A new proposal to fight fatigue among commercial pilots was recently proposed by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Randy Babbitt today. The new proposal seeks to reduce pilot fatigue by setting new flight time, rest and duty requirements based on fatigue science.
At current, there are varying requirements for pilot rest for domestic, international and unscheduled flights. For the purposes of on-demand charters, crews are required to have a crew rest period of a minimum of 8 hours for every 14 hours of flight duty. The new proposed rule would eliminate any differences and create a unified set of rest and duty rules for all flights. The proposal goes further to also set different requirements for pilots based on the time of day and the number of scheduled segments they’d fly. In addition, it takes into account time zones, type of flights, and additional rest times to create a more accurate picture of a pilot’s fatigue level.
One important aspect of the new rule is a re-definition of the term “flight duty”. The new proposal defines flight duty as “the period of time when a pilot reports for duty with the intention of flying an aircraft, operating a simulator or operating a flight training device.” The significant difference is that the new definition includes a pilot’s entire duty period including both “flight duty” and other tasks that do not involve flight time.
Another crucial element of the new proposal was the introduction of Fatigue Risk Management Plans (FRMPs). Recently, congress mandated that all air carriers must now develop and have have a Fatigue Risk Management Plan. Although each carrier will be able to develop its own set of policies and procedures, the FAA has prepared guidance materials to facilitate the development of FRMPs. Essentially the FRMPs will be introduced to reduce the risks of pilot fatigue and improve alertness among flight crew.
As a safety conscious organization, the introduction of more stringent standards on pilot fatigue are a welcome change to Paramount Business Jets and all of our operators. Paramount Business Jets is proud to provide our clients with private jet charters to all major jet charter cities worldwide and operators who’s safety standards are rigorously monitored and audited by third-party safety firms prior to all operations. Learn more about our safety programs.
