Night Passenger Roster with a Medical Expiry and Stale Night Landings
A 27-year-old pilot holds a PNG CPL(A) issued 14 months ago. The logbook shows 342 total hours, 118 PIC, 46 cross-country, 12 instrument and 9 night. In the last 90 days the pilot has 9.4 hours, five day landings and two night landings; the last night landing was 100 days ago. The Class 1 medical expires in nine days and has no limitations. The pilot is rostered to act as PIC of a Cessna 206 carrying five passengers from Port Moresby to Popondetta, departing at 20:30 local and returning after midnight. The operator's ops manual requires three night landings in the preceding 90 days for night passenger operations. The pilot has no instrument rating and the forecast is VFR, but there is a 30% chance of low cloud. The chief pilot asks whether the roster can proceed and what records must be checked.
1. Can the pilot act as PIC with five passengers on the outbound and return legs? Address licence privilege, medical validity, night recency and the operator's manual.
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Start with the licence. A PNG CPL(A) gives commercial passenger-carrying privileges only while the medical certificate and any required ratings remain valid. The Class 1 certificate expires in nine days, so it covers a flight tonight, but the exact expiry date must be compared with the return time after midnight. A certificate that expires before landing cannot support the return leg.
Next apply the 90-day passenger-carrying recency rule in PNG CAR Part 61 and the operator's stricter manual. The pilot has five day landings but only two night landings, and the last night landing was 100 days ago. Day landings do not satisfy night passenger currency, and the manual requires three night landings in 90 days. Therefore the night passenger roster cannot proceed as planned.
The lack of an instrument rating is not fatal for a VFR flight, but it limits options if the 30% low-cloud risk becomes IMC. The pilot needs a VFR escape plan and cannot accept an IFR clearance.
2. What records and actions would you require before the pilot could legally carry passengers at night, and how would a delay past midnight affect the analysis?
Read the worked answer
First fix recency. The pilot needs three night takeoffs and landings within the preceding 90 days in the same category and class, normally full-stop landings unless the operating rules allow otherwise. Those can be completed in the aircraft, or in an approved simulator only if the rule permits it. Otherwise the pilot should fly three night circuits with a qualified pilot or solo, then have the logbook certified.
Second, verify the medical expiry date and any limitations against the planned departure and return. If the return crosses the expiry, either bring the flight forward or renew the medical.
Third, confirm the CPL, class rating and any night qualification are current and that the operator's manual requirement is met. A delay past midnight does not reset the 90-day window; recency is assessed at the time of the flight. If the pilot is still not night-current, the legal options are a day passenger flight, a solo or positioning flight, or replacement by a current pilot.