21
Federal Aviation Administration, DOT
§ 117.3
part 121 operations pursuant to 121.470,
121.480, or 121.500.
§ 117.3 Definitions.
In addition to the definitions in §§ 1.1
and 110.2 of this chapter, the following
definitions apply to this part. In the
event there is a conflict in definitions,
the definitions in this part control for
purposes of the flight and duty limita-
tions and rest requirements of this
part.
Acclimated
means a condition in
which a flightcrew member has been in
a theater for 72 hours or has been given
at least 36 consecutive hours free from
duty.
Airport/standby reserve
means a de-
fined duty period during which a
flightcrew member is required by a cer-
tificate holder to be at an airport for a
possible assignment.
Augmented flightcrew
means a
flightcrew that has more than the min-
imum number of flightcrew members
required by the airplane type certifi-
cate to operate the aircraft to allow a
flightcrew member to be replaced by
another qualified flightcrew member
for in-flight rest.
Calendar day
means a 24-hour period
from 0000 through 2359 using Coordi-
nated Universal Time or local time.
Certificate holder
means a person who
holds or is required to hold an air car-
rier certificate or operating certificate
issued under part 119 of this chapter.
Deadhead transportation
means trans-
portation of a flightcrew member as a
passenger or non-operating flightcrew
member, by any mode of transpor-
tation, as required by a certificate
holder, excluding transportation to or
from a suitable accommodation. All
time spent in deadhead transportation
is duty and is not rest. For purposes of
determining the maximum flight duty
period in Table B of this part, deadhead
transportation is not considered a
flight segment.
Duty
means any task that a
flightcrew member performs as re-
quired by the certificate holder, includ-
ing but not limited to flight duty pe-
riod, flight duty, pre- and post-flight
duties, administrative work, training,
deadhead transportation, aircraft posi-
tioning on the ground, aircraft loading,
and aircraft servicing.
Fatigue
means a physiological state
of reduced mental or physical perform-
ance capability resulting from lack of
sleep or increased physical activity
that can reduce a flightcrew member’s
alertness and ability to safely operate
an aircraft or perform safety-related
duties.
Fatigue risk management system
(FRMS) means a management system
for a certificate holder to use to miti-
gate the effects of fatigue in its par-
ticular operations. It is a data-driven
process and a systematic method used
to continuously monitor and manage
safety risks associated with fatigue-re-
lated error.
Fit for duty
means physiologically
and mentally prepared and capable of
performing assigned duties at the high-
est degree of safety.
Flight duty period (FDP)
means a pe-
riod that begins when a flightcrew
member is required to report for duty
with the intention of conducting a
flight, a series of flights, or positioning
or ferrying flights, and ends when the
aircraft is parked after the last flight
and there is no intention for further
aircraft movement by the same
flightcrew member. A flight duty pe-
riod includes the duties performed by
the flightcrew member on behalf of the
certificate holder that occur before a
flight segment or between flight seg-
ments without a required intervening
rest period. Examples of tasks that are
part of the flight duty period include
deadhead transportation, training con-
ducted in an aircraft or flight simu-
lator, and airport/standby reserve, if
the above tasks occur before a flight
segment or between flight segments
without an intervening required rest
period.
Home base
means the location des-
ignated by a certificate holder where a
flightcrew member normally begins
and ends his or her duty periods.
Lineholder
means a flightcrew mem-
ber who has an assigned flight duty pe-
riod and is not acting as a reserve
flightcrew member.
Long-call reserve
means that, prior to
beginning the rest period required by
§ 117.25, the flightcrew member is noti-
fied by the certificate holder to report
for a flight duty period following the
completion of the rest period.
22
14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition)
§ 117.5
Physiological night’s rest
means 10
hours of rest that encompasses the
hours of 0100 and 0700 at the flightcrew
member’s home base, unless the indi-
vidual has acclimated to a different
theater. If the flightcrew member has
acclimated to a different theater, the
rest must encompass the hours of 0100
and 0700 at the acclimated location.
Report time
means the time that the
certificate holder requires a flightcrew
member to report for an assignment.
Reserve availability period
means a
duty period during which a certificate
holder requires a flightcrew member on
short call reserve to be available to re-
ceive an assignment for a flight duty
period.
Reserve flightcrew member
means a
flightcrew member who a certificate
holder requires to be available to re-
ceive an assignment for duty.
Rest facility
means a bunk or seat ac-
commodation installed in an aircraft
that provides a flightcrew member
with a sleep opportunity.
(1)
Class 1 rest facility
means a bunk
or other surface that allows for a flat
sleeping position and is located sepa-
rate from both the flight deck and pas-
senger cabin in an area that is tem-
perature-controlled, allows the
flightcrew member to control light,
and provides isolation from noise and
disturbance.
(2)
Class 2 rest facility
means a seat in
an aircraft cabin that allows for a flat
or near flat sleeping position; is sepa-
rated from passengers by a minimum of
a curtain to provide darkness and some
sound mitigation; and is reasonably
free from disturbance by passengers or
flightcrew members.
(3)
Class 3 rest facility
means a seat in
an aircraft cabin or flight deck that re-
clines at least 40 degrees and provides
leg and foot support.
Rest period
means a continuous period
determined prospectively during which
the flightcrew member is free from all
restraint by the certificate holder, in-
cluding freedom from present responsi-
bility for work should the occasion
arise.
Scheduled
means to appoint, assign,
or designate for a fixed time.
Short-call reserve
means a period of
time in which a flightcrew member is
assigned to a reserve availability pe-
riod.
Split duty
means a flight duty period
that has a scheduled break in duty that
is less than a required rest period.
Suitable accommodation
means a tem-
perature-controlled facility with sound
mitigation and the ability to control
light that provides a flightcrew mem-
ber with the ability to sleep either in a
bed, bunk or in a chair that allows for
flat or near flat sleeping position. Suit-
able accommodation only applies to
ground facilities and does not apply to
aircraft onboard rest facilities.
Theater
means a geographical area in
which the distance between the
flightcrew member’s flight duty period
departure point and arrival point dif-
fers by no more than 60 degrees lon-
gitude.
Unforeseen operational circumstance
means an unplanned event of insuffi-
cient duration to allow for adjustments
to schedules, including unforecast
weather, equipment malfunction, or air
traffic delay that is not reasonably ex-
pected.
Window of circadian low
means a pe-
riod of maximum sleepiness that oc-
curs between 0200 and 0559 during a
physiological night.
[Doc. No. FAA–2009–1093, 77 FR 398, Jan. 4,
2012; Amdt. 117–1A, 77 FR 28764, May 16, 2012;
Amdt. 117–1, 78 FR 69288, Nov. 19, 2013]
§ 117.5 Fitness for duty.
(a) Each flightcrew member must re-
port for any flight duty period rested
and prepared to perform his or her as-
signed duties.
(b) No certificate holder may assign
and no flightcrew member may accept
assignment to a flight duty period if
the flightcrew member has reported for
a flight duty period too fatigued to
safely perform his or her assigned du-
ties.
(c) No certificate holder may permit
a flightcrew member to continue a
flight duty period if the flightcrew
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 flightcrew
member must affirmatively state he or
she is fit for duty prior to commencing
flight.