EASA recent experience: when can you (still) carry passengers?

"Can I take a friend up for a spin this weekend?" Behind that ordinary question lies a rule that many pilots know poorly, and that keeps coming up on the forums: recent experience. Carrying a passenger when you are not current, often without realising it, means flying outside the rules. Here, clearly, is what point FCL.060 requires, and how to know at a glance whether you are covered.

The 90-day rule

The principle is simple: you may only carry passengers, as PIC (or co-pilot), if you have carried out, in the preceding 90 days, at least 3 take-offs, approaches and landings as a pilot flying, in an aircraft of the same type or class (or a full flight simulator, an FFS, representing that type or class).

Note the word approaches: the rule does not speak only of landings, but of full take-offs, approaches and landings.

The key point, often misunderstood: without passengers, there is no requirement. You can always fly alone. So at any time, you can go and fly your 3 circuits solo to regain your recent experience, then take your passengers on board.

You can also fly them with an instructor or an examiner on board: the regulation makes clear that they are not then considered a passenger. However, no other passenger may be on board until you are current.

Flying at night: an additional requirement

To carry passengers at night, as PIC, a requirement is added to the 90-day rule: you must have carried out, in the preceding 90 days, at least 1 take-off, approach and landing at night as a pilot flying, in an aircraft of the same type or class (or an FFS representing it).

Only one exemption: if you hold an IR (instrument rating), this night requirement does not apply.

What counts: same class or type, simulator

Recent experience is not transferable from one aircraft to another: the 3 take-offs, approaches and landings must have been carried out in the same class or type as the intended flight with passengers.

In practice, being current on single-engine piston (SEP) does not make you current for a multi-engine flight: those are different classes. An FFS representing the type or class is, however, accepted, and the experience counts in single-pilot or multi-pilot operations depending on the privileges you hold.

For helicopters, it is the type that counts. The regulation does provide one accommodation: if you are rated on several types of non-complex helicopter with similar handling and operating characteristics (grouped by EASA), your 3 take-offs, approaches and landings may be carried out on just one of those types, provided you have flown at least 2 hours on each of those types in the preceding 6 months.

Which aircraft are covered?

The FCL.060 rule we have just seen applies to aeroplanes as well as helicopters (and to powered-lift aircraft, airships, VCA and gyroplanes). The TMG, being an aeroplane, is covered too.

Sailplanes and balloons, on the other hand, are no longer covered by Part-FCL: they have their own regulations, respectively Part-SFCL (sailplanes) and Part-BFCL (balloons), with distinct recent-experience conditions. If you fly in those categories, refer to their own rules.

Staying current without thinking about it

The real trap is not the rule itself: it is losing track. A pilot who has not flown for three months, or whose last circuits were on a different aircraft, can end up not current without realising it, and take a passenger on board in good faith but outside the rules.

The reflex: keep a running track of your recent take-offs and landings, by type and by class, and your 90-day deadlines, by day and by night.

AerisLog computes your recent experience from your logbook and tells you, at a glance, whether you can carry passengers, by day and by night. See how.

In short

Carrying passengers comes down to one thing that is easy to remember: 3 take-offs, approaches and landings within 90 days, on the same class or type, plus 1 more at night if you fly at night without an IR. Without passengers, no constraint: you can always fly to get current again. Everything else is just a matter of tracking.

Frequently asked questions

How long does recent experience for carrying passengers last? 90 days. Beyond 90 days without the required 3 take-offs, approaches and landings on the relevant class or type, you may no longer carry passengers until you have done them again.

Can I fly if I am no longer current? Yes, but without passengers. You can fly alone, or with an instructor or an examiner (who is not considered a passenger), to carry out your 3 take-offs, approaches and landings and regain your recent experience.

What more is needed to carry passengers at night? In addition to the 90-day rule, one take-off, approach and landing at night within the 90 days, as a pilot flying, on the same class or type. Unless you hold an IR.

Does my single-engine experience count for a multi-engine flight? No. Recent experience must be gained in the same class or type as the flight with passengers. Single-engine piston and multi-engine are separate classes.

Regulatory source: point FCL.060, Part-FCL, Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (EASA Aircrew Regulation).