The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (ATP)

• Part 61, subparts A, B, G — your certificate: eligibility, privileges, and the ATP-specific rules (61.151–61.171)
• Part 91 — the floor under everything; subparts A, B, C, F, G, H are the ACS scope (AA.I.G.K2)
• Part 110 — the definitions (kinds of operations) that decide which operating part applies
• Part 119 — certification of air carriers and commercial operators: which certificate, which operating rules, which ops specs
• Part 117 — flight and duty limitations and rest for flightcrew (AMEL/AMES applicants)
• Part 121 — scheduled air carrier operating rules; part 135 — commuter and on-demand (the ASEL/ASES scope)
• Part 111 — the Pilot Records Database
• 49 CFR part 830 — NTSB notification and reporting

The skill element is applying them to a scenario (AA.I.G.S1): given an operation, name the governing part and the specific section that decides the question.

• Domestic: scheduled operations with turbojets, airplanes over 9 passenger seats, or over 7,500 pounds payload, between points within the 48 contiguous states/DC (or entirely within a state, territory, or possession) (110.2)
• Flag: same airplane sizes, scheduled, between a point in the 48 contiguous states/DC and any point outside the 48 states/DC — including Alaska and Hawaii — between Alaska/Hawaii/a territory and a point outside it, or between two foreign points (110.2). The trap: JFK–Anchorage and LAX–Honolulu are flag, not domestic
• Supplemental: common carriage where departure time and locations are specifically negotiated with the customer — charter — with more than 30 seats or 7,500 pounds payload, plus all-cargo and part 380 public charters (110.2)
• Commuter: scheduled, at least five round trips per week on at least one route, with non-turbojet airplanes of 9 seats or fewer and 7,500 pounds payload or less (110.2)
• On-demand: the unscheduled remainder for compensation or hire (110.2)

Per 119.21: domestic, flag, and supplemental operate under part 121; commuter and on-demand under part 135.

• A person authorized to conduct operations as a direct air carrier — common carriage — is issued an Air Carrier Certificate (119.5(a))
• A U.S. commercial operator not authorized as a direct air carrier gets an Operating Certificate (119.5(b))
• Only one certificate is issued for common carriage under parts 121/135, regardless of kinds of operations or aircraft flown (119.5(d))
• No one may operate without, or in violation of, the certificate and appropriate operations specifications (119.5(g), (l)), operate in a geographic area not authorized in the ops specs (119.5(j)), or advertise an operation they aren't authorized to conduct (119.5(k))
• A direct air carrier also needs economic authority from the Department of Transportation (119.5(i)) — the FAA certificate covers safety; DOT covers the commerce

• Be at least 23 years old (or 21 for the restricted-privileges certificate under 61.160)
• Read, speak, write, and understand English
• Be of good moral character
• Hold a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating (or qualifying military or ICAO foreign equivalents)
• For an airplane multiengine class rating (or ATP concurrent with a multiengine type rating): present a graduation certificate from an ATP certification training program (ATP-CTP) before taking the knowledge test (61.153(e))
• Pass the knowledge test (61.155(c) areas) and the practical test, and meet the aeronautical experience of subpart G (61.153(f)–(h))

At least 1,500 hours total time as a pilot, including:

• 500 hours cross-country
• 100 hours night — with a substitution: beyond 20 night full-stop landings, each additional one credits one hour of night time, up to 25 hours (61.159(b))
• 50 hours in the class of airplane for the rating (up to 25 creditable in a full flight simulator as part of an approved 121/135/141/142 course)
• 75 hours instrument time, actual or simulated (simulator/FTD credit capped at 25 hours, or 50 in a part 142 course)
• 250 hours PIC — or SIC performing PIC duties under supervision — including 100 hours cross-country and 25 night (61.159(a)(5))
• Overall FSTD ceiling: not more than 100 hours of the total toward the requirement (61.159(a)(6))

SIC time in approved part 135 professional development programs and certain flight-engineer time can also credit toward the totals (61.159(c), (d)).

