Narrative:

Over the last five years as an airline pilot I have observed a number of issues pertaining to crew scheduling. It is my belief that the federal aviation administration should begin the practice of instituting certification to part 121 crew schedulers. I believe this would help with scheduling practices for a number of different reasons. First; this would establish defined parameters of training and testing that each individual had to undertake in order to be certified to work in the position. Essentially; each individual would have had to demonstrate an understanding of the FAA regulations pertaining to scheduling. Second; if the individual scheduler has a certificate like pilots; dispatchers; and maintenance personnel then the FAA could hold each person responsible for their own actions. This could include fines or certificate action taken for violating fars. Currently; if a scheduler knowingly violates a far when scheduling a pilot or flight attendant there is no established procedure to take action against the scheduler. Consequently; the individual does not have any consequences for their actions. I have one specific incident I would like to highlight in order to provide cause for my recommendation. A pilot I recently flew with unintentionally exceeded his available duty period. The pilot had agreed to fly a leg for another first officer. When crew scheduling switched the two pilots; they failed to note at the time of the substitution that the new pilot would not be able to complete the segment and still have eight hours of rest in the previous 24 hour period. The new pilot operated the flight but then later realized his mistake upon arriving at the destination. The following day he called the specific scheduler that made the change and she stated that she had caught the error while the flight was still on the ground taxiing out for takeoff. She called the manager of crew scheduling at home; and he stated to her to allow the flight to go and that the company would self disclose in the morning. I believe that if the individual scheduler had a FAA certificate to maintain; she would have acted differently and taken the necessary steps to prevent any recourse from the FAA being taken against her. Since she knew that the company would be held responsible she was not concerned with the legal dispatch of the aircraft. While the company may later pretend to be angry with the crew scheduler for doing something that violates the fars; it is my belief that ultimately the company is happy that the flight did not cancel and willing to accept the minor consequences of the scheduler's actions. Currently it seems that part 121 crew schedulers are able to operate without the fear of consequences. My recommendation is to begin the practice of issuing certificates from the FAA in order for someone to be employed in this capacity.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Crew Scheduler and her Manager intentionally allowed a pilot to exceed FAR rest rules. Reporter suggests FAA issue Scheduler License subject to enforcement actions.

Narrative: Over the last five years as an airline pilot I have observed a number of issues pertaining to Crew Scheduling. It is my belief that the Federal Aviation Administration should begin the practice of instituting certification to Part 121 crew schedulers. I believe this would help with scheduling practices for a number of different reasons. First; this would establish defined parameters of training and testing that each individual had to undertake in order to be certified to work in the position. Essentially; each individual would have had to demonstrate an understanding of the FAA regulations pertaining to scheduling. Second; if the individual Scheduler has a certificate like pilots; dispatchers; and maintenance personnel then the FAA could hold each person responsible for their own actions. This could include fines or certificate action taken for violating FARs. Currently; if a scheduler knowingly violates a FAR when scheduling a pilot or flight attendant there is no established procedure to take action against the scheduler. Consequently; the individual does not have any consequences for their actions. I have one specific incident I would like to highlight in order to provide cause for my recommendation. A pilot I recently flew with unintentionally exceeded his available duty period. The pilot had agreed to fly a leg for another first officer. When Crew Scheduling switched the two pilots; they failed to note at the time of the substitution that the new pilot would not be able to complete the segment and still have eight hours of rest in the previous 24 hour period. The new pilot operated the flight but then later realized his mistake upon arriving at the destination. The following day he called the specific Scheduler that made the change and she stated that she had caught the error while the flight was still on the ground taxiing out for takeoff. She called the manager of crew scheduling at home; and he stated to her to allow the flight to go and that the company would self disclose in the morning. I believe that if the individual Scheduler had a FAA certificate to maintain; she would have acted differently and taken the necessary steps to prevent any recourse from the FAA being taken against her. Since she knew that the company would be held responsible she was not concerned with the legal dispatch of the aircraft. While the company may later pretend to be angry with the Crew Scheduler for doing something that violates the FARs; it is my belief that ultimately the company is happy that the flight did not cancel and willing to accept the minor consequences of the scheduler's actions. Currently it seems that Part 121 crew schedulers are able to operate without the fear of consequences. My recommendation is to begin the practice of issuing certificates from the FAA in order for someone to be employed in this capacity.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.