Expired Medical, Stale Currency, Sunset Return
A 42-year-old PPL holder with 180 hours holds a Class 2 medical certificate issued 13 months ago with no limitations. He has not flown for 100 days because of work; his last three take-offs and landings were on 12 March, in the same Cessna 172 type he now intends to fly. He plans a Saturday flight from Lagos to Calabar with three friends, departing 17:40 local with sunset at 18:35 and a planned return the same evening. He has no night rating. For the past week he has been taking a sedating antihistamine for a cold and says he feels 'mostly fine'. His logbook is up to date and the aircraft's maintenance release is current. He asks whether he can carry the friends, and what he must do before going.
1. Is his medical certificate valid for the flight, and does the medication matter?
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No - the medical certificate has lapsed. A Class 2 medical is valid for 24 months for a holder under 40 and 12 months once the holder reaches 40 (ICAO Annex 1; Nig. CARs personnel licensing). At 42, the 13-month-old certificate expired a month ago. The licence itself is not cancelled, but its privileges cannot be exercised: a valid medical is a condition of exercising them. Feeling well is not a substitute, and there is no self-declaration route for a PPL in Nigeria.
The sedating antihistamine is a second, independent disqualifier - it impairs alertness and is incompatible with acting as PIC. He must see an NCAA-approved AME, be declared fit, and have the certificate renewed before any flight. Flying without a valid medical would also jeopardise his insurance and expose him to NCAA enforcement.
2. Is he current to carry passengers, and how would he regain currency?
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He is not passenger-current. To carry passengers, a pilot must have made at least three take-offs and three landings in the preceding 90 days in the same category, class and type (here, the C172). His last three were 100 days ago, so the 90-day window has closed. Currency is regained by completing three take-offs and landings - they may be solo or with a safety pilot or instructor - and the new flights must be logged.
Currency is not the same as competence: after 100 days off, a check flight with an instructor is prudent, and some insurers or clubs require it. Currency must be re-established before, not during, the passenger flight; carrying the friends first and doing circuits afterwards would breach the rule.
3. What is the position on the planned evening return?
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The night return is not authorised. A PPL without a night rating may not fly at night. With sunset at 18:35 and a departure at 17:40 for a flight of over an hour, arrival - and likely part of the cruise - would be after sunset, and legal night is normally measured from the end of evening civil twilight, not the moment the sun disappears.
The plan should be reconfigured: an earlier departure, a shorter destination, or an overnight stay. Additional traps are fatigue after a working day and the sedating medication, which make the whole trip questionable. The correct answer is to cancel or move the flight to the next morning.