Night passenger flight with a lapsed night recency
Captain, 34, holds a CPL(A) issued 14 months ago with SEP(land) privileges valid to 30 November. Her Class 1 medical is valid, endorsed 'corrective lenses required'. Today is 12 March. In the preceding 90 days she has logged 6.2 hours, including six take-offs and landings, the most recent 12 days ago; all were in daylight. Her last night take-off and landing were on 18 August, seven months ago. She plans a private night VFR flight with four friends from a licensed aerodrome to another licensed aerodrome, 1 h 20 min. The destination requires PPR after 2100 local; ETA is 2230 local. The runway has edge lighting only, no approach or centreline lighting, and the latest METAR gives 8 km visibility, 2,000 ft scattered, 4,000 ft broken, wind calm. The aircraft's C of A, ARC and insurance are valid.
1. Which licence, medical and recency elements are satisfied, and which one prevents the flight as planned?
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Work through each element against the planned flight:
- Licence: CPL(A) with SEP(land) valid to 30 November - valid on 12 March.
- Medical: Class 1 valid; the limitation is not a bar, but the correcting lenses must be worn. For a private flight a Class 2 would suffice; the higher class does not create a problem.
- 90-day recency: the six daylight take-offs and landings satisfy the general three-take-off/three-landing requirement for carrying passengers.
- Night recency: the rule is separate. To carry passengers at night, the pilot must have made at least three take-offs and three landings at night in the preceding 90 days. Her last night landing was seven months ago, so this is not met.
Conclusion: she may not act as PIC carrying the four friends at night. She could fly solo at night, subject to the aircraft and aerodrome, or carry passengers in daylight, but not this flight as planned. The 90 days is counted backwards from the flight date, not from today.
2. What must be done about the PPR and the runway lighting, and what decision point should be set?
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PPR after 2100 is a condition of use, not a formality. With ETA 2230, PPR must be obtained before departure; if it cannot be, the destination is not available and the flight must be re-planned to another aerodrome or to a daylight arrival.
The runway has edge lighting only. That does not by itself make a night VFR approach illegal, but it reduces visual cues: the pilot must be satisfied that the aerodrome is licensed for night operations and that the aircraft can be kept clear of cloud with the surface in sight. The reported 8 km visibility and 2,000 ft scattered cloud are comfortably above basic VFR, but a TEMPO or a lower cloud base could remove the visual reference.
Set a firm decision point: if PPR is not confirmed, or if the destination weather falls below the night VFR minima, divert to the planned alternate before fuel becomes a factor. Do not launch hoping to obtain PPR in the air.
3. What legal options would allow the four friends to be carried at night?
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Legal options, in order of practicality:
- Move the flight to daylight, when the 90-day day recency is met. This removes the night passenger restriction and most of the lighting/PPR pressure.
- Fly three take-offs and three landings at night before boarding the passengers. These should be done solo or with an instructor; they cannot be a passenger-carrying flight. After that, the night recency is met.
- Have a night-current pilot act as PIC for the whole flight. The CPL holder then cannot act as PIC or log PIC; the current pilot is responsible for the flight and the passengers.
Simply taking a 'safety pilot' while the non-current pilot remains PIC does not cure the problem. The restriction attaches to the person acting as PIC, not to the number of pilots on board.