Anonymous

Refe; 117.3 Unforeseen operational circumstance. Unforeseen operational circumstance means an unplanned event beyond the control of a certificate holder of insufficient duration to allow for adjustments to schedules, including unforecast weather, equipment malfunction, or air traffic delay. Ref; 117.13 Flight time limitation. (unaugmented crews) No certificate holder may schedule and no flightcrew member may accept an assignment or continue an assigned flight duty period if the total flight time: (a) Will exceed the limits specified in Table A of this part if the operation is conducted with the minimum required flightcrew. The NPRM does not appear reference flight times when alternates are required due to known and foreseen weather conditions. Example; A flight time limitation of 9 hours exists per table A and a scheduled flight is scheduled from ABC to XYZ for 8:45 - within flight time limits. Then before release of the flight, the flight time is calculated in that the actually total flight time would be a 8:50 flight and then due to a forecast and foreseen conditions a planned required alternate is required which is an additional possible 1 hour flight duration for a total of 9:45. The possibility of flying to a flight planned alternate would place the possibility of the actual flight to overfly a 9 hour flight time limit of table A. 1.Must the additional possible flight time to an alternate be taken into account in the total time because during preflight planning the conditions would be actually be forecasted and foreseen? 2.If the actual conditions would be foreseen prior to the flight, would the FAA consider the conditions to be within control of the certificate holder and require changes such as but not limited too assigning additional augmented crews to take into account actual conditions? 3.Does the FAA give authority to a P.I.C to require augmented crew members if the preflighted total flight may exceed the flight time limits of table A?