FAA finalizes new pilot fatigue rule; cargo carriers exempted

FAA issued a long-anticipated final rule Wednesday on pilot flight time, duty and rest that imposes tighter restrictions on airlines and flight deck crew, though it also softened some of the provisions contained in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) released on pilot fatigue 15 months ago .

A major change in the compared to the is that cargo carriers are exempted, though they will be allowed to opt in; US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he will encourage them to do so.

Also, the rest time allotment was liberalized from the NPRM, which had called for pilots to be required to have "9 hrs. for the opportunity to rest" before reporting for flight duty, with former FAA administrator Randy Babbitt emphasizing in September 2010 that the clock would not start ticking until the pilot was "behind closed doors" in a hotel or other designated rest place. Under the regulations as they have been, flight crew members were required to have a minimum of 8 hrs. of rest time between flight duty periods, but that could include transit time from an airport to a hotel.

Under the final rule adopted Wednesday, which airlines will be required to implement by Dec. 21, 2013, there will be a 10-hr. minimum rest period. However, transit time can be counted. The pilot would need to have at least 8 hrs. in a hotel room or designated sleep area, not 9 hrs. as had been proposed.

Regarding the new rule's treatment of flight duty time, "the allowable length … depends on when the pilot's day begins and the number of flight segments he or she is expected to fly, and ranges from 9-14 hrs. for single crew operations," according to FAA. 

The agency noted an important change from current regulations (which just count duty time as actual time in the cockpit): "Flight duty [under the new rule] includes deadhead transportation, training in an aircraft or flight simulator, and airport standby or reserve duty if these tasks occur before a flight or between flights without an intervening required rest period." 

In addition, the length of continuous time-off mandated during a 7-day period is being extended from 24 to 30 hrs.

"This is a major safety achievement," LaHood said, noting that the US Dept. of Transportation had "identified the issue of pilot fatigue as a top priority … following the crash of Colgan Air flight 3407".

FAA said the estimated cost to airlines of implementing the rule will be $297 million. US airlines had warned that implementing the NPRM would lead to significant job cuts.