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207 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 121.505 

Subpart S—Flight Time Limitations: 

Supplemental Operations 

S

OURCE

: Docket No. 6258, 29 FR 19218, Dec. 

31, 1964; 30 FR 3639, Mar. 19, 1965, unless oth-
erwise noted. 

§ 121.500 Applicability. 

This subpart prescribes flight time 

limitations and rest requirements for 
supplemental all-cargo operations, ex-
cept that: 

(a) Certificate holders conducting op-

erations with aircraft having a pas-
senger seat configuration of 30 seats or 
fewer, excluding each crewmember 
seat, and a payload capacity of 7,500 
pound or less, may comply with the ap-
plicable requirements of §§ 135.261 
through 135.273 of this chapter. 

(b) A certificate holder may apply 

the flightcrew member flight time and 
duty limitations and requirements of 
part 117 of this chapter. A certificate 
holder may choose to apply part 117 to 
its— 

(1) All-cargo operations conducted 

under contract to a U.S. Government 
agency. 

(2) All-cargo operations not con-

ducted under contract to a U.S. Gov-
ernment agency, 

(3) A certificate holder may elect to 

treat operations in paragraphs (b)(1) 
and (b)(2) of this section differently 
but, once having decided to conduct 
those operations under part 117, may 
not segregate those operations between 
this subpart and part 117. 

[Doc. No. FAA–2009–1093, 77 FR 403, Jan. 4, 
2012, as amended by Docket No. FAA–2022– 
1563; Amdt. No. 121–390, 88 FR 48090, July 26, 
2023] 

§ 121.503 Flight time limitations: Pi-

lots: airplanes. 

(a) A certificate holder conducting 

supplemental operations may schedule 
a pilot to fly in an airplane for eight 
hours or less during any 24 consecutive 
hours without a rest period during 
those eight hours. 

(b) Each pilot who has flown more 

than eight hours during any 24 con-
secutive hours must be given at least 
16 hours of rest before being assigned 
to any duty with the certificate holder. 

(c) Each certificate holder con-

ducting supplemental operations shall 

relieve each pilot from all duty for at 
least 24 consecutive hours at least once 
during any seven consecutive days. 

(d) No pilot may fly as a crewmember 

in air transportation more than 100 
hours during any 30 consecutive days. 

(e) No pilot may fly as a crewmember 

in air transportation more than 1,000 
hours during any calendar year. 

(f) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of 

this section, the certificate holder 
may, in conducting a transcontinental 
nonstop flight, schedule a flight crew-
member for more than eight but not 
more than 10 hours of continuous duty 
aloft without an intervening rest pe-
riod, if— 

(1) The flight is in an airplane with a 

pressurization system that is operative 
at the beginning of the flight; 

(2) The flight crew consists of at least 

two pilots and a flight engineer; and 

(3) The certificate holder uses, in 

conducting the operation, an air/ 
ground communication service that is 
independent of systems operated by the 
United States, and a dispatch organiza-
tion, both of which are approved by the 
Administrator as adequate to serve the 
terminal points concerned. 

[Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19218, Dec. 31, 1964; 30 
FR 3639, Mar. 19, 1965, as amended by Amdt. 
121–253, 61 FR 2613, Jan. 26, 1996] 

§ 121.505 Flight time limitations: Two 

pilot crews: airplanes. 

(a) If a certificate holder conducting 

supplemental operations schedules a 
pilot to fly more than eight hours dur-
ing any 24 consecutive hours, it shall 
give him an intervening rest period at 
or before the end of eight scheduled 
hours of flight duty. This rest period 
must be at least twice the number of 
hours flown since the preceding rest pe-
riod, but not less than eight hours. The 
certificate holder conducting supple-
mental operations shall relieve that 
pilot of all duty with it during that 
rest period. 

(b) No pilot of an airplane that has a 

crew of two pilots may be on duty for 
more than 16 hours during any 24 con-
secutive hours. 

[Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19218, Dec. 31, 1964; 30 
FR 3639, Mar. 19, 1965, as amended by Amdt. 
121–253, 61 FR 2613, Jan. 26, 1996]