FAR 91.1057 — Flight, Duty & Rest
FAR 91.1057 sets flight, duty, and rest rules for fractional ownership crewmembers, including 10-hour rest, quarterly rest days, and key definitions.
In Plain English
FAR 91.1057 establishes flight, duty, and rest time requirements for all crewmembers operating under Subpart K (fractional ownership programs). It defines core terms and sets baseline limits the program manager and crew must follow.
Key definitions include:
- Duty period — time from reporting for assignment until release, including non-flight tasks.
- Rest period — time free of all work and contact from the program manager; standby and reserve do not count.
- Standby — crewmember is under program manager control and ready to fly (not rest).
- Reserve status — crewmember holds themselves fit and reachable, but it's neither duty nor rest.
- Multi-time-zone flight — east/west flights crossing 5+ time zones between 60°N and 60°S.
Core operational rules:
- A crewmember may only accept assignments meeting §§ 91.1059–91.1062.
- No duty during a required rest period.
- Each assignment must include at least 10 consecutive hours of rest in the 24 hours preceding completion.
- The program manager must provide at least 13 rest periods of 24 consecutive hours per calendar quarter.
- Required transportation to/from duty is not rest.
- A pilot may decline an assignment they judge unsafe.
- With FAA authorization, the program manager may instead use Part 121 or 135 unscheduled rules.
This matters because fatigue is a leading safety risk; these rules protect crew alertness and give pilots a clear right to refuse unsafe assignments.
Regulation Text
14 CFR § 91.1057§ 91.1057 Flight, duty and rest time requirements: All crewmembers.
(a) For purposes of this subpart—
means at least three pilots.
means the period of elapsed time, using Coordinated Universal Time or local time that begins at midnight and ends 24 hours later at the next midnight.
means the period of elapsed time between reporting for an assignment involving flight time and release from that assignment by the program manager. All time between these two points is part of the duty period, even if flight time is interrupted by nonflight-related duties. The time is calculated using either Coordinated Universal Time or local time to reflect the total elapsed time.
means an increase in the flight time because of circumstances beyond the control of the program manager or flight crewmember (such as adverse weather) that are not known at the time of departure and that prevent the flightcrew from reaching the destination within the planned flight time.
means an individual, other than a flight crewmember, who is assigned by the program manager, in accordance with the required minimum crew complement under the program manager's management specifications or in addition to that minimum complement, to duty in an aircraft during flight time and whose duties include but are not necessarily limited to cabin-safety-related responsibilities.
flight means an easterly or westerly flight or multiple flights in one direction in the same duty period that results in a time zone difference of 5 or more hours and is conducted in a geographic area that is south of 60 degrees north latitude and north of 60 degrees south latitude.
means that status in which a flight crewmember, by arrangement with the program manager: Holds himself or herself fit to fly to the extent that this is within the control of the flight crewmember; remains within a reasonable response time of the aircraft as agreed between the flight crewmember and the program manager; and maintains a ready means whereby the flight crewmember may be contacted by the program manager. Reserve status is not part of any duty period or rest period.
means a period of time required pursuant to this subpart that is free of all responsibility for work or duty prior to the commencement of, or following completion of, a duty period, and during which the flight crewmember or flight attendant cannot be required to receive contact from the program manager. A rest period does not include any time during which the program manager imposes on a flight crewmember or flight attendant any duty or restraint, including any actual work or present responsibility for work should the occasion arise.
means that portion of a duty period during which a flight crewmember is subject to the control of the program manager and holds himself or herself in a condition of readiness to undertake a flight. Standby is not part of any rest period.
(b) A program manager may assign a crewmember and a crewmember may accept an assignment for flight time only when the applicable requirements of this section and §§ 91.1059-91.1062 are met.
(c) No program manager may assign any crewmember to any duty during any required rest period.
(d) Time spent in transportation, not local in character, that a program manager requires of a crewmember and provides to transport the crewmember to an airport at which he or she is to serve on a flight as a crewmember, or from an airport at which he or she was relieved from duty to return to his or her home station, is not considered part of a rest period.
(e) A flight crewmember may continue a flight assignment if the flight to which he or she is assigned would normally terminate within the flight time limitations, but because of circumstances beyond the control of the program manager or flight crewmember (such as adverse weather conditions), is not at the time of departure expected to reach its destination within the planned flight time. The extension of flight time under this paragraph may not exceed the maximum time limits set forth in § 91.1059.
(f) Each flight assignment must provide for at least 10 consecutive hours of rest during the 24-hour period that precedes the completion time of the assignment.
(g) The program manager must provide each crewmember at least 13 rest periods of at least 24 consecutive hours each in each calendar quarter.
(h) A flight crewmember may decline a flight assignment if, in the flight crewmember's determination, to do so would not be consistent with the standard of safe operation required under this subpart, this part, and applicable provisions of this title.
(i) Any rest period required by this subpart may occur concurrently with any other rest period.
(j) If authorized by the Administrator, a program manager may use the applicable unscheduled flight time limitations, duty period limitations, and rest requirements of part 121 or part 135 of this chapter instead of the flight time limitations, duty period limitations, and rest requirements of this subpart.
Oral Exam Questions a DPE Might Ask
Q1Under Subpart K, how much rest must precede the completion of a flight assignment, and how often must crew get 24-hour rest periods?
Per FAR 91.1057, each assignment must provide at least 10 consecutive hours of rest within the 24 hours preceding completion, and the program manager must provide at least 13 rest periods of 24 consecutive hours each calendar quarter.
Q2Does standby or reserve status count as rest under FAR 91.1057?
No. FAR 91.1057 specifies that standby is part of the duty period and is not rest, and reserve status is neither duty nor rest — a true rest period must be free of all work and contact from the program manager.
Q3Can a flight crewmember decline an assignment they believe is unsafe?
Yes. FAR 91.1057(h) expressly allows a flight crewmember to decline a flight assignment if, in their judgment, accepting it would be inconsistent with the safe operation standards of the subpart and part.
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Related Sections in Part 91