Originally Posted by
gloopy
What if the FO unilaterally decides not to accept the extension? Does she/he have to lie and say "fatigue" or "sick" (and then be subjected to the side effects of making either of those calls) or do they have the ability to merely say they are not accepting the extension like the CA has the right, button up their jacket, walk away and go to the hotel with impunity?
I was on a flight last month that timed out. We kept telling them that we were getting close to 14 hours duty, but no one would listen to us. The captain said he was walking at 14, end of story. At 14:20 he walked off the plane, leaving us two FOs. We got a call from the duty pilot asking us individually if we were willing to extend. We told them no and we were packing up too. They ended up giving us a domicile layover, delayed the flight, and we left 14 hours later.
According to the duty pilot that night, EACH pilot has to make the determination whether or not they will extend. Even if the captain decides to Boy Scout it, the FO can say, "nope, not gonna do it," and walk. You, as in every pilot, are the only one who can make the determination about extending or not.