unless approved by the President under a Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) implemented as part of a Safety Management System and meeting the requirements of GACAR Part 5. The FRMS must provide at least an equivalent level of safety against fatigue-related accidents or incidents as the other provisions of this part.
§ 117.9 Fatigue Education and Awareness Training Program.p.3
(a) Each certificate holder must develop and implement an education and awareness training program, approved by the President. This program must provide annual education and awareness training to all employees of the certificate holder responsible for administering the provisions of this rule including flight crew members, dispatchers, individuals directly involved in the scheduling of flight crew members, individuals directly involved in operational control, and any employee providing direct management oversight of those areas.
(b) The fatigue education and awareness training program must be designed to increase awareness of: (1) Fatigue; (2) The effects of fatigue on pilots; and (3) Fatigue countermeasures (c) Each certificate holder must update its fatigue education and awareness training program every two years and submit the update to the President for review and acceptance.
(d) Not later than 12 months after the date of submission of the fatigue education and awareness training program required by (c) of this section, the President must review and accept or reject the update. If the President rejects an update, the President must provide suggested modifications for resubmission of the update.
§ 117.11 Flight Time Limitation.p.3
(a) No certificate holder may schedule and no flight crew member may accept an assignment or continue an assigned flight duty period if the total flight time: (1) Will exceed the limits specified in Table A of this part if the operation is conducted with the minimum required flight crew.
(2) Will exceed 13 hours if the operation is conducted with a 3-pilot flight crew. (3) Will exceed 17 hours if the operation is conducted with a 4-pilot flight crew. (b) If unforeseen operational circumstances arise after takeoff that are beyond the certificate holder's control, a flight crew member may exceed the maximum flight time specified in paragraph (a) of this section and the cumulative flight time limits in GACAR §117.23(b) to the extent necessary to safely land the aircraft at the next destination aerodrome or alternate, as appropriate.
(c) Each certificate holder must report to the President within 10 days any flight time that exceeded the maximum flight time limits permitted by this section. The report must contain the following: (1) A description of the extended flight time limitation and the circumstances surrounding the need for the extension; and (2) If the circumstances giving rise to the extension were within the certificate holder's control, the corrective action(s) that the certificate holder intends to take to minimize the need for future extensions.
(d) Each certificate holder must implement the corrective action(s) reported in paragraph (c)(2) of this section within 30 days from the date of the extended flight time limitation.
§ 117.13 Flight Duty Period: Unaugmented Operations.p.4
(a) Except as provided for in GACAR §117.15, no certificate holder may assign and no flight crew member may accept an assignment for an unaugmented flight operation if the scheduled flight duty period will exceed the limits in Table B of this part.
(b) If the flight crew member is not acclimated: (1) The maximum flight duty period in Table B of this part is reduced by 30 minutes. (2) The applicable flight duty period is based on the local time at the theater in which the flight crew member was last acclimated.
§ 117.15 Flight Duty Period: Split Duty.p.5
For an unaugmented operation only, if a flight crew member is provided with a rest opportunity (an opportunity to sleep) in a suitable accommodation during his flight duty period, the time that the flight crew member spends in the suitable accommodation is not part of that flight crew member's flight duty period if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The rest opportunity is provided between the hours of 22:00 and 05:00 local time. (b) The time spent in the suitable accommodation is at least 3 hours, measured from the time that the flight crew member reaches the suitable accommodation.
(c) The rest opportunity is scheduled before the beginning of the flight duty period in which that rest opportunity is taken. (d) The rest opportunity that the flight crew member is actually provided may not be less than the rest opportunity that was scheduled.
(e) The rest opportunity is not provided until the first segment of the flight duty period has been completed. (f) The combined time of the flight duty period and the rest opportunity provided in this section does not exceed 14 hours.
§ 117.17 Flight Duty Period: Augmented Flight Crew.p.5
(a) For flight operations conducted with an acclimated augmented flight crew, no certificate holder may assign and no flight crew member may accept an assignment if the scheduled flight duty period will exceed the limits specified in Table C of this part.
(b) If the flight crew member is not acclimated: (1) The maximum flight duty period in Table C of this part is reduced by 30 minutes. (2) The applicable flight duty period is based on the local time at the theater in which the flight crew member was last acclimated.
(c) No certificate holder may assign and no flight crew member may accept an assignment under this section unless during the flight duty period: (1) Two consecutive hours in the second half of the flight duty period are available for in-flight rest for the pilot flying the aircraft during landing.
(2) Ninety consecutive minutes are available for in-flight rest for the pilot performing monitoring duties during landing. (d) No certificate holder may assign and no flight crew member may accept an assignment involving more than three flight segments under this section.
