FAR 121.543

[Cptn Titus]

Hello fellows!

FAR 121.543 states that in case the assigned Pilot in command leaves his duty station in order to begin a rest period, he is relieved by a Pilot second in command qualified to act as a Pilot in command enroute.

The question is:

Should the pilot second in command, seat on the left? Can he seat on the right?
What is the spirit of the regulation? There is a major airline, where the second in command seats on the right, and the first officer on the left seat.
Do you think this is right?

Would love to hear your comments!

[Snakecharma]

There is nothing in the certification documents, that I am aware of, for aircraft certified for multi crew, that says the pilot in command must sit in the left hand seat.The design of some aeroplanes, the 737 for example, makes it necessary for the captain to sit in the left seat to access the tiller etc.

That said there is only one pilot in command - the person in the bunk is still the captain

So long answer to a short question, no requirement that I am aware of to sit in the left hand seat in the cruise as a relief pilot.

[Check Airman]

As far as I know, there's not any regulation that says where the PIC or SIC should sit for any phase of flight. It's simply tradition for the CA to sit on the left.

[EGPFlyer]

When training a new captain The training captain in the right hand seat is PiC. It's not the US but in our manual the commander is designated by the company, not where he/she sits.

[skkm]

It makes sense (and the practice in my company is) for the relief commander to sit in their usual operating seat, and the other F/O or S/O sits in whichever seat remains.

[Cptn Titus]

Thank you all, for your answers.
I have been told, that the regulation talks about "assigned duty station", so what that means is that the second in command should seat on the left seat.
Y think it makes sense, because if you have a dual generator failure (twin engine airplanes) the only one that could fly the airplane is the one seated on the left. Definitely, I would prefer the most experienced first officer to be flying.

[vapilot2004]

I am unaware of any US major where SOP requires the PIC to change seats during the commander's rest period. Aside from the eyeline adjustment and reorientation aspects, such a changeover would require both pilot's seats to be vacant for a time. These are a practical considerations.

Standby instruments: The positioning of the ISIS was considered a factor in the Pinnacle Airlines flight 3701 crash.