In-flight Crew Relief
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In-flight crew relief (commonly referred in noun form as the relief aircrew, relief flight crew, or just relief crew), is a term used in
commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...
when referring to the members of an
aircrew Aircrew are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions In commercial aviatio ...
intended to temporarily relieve active crew members of their duties during the course of a flight. The term and its role are almost exclusively applied to the secondary pilots of an aircrew, commonly referred to as relief pilots, that relieve the primary and active
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
and/or first officer (co-pilot) in command of an aircraft to provide prolonged breaks for rest or sleep opportunities.


Usage

In-flight crew relief is generally required for flights that are determined to be long haul or "ultra-long haul" on aircraft commercially operated (
airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...
operated). In certain places such as the United States, flights will be given these classifications and equipped with relief crews when around or exceeding 8–12 hours domestically or internationally. Operators of these flights prototypically will have 1 or 2 relief pilots to the amalgamated 3 to 4 pilots assigned to the total aircrew depending on the regional jurisdictions regarding flight length. Initially in the early years of commercial aviation, pilots assigned as the second officer (
flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is a member of an aircraft's flight crew who is responsible for monitoring and operating its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referr ...
) or third officer of a flight crew would take the role of relieving the commanding captain or first officer when situationally necessary. In modern years however, the pilots consisting of a relief crew are usually certified as captains or first officers correspondingly being referred in certain instances as the relief captain or relief first officer. A prominent intention for the utilization of in-flight crew relief is in the interval(s) the pilots of the relief crew have aircraft command, the pilots of the primary crew are permitted to exit the
flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface on which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...
(cockpit) for extended periods of time and be able to regain energy from sleep or rest in the
aircraft cabin An aircraft cabin is the section of an aircraft in which passengers travel. Most modern commercial aircraft are pressurized, as cruising altitudes are high enough such that the surrounding atmosphere is too thin for passengers and crew to brea ...
or dedicated crew rest compartments equipped in some aircraft. This is often considered as an effective and significant factor in lessening the potential risks of pilot fatigue throughout the duration of flights, especially ones scheduled during night and early morning hours. Pilots in the relief crew may be used also to assume command of the aircraft in the event of an in-flight emergency causing or due to the incapacitation or unexpected death of one or both of the commanding pilots of the primary crew.


Regulations and scheduling arrangements

The members of a relief flight crew are intended by their commercial operators to be properly and fully rested prior to the departure of a flight and provided a seat in either the flight deck (typically a
jump seat A jump seat (sometimes spelled jumpseat) is an auxiliary seat in an automobile, train or aircraft, typically folding or spring-loaded to collapse out of the way when not used. The term originated in the United States c. 1860 for a movable car ...
) or a
seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...
in the cabin of the aircraft. Airlines will create their own customary rules and regulations, ones such as
Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...
require the pilots of both crews present in the flight deck for the takeoff and landing sequences of the flight. Air France also made it requirement for the relief pilot(s) to not engage in operating the aircraft during these processes and to assist in pre-flight planning with the active crew.
British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
has been noted to also requiring the flight deck presence of the relief pilot(s) during takeoff and landing. They similarly task the relief crew to assist with ground services and flight planning before takeoff in addition to prohibiting "abort" or "go around" directive callouts from the relief pilots in these situations. According to
Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private university, private, Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, Cornell Law School offers four degree programs (Juris Doctor, JD, Maste ...
, a commercial pilot can't be assigned as a member of a relief flight crew if they exceed "500 hours in any calendar quarter", "800 hours in any two consecutive calendar quarters" or "1,400 hours in any calendar year." The Federal Aviation Administration has approved policies from multiple airlines requiring a qualified crew member such as a relief pilot to be in the flight deck during the short temporary absence of one of the active pilots as a direct result of the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 in 2015. The schedule for when the relief crew takes over control of an aircraft's flight deck from the active crew is mainly designated in accordance with the guidelines created by the commercial operator of the aircraft though in some cases it may be arranged along with a verbal consensus between both flight crews. The common system executed between a primary and relief crew from this is that the primary active crew will command the flight for the
takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a tr ...
and climb segments of the flight. The active crew afterwards would transfer command of the aircraft to the relief crew during the middle portions of the flight, when the aircraft is primarily operating on
autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of a vehicle without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allow ...
at cruising altitude and not requiring substantial manual flight control manipulation. These type pilots of a relief crew that regularly take command during these portions are alternately referred as cruise relief pilots. Cruise relief pilots are designed to command the aircraft typically at altitudes of 20,000 feet and higher. The primary crew will then reassume command typically before the flight's final descent into the
landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or " spl ...
approach and land the aircraft.


Scrutinization and refinements

The
European Cockpit Association The European Cockpit Association (ECA) is a trade union that represents European Pilot (aircraft), pilots. It has pursued the improvement of aviation policies to the benefit of its members, and has frequently spoken out in length on topics such as ...
(ECA) published an article on April 9, 2014, in which critical concerns and issues regarding flight safety around the specialized relief crew role of a "cruise relief pilot" were expressed. The organization detailed at time of the article's publishing, regulations did not make commercial operators have landing and takeoff training mandatory for cruise relief pilots. The ECA article addresses this further with the probable scenario of an emergency or technical malfunction stating " ...each and every crew member in the cockpit must be able to safely handle, both above and below FL 200." Two days later on April 11, 2014, the
European Aviation Safety Agency The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Commission with responsibility for civil aviation safety in the European Union. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs inve ...
(EASA) had proposed safety regulations regarding the liable lack of safety and certifications regulation for cruise relief pilots. Some proposed in the published report included "that a cruise relief co-pilot and a cruise relief pilot are adequately trained and qualified to safely operate an aeroplane during the cruise segment of a flight" and "appropriate operating procedures are established for the transfer of authority from the captain to the cruise relief pilot." The EASA in their report used supporting evidence in the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety's (BEA) investigation into the crash of
Air France Flight 447 Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, inconsistent airspeed indications and mi ...
, which no directive or nomination was given from the vacating captain to whether the first officer relieving the captain in the left seat or the first officer in the right seat should be the pilot in command.


See also

*
Aircrew Aircrew are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions In commercial aviatio ...
* Crew rest compartment *
Deadheading (employee) Deadheading is the practice of carrying, free of charge, a transport company's own staff on a normal passenger trip so that they can be in the right place to begin their duties. In United States railway usage, the term may also be used for moveme ...
* Pilot fatigue * Second officer * Third officer


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Relief_crew Occupations in aviation