FAR 91.529 — Flight Engineer Requirements

FAR 91.529 specifies when an airplane must have a flight engineer as a required flight crewmember and the recency rules that flight engineer must meet.

A flight engineer with a current certificate is required on:

• Airplanes type certificated before January 2, 1964 with a maximum certificated takeoff weight of more than 80,000 pounds.
• Airplanes type certificated after January 1, 1964 for which a flight engineer is required by the type certification requirements.

To legally serve as a required flight engineer, within the preceding 6 calendar months the person must have either:

• Logged at least 50 hours of flight time as a flight engineer on that type airplane, or
• Been checked by the Administrator on that type airplane and found familiar and competent with current information and operating procedures.

This matters operationally because crew composition is tied to the airplane's certification basis — flying a qualifying large airplane without a current, qualified flight engineer is a regulatory violation, regardless of the pilots' qualifications.