Part 91 Crew Rest Interpretation Debated

The FAA's recent reinterpretation of crew rest guidance sparked a vigorous discussion at the Flight Safety Foundation Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar in San Antonio last week. During a fatigue management panel, the NBAA's Doug Carr reminded the audience that, in January, the FAA's Chief Counsel posted a new interpretation of an old Part 91 controlled-rest definition, essentially outlawing use of the original guidance for two-pilot aircraft. "It could not have been a more baseless opinion," Carr claimed. "It contradicted all the science [on fatigue]."