In this issue of our series “Know your CWA” we take a closer look at “Commander´s Discretion”.
B1-36.11 Unforeseen circumstances in flight operations – Commander’s Discretion
The conditions to modify the limits on flight duty, duty and rest periods by the commander in the case of unforeseen circumstances in flight operations, which start at or after the reporting time, shall comply with the following:
Table B1-36.11-1 Available Discretion:
According to this article it is possible to extend the maximum daily FDP of:
- a Standard Flight Crew, consisting of two pilots, by maximum 2 hours.
- an Augmented Crew by maximum 3 hours.
Important: This rule can only be applied under certain conditions and in case of unforeseen circumstances at or after the Reporting Time. A request by the company to eventually already consider unforeseen circumstances before a pilot reports for duty clearly is a violation against the CWA and the OM-A.
The OM-A and EASA FTL also state, that “…The exercise of commander´s discretion should be considered exceptional and should be avoided at home base.”
Reporting Time is defined in CWA Part III as “the moment in time at which a Pilot is required by the Company to report for any Duty.”
The CWA furthermore states the following:
Before deciding to apply commander’s discretion the commander shall take due consideration of all factors that might decrease a crew member’s alertness levels, such as:
- WOCL encroachment;
- weather conditions;
- complexity of the operation and/or airport environment;
- aeroplane malfunctions or specifications;
- flight with training or supervisory duties;
- increased number of sectors;
- circadian disruption; and
- individual conditions of affected crew members (time since awake, sleep-related factor, workload, previous duties etc.)
- Any such modifications must be acceptable to the Commander after consultation with all other crew members.
- The decision rests solely with the crew members and Cargolux adopts a non-punitive response in case of non-application of commander’s discretion.
- If on the final sector within an FDP the allowed increase is exceeded because of unforeseen circumstances after takeoff, the flight may continue to the planned destination or alternate.
Before applying a commander´s discretion:
- the commander must consider various things which are listed above. This means that basically all circumstances that potentially do have a negative effect on the safety of the flight must carefully be evaluated and taken into consideration.
- the commander also must consult all crew members and only if the entire crew does agree to such a modification it can be applied.
Cargolux also states that:
- such a decision solely rests with the crew members and
- a non-application of commander´s discretion does not result in a punitive response.
In addition the CWA mentions:
The rest period following an FDP may be reduced, at Commander’s discretion, but can never be less than 10 hours.
The Commander shall, in case of special circumstances which could lead to severe fatigue, and after consultation with the Pilots concerned, reduce the actual FDP and/or increase the rest period in order to eliminate any detrimental effect on flight safety.
This part mentions that:
- a rest period may be reduced to 10 hours.
- the commander shall reduce the actual FDP and/or shall increase the rest period should any crew member suffer or potentially suffer from severe fatigue, which could have an adverse effect on the safety of the flight.
In other words; A commander always can – even shall – reduce the FDP to below the maximum allowable FDP should the safe conduct of the flight be jeopardized in any kind.
The Commander shall submit a report to the Postholder Flight Operations when an FDP is increased or a rest period is reduced at his or her discretion.
Where the increase of an FDP or reduction of a rest period exceeds one hour, a copy of the report, to which the Postholder Flight Operations must add his comments, is sent to the Authority not later than 28 days after the event.
The last two paragraphs highlight that:
- it is the responsibility of the commander to submit a report any time a FDP is increased or a rest period is reduced. This should be done by using the iQSMS application.
- in addition, the Postholder Flight Operations must send a copy of the report to the civil aviation authority any time when an increase or reduction exceeds 1 hour.
Example A:
A Standard Flight Crew is scheduled to operate the flight CGO – LUX. Scheduled time of departure is 08:00 UTC, 16:00 LT CGO. Reporting time is 15:00 LT, which also is the Reference time for calculating the maximum FDP. According to table B1-36.3.1 in the CWA the FDP limit is 12:15 hours with a “Roster publication limit” of 11:45 hours. The scheduled FDP on the roster is 11:30 hours and therefore within the limits of the CWA.
When arriving at the aircraft in CGO the crew gets the information, that some loading equipment just broke down but loading will continue at a slower pace, resulting in 1 hour delay. Taking the delay into consideration the FDP now is 12:30 hours, exceeding the FDP limit by 15 minutes.
It is now the responsibility of all crew members to assess the situation and when considering “Commander´s discretion” to take all relevant factors as mentioned above into consideration.
If “Commander´s discretion” is applied, a report must be submitted to the Postholder Flight Operatons.
Example B:
An Augmented Flight Crew (3 Pilots) is scheduled to operate the flight LUX – SJU – ATL. Scheduled departure time is 20:00 UTC and the maximum FDP is 16 hours, since no sector is longer than 9 hours. The scheduled FDP is 15:30 hours and within the limits of the CWA.
Due to the long and tiring night duty, one pilot is suffering from fatigue on the first sector. It is now the obligation of the commander to act according to the OM-A and CWA and to shorten the FDP to ensure a safe operation. As a result the flight from SJU to ATL is delayed because the crew takes a rest period in SJU.
!IMPORTANT! Every pilot suffering or potentially suffering from fatigue must file a Fatigue Report!
Simply use the iQSMS application or the LEAF application to submit reports, both are provided on your iPad. When entering the data be as accurate and as complete as possible. Please click here for additional guidance.
Furthermore it is according to OM-A Chapter 11, Section 2 mandatory to submit an ASR if the fatigue you experienced impacted or could have potentially impacted your ability to perform your flight duties safely.
Please follow this link to download your copy of the CWA for your perusal on the company provided iPad or any other computer for future reference.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us at cvboard@alpl.lu for clarification.
All parts of this series can be found here in the Publications section under Cargolux Board.
