Flight crew of a widebody transport exceeded the flight time duty limitations.

Attributes
ACN	324480
Time
Date	199512
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : lax
State Reference	CA
Altitude	agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Commercial Fixed Wing
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Navigation In Use	Other
Flight Phase	ground : preflight
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : second officer
Qualification	other other : other pilot : atp pilot : cfi pilot : flight engineer
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 74 flight time total : 3000 flight time type : 339
ASRS Report	324480
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
Events
Anomaly	non adherence : far other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Air Traffic Incident	other

Narrative:

Basically, I believe the crew and pilot scheduling misinterpreted and misused far 121.503F which allows a transcontinental flight schedule of up to 10 hours. The captain convinced a newly hired flight scheduler that we could use this far to fly lax-jfk-lax in our DC10, part 121. The captain also convinced me and the first officer, however, he never showed us the far. To my knowledge, the duty day was not exceeded, only the flight time limitation. I realized the error today when I discussed the flight with a captain, check airman who encouraged me to submit this report. He said the rule is only applicable to 1 leg (eg, lax-jfk), not a round-trip. Furthermore, since the crew did not have a 'pairing' which shows us the scheduled flight time, I did not know how long the legs were scheduled to be. A few days later, I was given a pairing and I saw that the legs were scheduled over 10 hours! Lax-jfk: 4 hours 45 mins, jfk- lax: 5 hours 45 mins, total: 10 hours 30 mins. I had to assume that the captain and scheduler would have worked this out before giving us the trip.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: FLC OF A WDB EXCEEDED THE FLT TIME DUTY LIMITATIONS.

Narrative: BASICALLY, I BELIEVE THE CREW AND PLT SCHEDULING MISINTERPRETED AND MISUSED FAR 121.503F WHICH ALLOWS A TRANSCONTINENTAL FLT SCHEDULE OF UP TO 10 HRS. THE CAPT CONVINCED A NEWLY HIRED FLT SCHEDULER THAT WE COULD USE THIS FAR TO FLY LAX-JFK-LAX IN OUR DC10, PART 121. THE CAPT ALSO CONVINCED ME AND THE FO, HOWEVER, HE NEVER SHOWED US THE FAR. TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THE DUTY DAY WAS NOT EXCEEDED, ONLY THE FLT TIME LIMITATION. I REALIZED THE ERROR TODAY WHEN I DISCUSSED THE FLT WITH A CAPT, CHK AIRMAN WHO ENCOURAGED ME TO SUBMIT THIS RPT. HE SAID THE RULE IS ONLY APPLICABLE TO 1 LEG (EG, LAX-JFK), NOT A ROUND-TRIP. FURTHERMORE, SINCE THE CREW DID NOT HAVE A 'PAIRING' WHICH SHOWS US THE SCHEDULED FLT TIME, I DID NOT KNOW HOW LONG THE LEGS WERE SCHEDULED TO BE. A FEW DAYS LATER, I WAS GIVEN A PAIRING AND I SAW THAT THE LEGS WERE SCHEDULED OVER 10 HRS! LAX-JFK: 4 HRS 45 MINS, JFK- LAX: 5 HRS 45 MINS, TOTAL: 10 HRS 30 MINS. I HAD TO ASSUME THAT THE CAPT AND SCHEDULER WOULD HAVE WORKED THIS OUT BEFORE GIVING US THE TRIP.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.