Canadian Aviation Regulations (SOR/96-433)

Controlled Rest on Flight Deck

• 700.135 (1) A flight crew member shall not take a controlled rest on the flight deck of an aircraft that is operated by an air operator unless

  • (a) the rest is 45 minutes or less, is taken during the cruise portion of the flight and is completed at least 30 minutes before the scheduled beginning of the descent;

  • (b) no other flight crew member is taking a rest at that time; and

  • (c) at least two flight crew members remain on the flight deck.

• (2) Before taking a controlled rest on the flight deck, a flight crew member shall

  • (a) transfer their duties to a flight crew member who is not taking a rest;

  • (b) review the status of the flight, including any specific duties to be performed during the rest;

  • (c) review the wake-up criteria; and

  • (d) advise the other crew members of the start and end times of the rest.

• (3) A flight crew member who takes a controlled rest on the flight deck shall not assume any duties, and no other flight crew member shall transfer any duties to them, until 15 minutes after the end of the rest.

• (4) When a flight crew member returns to duty, another flight crew member shall provide him or her with an operational briefing.

[700.136 to 700.199 reserved]

Division V — Exemptions — Fatigue Risk Management System

Initial Exemption

• 700.200 (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), an air operator and flight crew members to whom sections 700.20 to 700.72 or 700.101 to 700.135 apply are exempt, in respect of a flight, from the application of the provisions set out in the notice of intent referred to in section 700.206, if

  • (a) the air operator has sent to the Minister a notice of intent that complies with the requirements of section 700.206;

  • (b) the air operator has established and implemented the following components of the fatigue risk management system, referred to in subsection 700.214(1):

    • (i) the fatigue risk management plan, and

    • (ii) the fatigue risk management process; and

  • (c) starting on the date on which the flight is first conducted under the exemption in this subsection and ending when the exemption no longer applies, the air operator notifies the Minister that the analysis required by paragraph 700.225(2)(g) is available to the Minister for review

    • (i) every 90 days, or

    • (ii) if the period during which the flight is conducted is shorter than 90 days, at the end of the period.

• (2) Subject to subsections (3) and (5), an air operator and flight crew members to whom sections 702.91 to 702.98 apply are exempt, in respect of a flight, from the application of the provisions set out in the notice of intent referred to in section 700.206, if

  • (a) the air operator has sent to the Minister a notice of intent that complies with the requirements of section 700.206;

  • (b) the air operator has established and implemented the following components of the fatigue risk management system, referred to in subsection 700.214(1):

    • (i) the fatigue risk management plan, and

    • (ii) the fatigue risk management process; and

  • (c) starting on the date on which the flight is first conducted under the exemption in this subsection and ending when the exemption no longer applies, the air operator notifies the Minister that the analysis required by paragraph 700.225(2)(g) is available to the Minister for review

    • (i) every 90 days, or

    • (ii) if the period during which the flight is conducted is shorter than 90 days, at the end of the period.

• (3) The exemptions referred to in subsections (1) and (2) continue to apply in respect of a flight as long as the air operator demonstrates compliance with the requirements of sections 700.213 to 700.225 but cease to apply, in respect of that flight, on the earlier of

  • (a) the date on which the exemption referred to in section 700.234 comes into effect with respect to the same provisions and for the same flight, and

  • (b) three years after the date on which the notice of intent was sent.

• (4) The exemption referred to in subsection (1) may be in respect of any of the requirements set out in sections 700.27 to 700.72 except for the requirements set out in the following provisions:

  • (a) paragraph 700.27(1)(c);

  • (b) paragraph 700.29(1)(a);

  • (c) section 700.36;

  • (d) section 700.37; and

  • (e) paragraph 700.103(1)(e).

• (5) The exemption referred to in subsection (2) may be in respect of any of the requirements set out in sections 702.92 to 702.98 except for the requirements set out in paragraph 702.92(1)(a).

Series of Flights

700.201 In this Division, a reference to a flight is also a reference to a series of flights if

• (a) the flights in the series of flights are consecutive and are conducted by the same flight crew members; and

• (b) the flight crew members operate the flights during a single flight duty period or consecutive flight duty periods.

