The Federal Aviation Administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with a 60-day comment period that will significantly modify existing regulations pertaining to “flightcrew member duty and rest requirements.”

The proposed regulations would eliminate the current distinctions between domestic and international operations, expand the concept of pilot duty hours, recognize fatigue issues that arise based on the time of day and the time zone when and where pilots are working, and address the likelihood of being able to sleep under different circumstances. As noted in the proposal, “Fatigue threatens aviation safety because it increases the risk of pilot error that could lead to an accident.”