The R-ATP lowers the 1,500-hour requirement for the airplane multiengine rating (and the age to 21):

• 750 hours — current or former U.S. military pilots who graduated from a UPT school
• 1,000 hours — holders of a bachelor's degree with an aviation major plus 60 aviation credit hours from an institution with a 61.169 letter of authorization, with commercial/instrument training under the school's part 141 program
• 1,250 hours — the associate's degree version with at least 30 aviation credit hours, or bachelor's graduates with 30–59 credit hours
• All paths require only 200 hours cross-country instead of 500 (61.160(e))

The certificate carries the limitation "Restricted in accordance with 14 CFR 61.167" — the holder may not act as PIC in part 121 operations (or 91.1053(a)(2)(i)/135.243(a)(1) operations) until meeting 61.159 experience and age 23, and may not serve as SIC in flag or supplemental operations requiring three or more pilots (61.167(b), 61.160(g)).

The prerequisite training program for the multiengine ATP knowledge test, completed with an authorized 121/135/141/142 provider:

• 30 hours of academics, at minimum (61.156(a)):
  • 8 hours — aerodynamics, including high-altitude operations
  • 2 hours — meteorology
  • 14 hours — air carrier operations: physiology, communications, checklist philosophy, operational control, MEL/CDL, ground operations, turbine engines, transport category performance, automation/navigation/flightpath warning systems
  • 6 hours — leadership, professional development, CRM, and safety culture
• 10 hours of FSTD training: at least 6 hours in a Level C or higher full flight simulator representing a multiengine turbine airplane of 40,000 pounds MTOW or greater, covering low-energy states/stalls, upset recovery, and adverse weather; the remainder in a Level 4+ device on FMS navigation and automation (61.156(b))

Notice the syllabus is essentially a table of contents for this Area of Operation — the FAA built the course from the same material this guide covers.

An ATP holds the same privileges as a commercial pilot with an instrument rating (61.167(a)(1)) — plus the signature air-carrier privilege: an ATP who meets the full experience and age requirements may instruct other pilots in air transportation service in aircraft of the category, class, and type for which the ATP is rated, and endorse their training records (61.167(a)(2)). Limits on that instruction:

• Not more than 8 hours in any 24-consecutive-hour period, nor 36 hours in any 7-consecutive-day period (excluding briefings and debriefings) (61.167(a)(3))
• No instructing in Category II or III operations unless trained and tested in them (61.167(a)(4))
• In aircraft, only with functioning dual controls (61.167(a)(2)(iv))

A separate flight instructor certificate is still what authorizes ordinary subpart-H instruction outside air transportation service (61.167(a)(2)(iii)).

• Every pilot — PIC and SIC — must hold an ATP certificate and an appropriate aircraft type rating for the airplane flown; an SIC type rating obtained under 61.55 doesn't satisfy this (121.436(a), (b))
• The PIC must additionally hold an unrestricted ATP (not subject to 61.167 limitations) and have 1,000 hours as: SIC in part 121 operations, PIC in 91K fractional operations (91.1053(a)(2)(i)), PIC in 135.243(a)(1) operations, PIC in eligible on-demand operations, or any combination (121.436(a)(3))
• 500 hours of military PIC time in multiengine turbine fixed-wing/powered-lift aircraft in multi-pilot operations may credit toward the 1,000 (121.436(c))

The parallel thresholds elsewhere: 91K fractional multiengine turbine PICs need an ATP and 1,500 hours (91.1053), and 135 PICs of turbojets or airplanes with 10 or more passenger seats need an ATP (135.243(a)(1)).

• Flight time (unaugmented, Table A): maximum 9 hours for report times 0500–1959, 8 hours for 0000–0459 and 2000–2359; augmented: 13 hours (3 pilots) or 17 hours (4 pilots) (117.11(a))
• FDP (unaugmented, Table B): 9 to 14 hours, driven by acclimated report time and number of segments — maximum 14 for 1–2 segments reporting 0700–1159, bottoming at 9 for the WOCL report times; reduce by 30 minutes if not acclimated (117.13). Augmented FDPs (Table C) run up to 19 hours for a 4-pilot crew with a Class 1 rest facility
• Cumulative: 100 flight hours in any 672 consecutive hours, 1,000 hours in any 365 days; FDP totals capped at 60 hours in 168 and 190 in 672 (117.23(b), (c))
• Rest: at least 10 consecutive hours immediately before FDP, with 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep opportunity — you must notify the carrier if it won't be — plus 30 consecutive hours free from duty in the preceding 168 (117.25)
• Exceeding limits for unforeseen circumstances after takeoff is permitted to land safely, with a report to the FAA within 10 days (117.11(b), (c))

