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Simulated Instrument/Safety Pilot Logging Time Question

Asked by: 5408 views Instrument Rating

My scenario is as follows, three pilots go up on a flight, the pilot A in the left seat is under the hood, the pilot B in the right seat is the safety pilot acting as PIC while pilot A is under the hood and pilot C is sitting in the back seat supposedly a second safety pilot. Referring Reg CFR 14 Part 91.109 (4) (C) (1) & (2) excerpt below:

(1) The other control seat is occupied by a safety pilot who possesses at least a private pilot certificate with category and class ratings appropriate to the aircraft being flown.

(2) The safety pilot has adequate vision forward and to each side of the aircraft, or a competent observer in the aircraft adequately supplements the vision of the safety pilot; and......

Can the competent observer in this case Pilot C log PIC time while Pilot A is under the hood? After all Pilot C could is looking for traffic on the left side of the aircraft with Pilot B looking for traffic in front and to the right of the aircraft. Doesn't seem so but I thought I would ask.

Thanks.

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2 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Mar 19, 2015

    No, pilot C cannot log any time whatsoever.

    Not only that, but pilot B can only log PIC time while pilot A is under the hood (which he won’t be during start, taxi, runup, takeoff, landing, taxi and shutdown). Pilot B cannot log cross-country time either.

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  2. Thomas R Glanville on Apr 07, 2015

    Correct Pilot C cannot log any time. Only assist Pilot B

    To understand who can log what you need to understand the rule. Before the flight it must be determined that the Safety Pilot is the PIC, period. That makes Pilot B responsible for the entire flight. Pilot A can only log PIC the time which he/she is restricted to the instruments only because he/she is the Sole Manipulator of the controls.
    A cross country is when anytime one use one of the three forms of navigation to get to where they are going even if it’s to the same take off airport. They would be Instrumentation, Pilotage and the combo of the two Dead Reckoning. However, to log it for a certificate or rating it must be 50 nautical miles straight line distance with a landing.
    Pilot B can log it because of being PIC, Pilot A can log it during the time as sole manipulator of the controls because during that time being PIC

    Fly Safe

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