Commercial airplane pilot shares strict rest rule all pilots have to follow to the minute

There’s a rest rule every airline pilot has to follow, and it’s enforced down to the exact minute.

This isn’t some guideline or checklist item you can fudge. If you go even 60 seconds over your allowable flight time, it’s a violation. Doesn’t matter if you’re in the middle of boarding or sitting on the runway with engines running.

According to airline captain and YouTuber Captain Steeeve, this rule is absolute. And yes, it’s tracked – by the airlines, the FAA, and even pilots themselves.

So what happens when things go sideways? Sometimes, the flight doesn’t take-off at all.

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FAA Part 117: The pilot rest rule

Welcome to FAA Part 117 – the reason pilots might time out before your flight even gets going. 

It’s the law that governs when pilots can fly and for how long, based on variables like how many crew are onboard, what time they started their shift, and whether the flight is domestic or international.

The math changes with each scenario, but the precision doesn’t. 

“I cannot go a minute over,” Steeeve emphasizes.

That means if a pilot hits their limit mid-prep, they’re off the clock and off the flight.

Pilots can also declare themselves fatigued at any point. 

Maybe they’ve been delayed for hours. Maybe they had a brutal week. If they feel like their judgment is even slightly compromised, they call it in.

No questions asked, no penalties applied.

It’s a hard stop. 

The airline then looks for a backup plan, assuming one’s even available. If not, the flight gets grounded.

But safety wins. Every time.  

Your flight delay might be the system working

It’s annoying to get bumped or held up. No one’s denying that.

But if you hear that your pilot timed out or got swapped last-minute, that’s actually a good thing. It means the system caught the risk before it became a problem.

Captain Steeeve says fatigue calls are standard. And smart. It’s built into the culture. You’re not a hero for flying tired. You’re a liability.

And even with all the tech in the cockpit, nothing replaces sharp human judgment when it counts. 

So next time your flight’s stuck on the tarmac waiting for crew? Maybe thank the FAA Part 117 rest rule.

It could be the reason you get home safely at all.

Subscribe to Captain Steeeve’s YouTube channel for more pilot confessions, or watch the video below: pilo

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