(e) At all times during flight, at least one flight crew member qualified in accordance with GACAR
§ 117.19 Flight Duty Period Extensions.p.6
(a) For augmented and unaugmented operations, if unforeseen operational circumstances arise prior to takeoff: (1) The pilot in command and the certificate holder may extend the maximum flight duty period permitted in Tables B or C of this part up to 2 hours.
(2) An extension in the flight duty period under paragraph (a)(1) of this section of more than 30 minutes may occur only once prior to receiving a rest period described in GACAR §117.25(b). (3) A flight duty period cannot be extended under paragraph (a)(1) of this section if it causes a flight crew member to exceed the cumulative flight duty period limits specified in GACAR §117.23(c).
(4) Each certificate holder must report to the President within 10 days any flight duty period that exceeded the maximum flight duty period permitted in Tables B or C of this part by more than 30 minutes. The report must contain the following:
(i) A description of the extended flight duty period and the circumstances surrounding the need for the extension; and (ii) If the circumstances giving rise to the extension were within the certificate holder's control, the corrective action(s) that the certificate holder intends to take to minimize the need for future extensions.
(5) Each certificate holder must implement the corrective action(s) reported in paragraph (a)(4) of this section within 30 days from the date of the extended flight duty period. (b) For augmented and unaugmented operations, if unforeseen operational circumstances arise after takeoff:
(1) The pilot in command and the certificate holder may extend maximum flight duty periods specified in Tables B or C of this part to the extent necessary to safely land the aircraft at the next destination aerodrome or alternate aerodrome, as appropriate.
(2) An extension of the flight duty period under paragraph (b)(1) of this section of more than 30 minutes may occur only once prior to receiving a rest period described in GACAR §117.25(b). (3) An extension taken under paragraph (b) of this section may exceed the cumulative flight duty period limits specified in GACAR §117.23(c).
(4) Each certificate holder must report to the President within 10 days any flight duty period that exceeded the maximum flight duty period limits permitted by Tables B or C of this part by more than 30 minutes. The report must contain a description of the circumstances surrounding the affected flight duty period.
§ 117.21 Reserve Status.p.7
(a) Unless specifically designated as aerodrome/standby or short-call reserve by the certificate holder, all reserve is considered long-call reserve. (b) Any reserve that meets the definition of aerodrome/standby reserve must be designated as aerodrome/standby reserve. For aerodrome/standby reserve, all time spent in a reserve status is part of the flight crew member's flight duty period.
(c) For short call reserve, (1) The reserve availability period may not exceed 14 hours. (2) For a flight crew member who has completed a reserve availability period, no certificate holder may schedule and no flight crew member may accept an assignment of a reserve availability period unless the flight crew member receives the required rest in GACAR §117.25(e).
(3) For an unaugmented operation, the total number of hours a flight crew member may spend in a flight duty period and a reserve availability period may not exceed the lesser of the maximum applicable flight duty period in Table B of this part plus 4 hours, or 16 hours, as measured from the beginning of the reserve availability period.
(4) For an augmented operation, the total number of hours a flight crew member may spend in a flight duty period and a reserve availability period may not exceed the flight duty period in Table C of this part plus 4 hours, as measured from the beginning of the reserve availability period.
(d) For long call reserve, if a certificate holder contacts a flight crew member to assign him or her to a flight duty period that will begin before and operate into the flight crew member's window of circadian low, the flight crew member must receive a 12 hour notice of report time from the certificate holder.
(e) A certificate holder may shift a reserve flight crew member's reserve status from long-call to short-call only if the flight crew member receives a rest period as provided in GACAR §117.25(e).
§ 117.23 Cumulative Limitations.p.8
(a) The limitations of this section include all flying by flight crew members on behalf of any certificate holder during the applicable periods. (b) No certificate holder may schedule and no flight crew member may accept an assignment if the flight crew member's total flight time will exceed the following:
(1) 100 hours in any 672 consecutive hours or (2) 1,000 hours in any 365 consecutive calendar day period. (c) No certificate holder may schedule and no flight crew member may accept an assignment if the flight crew member's total Flight Duty Period will exceed:
(1) 60 flight duty period hours in any 168 consecutive hours and (2) 190 flight duty period hours in any 672 consecutive hours.
§ 117.25 Rest Period.p.9
(a) No certificate holder may assign and no flight crew member may accept assignment to any reserve or duty with the certificate holder during any required rest period. (b) Before beginning any reserve or flight duty period a flight crew member must be given at least 30 consecutive hours free from all duty within the past 168 consecutive hour period.
(c) If a flight crew member operating in a new theater has received 36 consecutive hours of rest, that flight crew member is acclimated and the rest period meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section.
(d) If a flight crew member travels more than 60° longitude during a flight duty period or a series of flight duty periods that require him or her to be away from home base for more than 168 consecutive hours, the flight crew member must be given a minimum of 56 consecutive hours rest upon return to home base. This rest must encompass three physiological nights' rest based on local time.
