submission - Independent Pilots Association

ARAC Rescrvc Duty Workrng Group Indusrry/hlanagemenr Rcpon ( l/1999)
rcs€rve and scheduled duty assignments, it is diflìcult to assess the particular timing of an
individr¡al's circadian cycle vis ã vis a particular flight assignment.
The rnajoriry
opportunity i
hours during
also acknowledged that the PTP should not c
the next- Consensus was rcached that this is I
ranâgem€nt proposal is rb¡, at best, rcserye
appropriate rest opporrunity. They cannot
ryriately rested" prior to a flight assignment.
rccept personal respo,nsi tility for obtaining
i provided for resl
m routine
method is
ry to
In addition, it was recognized
difficult, if not impossible, to
and/or Part 135 operations (sc rs of
crcws involved in sucå operatio_ns. Thus, an alærnative was deemed to be necessary for
non-scheduled and other Part 135 operations.
nce rqserves are frequently not called for
fligbt assignmens
operations, if at all
"snowball effect,"
course of a normal
assiguments to utilize all available opportunities for rcst.
RDWG discussioos of the scientific literatu¡e also included resea¡ch by the National
Aeronautics and-Space Administratiog (l,lASA) which demonstrated rhrt gys¡ brief naps
(approximately 45 minutes) can significantly enhençs alerhess and scrve as an effectivì
countermeasure to faúgue. This underscores the responsibility res€rve pilos have to utilize
all available r€st opportunities during RAh.
Task 2: Analysis of current reserve schemes and operational situations
Extensive discr¡ssions of current practices illustrated that there is a wide variety of reserve
conclusion that a single rule would not be in the public intercst.
It was fu¡ther demonstrated by the management group that the majorir¡- of major airlines
(affecting the vast majority of U.S. professional pilots) had negotìated work-rules
governing nes€rve assignments that had factored in the cha¡acterisúcs of a particular
tc.