Originally Posted by
Frisco FO
I interpret that the FAA allows you to sleep 8 hours (on your own time) then wake up and decide to pick up a trip.
"ALPA asked whether an air carrier could contact a flightcrew member when the flightcrew member is off duty but not on a rest period to give a flight assignment. If so, ALPA questioned whether the carrier must provide at least 10 hours of rest prior to the flight assignment. ALPA also asked whether a flightcrew member could voluntarily elect to “pick up a trip” from open time if he or she will have the requisite rest prior to the report time for that trip.
As discussed above, the start of a previously-scheduled FDP can only be changed by utilizing the reserve provisions of § 117.21. As such, a certificate holder that wishes to bump up the time of a previously-scheduled FDP would have to provide the flightcrew member with the pertinent long-call-reserve notice of the FDP change. Alternatively, if a certificate holder anticipates that it may need to call in a flightcrew member for an FDP, then that certificate holder should provide the flightcrew member with the required 10-hour rest period and then place the flightcrew member on short-call reserve.
These circumstances change if a flightcrew member decides, on his/her own initiative, to pick up a trip from open time, as the regulations do not prohibit this practice as long as the flightcrew member has received the required rest. However, the FAA cautions flightcrew members that § 117.5(a) requires a flightcrew member to “report for any flight duty period rested and prepared to perform his or her assigned duties.” The preamble to the final rule explains that this provision was added to the regulations to, among other things, “discourage flightcrew-member practices such as picking up extra hours.” [44] Thus, while a flightcrew member is free to voluntarily pick up extra flight hours from open time, the flightcrew member may be in violation of § 117.5(a) if this activity results in the flightcrew member becoming unduly fatigued."
However, if the
company contacts the crewmember (not vice versa) and the crewmember accepts without a scheduled preceding 10 hour rest period--is this not a violation? I agree with the above that if a crewmember volunatrily picks up a trip it is their responsibility to be fit for duty. However if the company makes the initial contact and the crewmember accepts it, there is a log of transaction that could be pulled (by the FAA) should an incident/accident ensue afterwards. This is where we get hung out to dry with little recourse. I'm just looking it the old school way--from a Feds point of view with these late calls--early showtime scenarios...At least its something to ponder............................................ .............