1.6 Required Cabin Crew Complement & Duty Stations

The rule, in the regulation's own words

Nig. CARs 9.3.1.7 — Required Cabin Crew Members — states that the AOC holder shall schedule the minimum number of required cabin crew members on board passenger-carrying flights, and that the number shall not be less than the minimum prescribed by the Authority in the AOC holder's operations specifications or the following, whichever is greater:

• For a seating capacity of 20 to 50 passengers: 1 cabin crew member; and
• One additional cabin crew member for each unit, or part of a unit, of 50-passenger-seat capacity.

Three details decide most examination questions:

1. It is seating capacity, not passengers carried. The trigger is the number of passenger seats installed, so a 189-seat aeroplane operating with 12 passengers still requires the full complement.
2. "Or part of a unit" means round up. Fifty-one seats is one full unit plus part of a second, so two crew members.
3. "Whichever is greater" means the operations specifications can raise it, never lower it. Where the NCAA has prescribed a higher number for a particular operator or aircraft, that number governs.

Working the arithmetic

Worked example 1. A Boeing 737-800 is configured with 189 seats. 189 ÷ 50 = 3.78, which is three complete units plus part of a fourth. Minimum complement = 4.

Worked example 2. An ATR 72-600 is configured with 72 seats. The first 50 give one crew member; the remaining 22 are part of a second unit, giving one more. Minimum complement = 2.

Worked example 3. A regional jet is configured with exactly 50 seats. That is the top of the first band. Minimum complement = 1. Add one seat and the answer becomes 2.

Passengers on board a parked aircraft

9.3.1.7(c) covers boarding, disembarkation and turnarounds: when passengers are on board a parked aircraft, the minimum number of cabin crew members shall be one-half that required for the flight operation, but never fewer than one cabin crew member — or another person qualified in the emergency evacuation procedures for the aircraft. A Note permits rounding down to the next whole number where one-half produces a fraction.

Worked example 4. A 189-seat Boeing 737-800 requires 4 crew in flight. Parked with passengers on board, half of 4 is 2, so 2 are required. On a 72-seat ATR requiring 2 in flight, half is 1, so 1 is required. On a 45-seat aircraft requiring 1 in flight, half is 0.5, which rounds down to 0 — but the floor of one qualified person applies, so 1 person qualified in the aircraft's emergency evacuation procedures must be present.

Finally, 9.3.1.7(d) places a personal duty on the pilot-in-command to ensure the minimum number of required cabin crew members is on board the passenger-carrying flight.

Why the number exists: evacuation capability

Nig. CARs 8.14.11.1 explains the purpose. The requirement for cabin crew for each type of aircraft shall be determined by the operator, based on seating capacity or the number of passengers carried, in order to effect a safe and expeditious evacuation of the aircraft, and the necessary functions to be performed in an emergency or a situation requiring emergency evacuation. The operator must assign those functions for each type of aircraft. This is why every crew member has a named door, a named set of emergency equipment and a named alternate.

Where cabin crew must be

Where cabin crew are required by the Authority, 8.14.11.2 further requires each cabin crew member assigned to emergency evacuation duties to occupy a seat provided in accordance with Part 7 during take-off and landing and whenever the pilot-in-command so directs. In other words, a jumpseat that meets the Part 7 standard — not any available passenger seat — is the required station.