[700.202 to 700.205 reserved]

Notice of Intent

• 700.206 (1) An air operator shall send a notice of intent to the Minister that includes

  • (a) a statement that the air operator has established and implemented a fatigue risk management plan and a fatigue risk management process — and maintains the fatigue risk management plan and the fatigue risk management process — and intends to establish, implement and maintain a program for fatigue risk management promotion and a quality assurance program for the fatigue risk management system in accordance with this Division;

  • (b) a description of the flight that will be subject to an exemption referred to in section 700.200;

  • (c) the provisions of these Regulations from which the air operator and flight crew members will be exempt;

  • (d) a description of the manner in which the flight will be conducted results in a variance from the requirements of the provisions referred to in paragraph (c);

  • (e) the scientific studies used to demonstrate that the variance referred to in paragraph (d) is not likely to have an adverse effect on the levels of fatigue and alertness of flight crew members;

  • (f) the expected day on which the exemption referred to in section 700.200 will first apply to the flight and, in the case of a flight that is not conducted year-round, the expected period during which the exemption referred to in that section will apply to the flight;

  • (g) a description of the safety case that will be developed for the flight;

  • (h) a statement that the air operator intends to validate a safety case in accordance with subsection 700.225(3) and to ensure that an initial audit is conducted under subsection 700.231(1); and

  • (i) the name and contact information of the person who will be responsible for implementing the fatigue risk management system.

• (2) The air operator may include in the notice of intent more than one flight if

  • (a) the duration of the flight duty period is the same for all flights;

  • (b) all flights have the same number of consecutive flight duty periods;

  • (c) the flight duty periods for the flights start within 60 minutes of each other;

  • (d) the duration of any part of a flight duty period that occurs within the flight crew members’ window of circadian low is the same for all flights;

  • (e) all flights have the same number of consecutive flight duty periods that occur during any part of the flight crew members’ window of circadian low;

  • (f) the duration of the rest period before and after each flight duty period is the same for all flights;

  • (g) the time of day during which each rest period is taken is similar for all flights;

  • (h) the flights are conducted in the same time zone or across the same number of time zones in the same direction by flight crew members who are all acclimatized to the same time zone;

  • (i) the flights are conducted with the same aircraft type;

  • (j) the flights are conducted with the same number of flight crew members;

  • (k) the operating environments are similar for all flights; and

  • (l) the hazards and risks are similar for all flights.

700.207 Despite subsection 700.200(3), the initial exemption ceases to apply in respect of a flight if the analysis referred to in paragraph 700.200(1)(c) or (2)(c) does not show any progress in the development of the operator’s safety case.

[700.208 to 700.212 reserved]

Fatigue Risk Management System — Establishment and Implementation

• 700.213 (1) An air operator shall establish and implement a fatigue risk management system.

• (2) The operations manager appointed under paragraph 700.09(1)(a) shall ensure that the fatigue risk management system complies with the requirements of this Division.

• (3) The operations manager shall, when a finding resulting from the quality assurance program for the fatigue risk management system referred to in section 700.219 is reported to them,

  • (a) determine what, if any, corrective actions are required and take those actions; and

  • (b) notify the accountable executive of any systemic deficiency and of the corrective action taken.

• (4) The operations manager may assign the management functions for the fatigue risk management system to another person.

• (5) The responsibility of the operations manager is not affected by the assignment of management functions to another person under subsection (4).

• (6) If the operations manager assigns the management functions for the fatigue risk management system to another person under subsection (4), that other person shall report to the operations manager the fatigue-related hazards, risks and incidents identified under the fatigue risk management system.

Fatigue Risk Management System — Components

• 700.214 (1) An air operator shall have a fatigue risk management system that includes

  • (a) a fatigue risk management plan;

  • (b) a fatigue risk management process;

  • (c) a program for fatigue risk management promotion; and

  • (d) a quality assurance program for the fatigue risk management system.

• (2) The air operator shall take into account, when establishing the fatigue risk management system, all of the duties performed in the operations of the air operator by flight crew members who are assigned duties on a flight that is the subject of an exemption under this Division.

• (3) The air operator shall update its fatigue risk management system if

  • (a) there is a change in the size and scope of its operations;

  • (b) any action is taken as a result of an audit of the fatigue risk management system conducted under subsection 700.231(1) or section 700.247;

  • (c) the air operator’s validation of the safety case in accordance with subsection 700.225(3) establishes that there is an increase in the level of fatigue or a decrease in the level of alertness of flight crew members; or

  • (d) a data analysis conducted in accordance with the process referred to in subsection 700.216(2) indicates that flight crew members are subject to an increase in their level of fatigue or a decrease in their level of alertness.

Fatigue Risk Management Plan

700.215 The air operator’s fatigue risk management plan shall include

• (a) a fatigue risk management policy — signed by the accountable executive — that establishes the shared responsibility of the air operator and flight crew members in managing fatigue;

• (b) safety objectives, including the identification and reduction of fatigue-related hazards and the effective management of fatigue in flight operations;

• (c) safety performance indicators to measure the attainment of the safety objectives;

• (d) defined responsibilities in relation to fatigue management for

  • (i) the air operator’s managers,

  • (ii) the persons managing the fatigue risk management system, and

  • (iii) other employees;

• (e) a training plan that identifies the content of the initial and annual training;

• (f) a plan for communicating the information referred to in paragraphs 700.218(4)(a) to (f) to flight crew members; and

• (g) a policy for the internal reporting of fatigue by flight crew members, without fear of reprisal.