164 

14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition) 

§ 121.385 

airman certificate and medical certifi-
cate privileges under an approved cer-
tificate verification plan set forth in 
the certificate holder’s operations 
specifications. A document provided by 
the certificate holder may be carried as 
an airman certificate or medical cer-
tificate on flights within the United 
States for up to 72 hours. 

(d) No certificate holder may use the 

services of any person as a pilot on an 
airplane engaged in operations under 
this part if that person has reached his 
or her 65th birthday. 

(e) No pilot may serve as a pilot in 

operations under this part if that per-
son has reached his or her 65th birth-
day. 

[Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19212, Dec. 31, 1964, as 
amended by Amdt. 121–144, 43 FR 22646, May 
25, 1978; Amdt. 121–344, 74 FR 34234, July 15, 
2009; Amdt. 121–372, 80 FR 33401, June 12, 2015; 
Amdt. 121–381, 83 FR 30282, June 27, 2018] 

§ 121.385 Composition of flight crew. 

(a) No certificate holder may operate 

an airplane with less than the min-
imum flight crew in the airworthiness 
certificate or the airplane Flight Man-
ual approved for that type airplane and 
required by this part for the kind of op-
eration being conducted. 

(b) In any case in which this part re-

quires the performance of two or more 
functions for which an airman certifi-
cate is necessary, that requirement is 
not satisfied by the performance of 
multiple functions at the same time by 
one airman. 

(c) The minimum pilot crew is two 

pilots and the certificate holder shall 
designate one pilot as pilot in com-
mand and the other second in com-
mand. 

(d) On each flight requiring a flight 

engineer at least one flight crew-
member, other than the flight engi-
neer, must be qualified to provide 
emergency performance of the flight 
engineer’s functions for the safe com-
pletion of the flight if the flight engi-
neer becomes ill or is otherwise inca-
pacitated. A pilot need not hold a 
flight engineer’s certificate to perform 

the flight engineer’s functions in such 
a situation. 

[Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19212, Dec. 31, 1964, as 
amended by Amdt. 121–178, 47 FR 13316, Mar. 
29, 1982; Amdt. 121–256, 61 FR 30434, June 14, 
1996] 

§ 121.387 Flight engineer. 

No certificate holder may operate an 

airplane for which a type certificate 
was issued before January 2, 1964, hav-
ing a maximum certificated takeoff 
weight of more than 80,000 pounds with-
out a flight crewmember holding a cur-
rent flight engineer certificate. For 
each airplane type certificated after 
January 1, 1964, the requirement for a 
flight engineer is determined under the 
type certification requirements of 
§ 25.1523. 

[Doc. No. 5025, 30 FR 6067, Apr. 29, 1965] 

§ 121.389 Flight navigator and special-

ized navigation equipment. 

(a) No certificate holder may operate 

an airplane outside the 48 contiguous 
States and the District of Columbia, 
when its position cannot be reliably 
fixed for a period of more than 1 hour, 
without— 

(1) A flight crewmember who holds a 

current flight navigator certificate; or 

(2) Specialized means of navigation 

approved in accordance with § 121.355 
which enables a reliable determination 
to be made of the position of the air-
plane by each pilot seated at his duty 
station. 

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of 

this section, the Administrator may 
also require a flight navigator or spe-
cial navigation equipment, or both, 
when specialized means of navigation 
are necessary for 1 hour or less. In 
making this determination, the Admin-
istrator considers— 

(1) The speed of the airplane; 
(2) Normal weather conditions en 

route; 

(3) Extent of air traffic control; 
(4) Traffic congestion; 
(5) Area of navigational radio cov-

erage at destination; 

(6) Fuel requirements; 
(7) Fuel available for return to point 

of departure or alternates; 

(8) Predication of flight upon oper-

ation beyond the point of no return; 
and