Seats less reclining: Boeing 787 pilots want duty time cut

NEW DELHI: Indian pilots have expressed a fresh concern over the Boeing 787 Dreamliners — extended flight duty time limitation (FDTL) for them despite the aircraft’s less reclining cockpit seats that make controlled rest less effective for them.

The Airlines Pilots’ Association of India has urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to rollback the extension given to the “already stretched” flight duty time limit (FDTL) for Boeing 787 two-man flight crew operations from 10 hours (flying time) to 10.5 hours and 13 hours of flight duty period (FDP) to 14 hours.

ALPA-India has told the regulator this is a “matter of grave operational and safety concern.” The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has mandated restriction on the pilots’ seat recline function on this aircraft.

The FAA “airworthiness directives (AD)” for the B787s issued late last year says: “…the fight deck door decompression panel can strike the captain’s seat headrest if a fight deck or below the fight deck rapid decompression event occurs when the seat is in a certain position…. (This order is) to address the possibility that the decompression panel could strike the captain's head or face. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in serious or potentially fatal injury to the captain after a fight deck or below the fight deck rapid decompression event.”

In India, Air India operates Boeing 787s using its own planes and crew members. IndiGo also uses this planes but they are wet leased, meaning hired with pilots, from a foreign airline. So the Indian DGCA FDTL rules for Dreamliner pilots affect only Air India as of now.

Multiple senior Indian pilots of this type said: “If any airline is serious about B787 safety from pilot fatigue perspective given the less cockpit seat recline on this plane that makes controlled rest for them left effective, it should reduce FDTL for its B787 pilots. However the opposite has happened and the flying time has been been extended.They strongly feel that until the corrective seat modification is implemented and the FAA AD is superseded with full recline the fight time should be limited to 8 hours or have augmented crew."

ALPA-India president Captain Sam Thomas has written to DGCA on Sunday: “This regulatory decision appears not only unjustified but also dangerously inconsistent with global safety practices. Extending duty hours instead of mandating an augmented crew, particularly so soon after a recent fatal accident, raises serious questions about the prioritisation of flight safety over operational costs and convenience. Operating long routes with restricted rest capability, compounded by adverse weather and night operations, creates a scenario ripe for fatigue induced errors. These are not theoretical risks ,fatigue remains a well-documented factor in numerous aviation incidents worldwide.”

The association has urged the regulator to “immediately withdraw the FDTL extension for two-pilot 787 operations. Mandate augmented crew (3-man operations) for all flights exceeding 8 hours or operating through the window of circadian low (2 am to 6 am). Undertake a comprehensive fatigue risk assessment in consultation with flight crew representatives before approving any further deviation from established limits.”

“This issue strikes at the heart of flight safety. The recent regulatory action, if left unaddressed, exposes not only the operating crew but also passengers and the travelling public to unnecessary and preventable risk,” Captain Thomas added.
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