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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 

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165 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 121.393 

(9) Any other factors he determines 

are relevant in the interest of safety. 

(c) Operations where a flight navi-

gator or special navigation equipment, 
or both, are required are specified in 
the operations specifications of the air 
carrier or commercial operator. 

[Doc. No. 10204, 37 FR 6464, Mar. 30, 1972, as 
amended by Amdt. 121–178, 47 FR 13316, Mar. 
29, 1982] 

§ 121.391 Flight attendants. 

(a) Except as specified in § 121.393 and 

§ 121.394, each certificate holder must 
provide at least the following flight at-
tendants on board each passenger-car-
rying airplane when passengers are on 
board: 

(1) For airplanes having a maximum 

payload capacity of more than 7,500 
pounds and having a seating capacity 
of more than 9 but less than 51 pas-
sengers—one flight attendant. 

(2) For airplanes having a maximum 

payload capacity of 7,500 pounds or less 
and having a seating capacity of more 
than 19 but less than 51 passengers— 
one flight attendant. 

(3) For airplanes having a seating ca-

pacity of more than 50 but less than 101 
passengers—two flight attendants. 

(4) For airplanes having a seating ca-

pacity of more than 100 passengers— 
two flight attendants plus one addi-
tional flight attendant for each unit 
(or part of a unit) of 50 passenger seats 
above a seating capacity of 100 pas-
sengers. 

(b) If, in conducting the emergency 

evacuation demonstration required 
under § 121.291 (a) or (b), the certificate 
holder used more flight attendants 
than is required under paragraph (a) of 
this section for the maximum seating 
capacity of the airplane used in the 
demonstration, he may not, thereafter, 
take off that airplane— 

(1) In its maximum seating capacity 

configuration with fewer flight attend-
ants than the number used during the 
emergency evacuation demonstration; 
or 

(2) In any reduced seating capacity 

configuration with fewer flight attend-
ants than the number required by para-
graph (a) of this section for that seat-
ing capacity plus the number of flight 
attendants used during the emergency 
evacuation demonstration that were in 

excess of those required under para-
graph (a) of this section. 

(c) The number of flight attendants 

approved under paragraphs (a) and (b) 
of this section are set forth in the cer-
tificate holder’s operations specifica-
tions. 

(d) During takeoff and landing, flight 

attendants required by this section 
shall be located as near as practicable 
to required floor level exits and shall 
be uniformly distributed throughout 
the airplane in order to provide the 
most effective egress of passengers in 
event of an emergency evacuation. 
During taxi, flight attendants required 
by this section must remain at their 
duty stations with safety belts and 
shoulder harnesses fastened except to 
perform duties related to the safety of 
the airplane and its occupants. 

[Doc. No. 2033, 30 FR 3206, Mar. 9, 1965] 

E

DITORIAL

N

OTE

: For F

EDERAL

R

EGISTER

ci-

tations affecting § 121.391, see the List of CFR 
Sections Affected, which appears in the 
Finding Aids section of the printed volume 
and at 

www.govinfo.gov. 

§ 121.392 Personnel identified as flight 

attendants. 

(a) Any person identified by the cer-

tificate holder as a flight attendant on 
an aircraft in operations under this 
part must be trained and qualified in 
accordance with subparts N and O of 
this part. This includes: 

(1) Flight attendants provided by the 

certificate holder in excess of the num-
ber required by § 121.391(a); and 

(2) Flight attendants provided by the 

certificate holder when flight attend-
ants are not required by § 121.391(a). 

(b) A qualifying flight attendant who 

is receiving operating experience on an 
aircraft in operations under subpart O 
of this part must be identified to pas-
sengers as a qualifying flight attend-
ant. 

[Doc. No. FAA–2008–0677, 78 FR 67836, Nov. 12, 
2013] 

§ 121.393 Crewmember requirements 

at stops where passengers remain 

on board. 

At stops where passengers remain on 

board, the certificate holder must meet 
the following requirements: 

(a) On each airplane for which a 

flight attendant is not required by