(e) No certificate holder may schedule and no flight crew member may accept an assignment for any reserve or flight duty period unless the flight crew member is given a rest period of at least 10 consecutive hours immediately before beginning the reserve or flight duty period measured from the time the flight crew member is released from duty. The 10 hour rest period must provide the flight crew member with a minimum of 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep opportunity.
(f) If a flight crew member determines that a rest period under paragraph (e) of this section will not provide eight uninterrupted hours of sleep opportunity, the flight crew member must notify the certificate holder. The flight crew member cannot report for the assigned flight duty period until he receives a rest period specified in paragraph (e) of this section.
(g) If a flight crew member engaged in deadhead transportation exceeds the applicable flight duty period in Table B of this part, the flight crew member must be given a rest period equal to the length of the deadhead transportation but not less than the required rest in paragraph (e) of this section before beginning a flight duty period.
§ 117.27 Consecutive Nighttime Operations.p.10
A certificate holder may schedule and a flight crew member may accept up to five consecutive flight duty periods that infringe on the window of circadian low if the certificate holder provides the flight crew member with an opportunity to rest in a suitable accommodation during each of the consecutive nighttime flight duty periods. The rest opportunity must be at least 2 hours, measured from the time that the flight crew member reaches the suitable accommodation, and must comply with the conditions specified in GACAR §117.15(a), (c), (d), and (e). Otherwise, no certificate holder may schedule and no flight crew member may accept more than three consecutive flight duty periods that infringe on the window of circadian low. For purposes of this section, any split duty rest that is provided in accordance with §117.15 counts as part of a flight duty period.
§ 117.29 Emergency and Government Sponsored Operations.p.10
(a) This section applies to operations conducted pursuant to contracts with the KSA Government and operations conducted pursuant to a deviation under GACAR §119.105 that cannot otherwise be conducted under this part because of circumstances that could prevent flight crew members from being relieved by another crew or safely provided with the rest required under GACAR §117.25 at the end of the applicable flight duty period.
(b) The pilot-in-command may determine that maximum applicable flight duty periods and/or flight time must be exceeded to the extent necessary to allow the flight crew to fly to the closest destination where they can safely be relieved from duty by another flight crew or can receive the requisite amount of rest prior to commencing their next flight duty period.
(c) A flight duty period may not be extended for an operation conducted pursuant to a contract with the KSA Government if it causes a flight crew member to exceed the cumulative flight time limits in GACAR §117.23(b) and the cumulative flight duty period limits in GACAR §117.23(c).
(d) The flight crew must be given a rest period immediately after reaching the destination described in paragraph (b) of this section equal to the length of the actual flight duty period or 24 hours, whichever is less.
(e) Each certificate holder must report within 10 days: (1) Any flight duty period that exceeded the maximum flight duty period permitted in Tables B or C of this part, as applicable, by more than 30 minutes; and (2) Any flight time that exceeded the maximum flight time limits permitted in Table A of this part and GACAR §117.11, as applicable.
(f) The report must contain the following: (1) A description of the extended flight duty period and flight time limitation, and the circumstances surrounding the need for the extension; and (2) If the circumstances giving rise to the extension(s) were within the certificate holder's control, the corrective action(s) that the certificate holder intends to take to minimize the need for future extensions.
(g) Each certificate holder must implement the corrective action(s) reported pursuant to paragraph (f)(2) of this section within 30 days from the date of the extended flight duty period and/or extended flight time.
TABLE A TO GACAR PART 117 - FLIGHT TIME LIMITS: UNAUGMENTED OPERATIONSp.12
Time of Report (acclimated) Maximum Flight Time(hours) 0000-0459 0500-1959 2000-2359
TABLE B TO GACAR PART 117 - FLIGHT DUTY PERIOD LIMITS: UNAUGMENTED OPERATIONSp.13
Scheduled Time of Start (acclimated time) Maximum Flight Duty Period (hours) for Lineholders Based on Number of Flight Segments 7+ 0000-0359 0400-0459 0500-0559 0600-0659 0700-1159 1200-1259 1300-1659 1700-2159 2200-2259 2300-2359
TABLE C TO GACAR PART 117 - FLIGHT DUTY PERIOD LIMITS: AUGMENTED OPERATIONSp.14
Scheduled Time of Start (acclimated time) Maximum Flight Duty Period (hours) Based on Rest Facility and Number of Pilots Class 1 Rest Facility Class 2 Rest Facility Class 3 Rest Facility 3 Pilots 4 Pilots Pilots Pilots Pilots Pilots 0000-0559 0600-0659 0700-1259 1300-1659 1700-2359