Part 135 keeps the older flight-time architecture for unscheduled one- and two-pilot crews:

• Daily: total flight time in any 24 consecutive hours not exceeding 8 hours for a single pilot, 10 hours for a two-pilot crew (135.267(b))
• Quarterly/annual: 500 hours per calendar quarter, 800 in two consecutive quarters, 1,400 per calendar year (135.267(a))
• Rest: each assignment must provide at least 10 consecutive hours of rest in the 24 hours preceding planned completion; exceeding daily limits for reasons beyond the operator's control drives graduated rest of 11, 12, or 16 hours (135.267(d), (e)); plus 13 rest periods of at least 24 consecutive hours each calendar quarter (135.267(f))
• PIC qualifications: an ATP certificate is required to serve as PIC in passenger operations of turbojets, airplanes with 10 or more passenger seats, or multiengine airplanes in commuter operations (135.243(a))

After any aircraft accident, and after these serious incidents — the air-carrier-relevant ones especially:

• Flight control system malfunction or failure
• Required crewmember unable to perform normal flight duties from injury or illness
• Turbine engine failure with escape of debris other than out the exhaust
• In-flight fire; aircraft collision in flight; property damage over $25,000
• For large multiengine aircraft (over 12,500 pounds): sustained reliance on emergency bus or sole remaining hydraulic system, loss of thrust on two or more engines, and evacuation using an emergency egress system
• Loss of information from more than 50 percent of cockpit displays (EFIS/EICAS/ECAM)
• An ACAS/TCAS resolution advisory issued on an IFR flight plan when compliance was necessary to avert a substantial risk of collision
• An air carrier that lands or departs on a taxiway or incorrect runway, or a runway incursion requiring immediate corrective action (830.5(a))
• An aircraft overdue and believed to be in an accident (830.5(b))

The formal report on Form 6120.1/2 is due within 10 days of an accident (7 days for a still-missing overdue aircraft); incident reports only if requested (830.15).

• Aircraft accident: an occurrence between the time any person boards with the intention of flight until all have disembarked, in which any person suffers death or serious injury or the aircraft receives substantial damage
• Serious injury: hospitalization more than 48 hours starting within 7 days, fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or nose), severe hemorrhage or nerve/muscle/tendon damage, internal organ involvement, or second/third-degree burns or burns over more than 5 percent of the body
• Substantial damage: damage adversely affecting structural strength, performance, or flight characteristics, normally requiring major repair or replacement — explicitly excluding engine failure limited to one engine, bent fairings, dented skin, small punctured holes, ground-damaged props, and damage to gear, wheels, tires, flaps, brakes, or wingtips
• Fatal injury: death within 30 days of the accident (830.2)

These definitions are the whole game on 830 scenario questions: a blown tire and damaged flap on landing is neither serious injury nor substantial damage — an incident, reportable only if it hits an 830.5 trigger.

The PRD is the FAA's electronic database of pilot records, and part 111 prescribes the rules governing its use (111.1(a)). It applies to (111.1(b)):

• Every part 119 certificate holder operating under 121, 125, or 135
• Fractional ownership program managers under 91 subpart K
• Air tour operators holding a 91.147 letter of authorization
• Certain part 91 corporate operators of type-rated airplanes and turbine rotorcraft
• Public aircraft entities, their bankruptcy trustees
• Each person employed as a pilot by, or seeking employment as a pilot with, any of them

That last clause is why the ACS assigns subparts A and D to you: the pilot is a regulated party in the system, not just its subject. Practical takeaway for the oral: training and employment events at a carrier become professional records that follow you between employers.

The ATP oral revisits the interplay between part 91 and the carrier rules — the part 91 corpus itself (currency, equipment, airspace, IFR rules) is covered in depth in the Instrument and Commercial guides:

• 91.3 still makes the PIC directly responsible and the final authority, and its emergency deviation power persists under 121 — but with the carrier overlay of 121.557's reporting and the dispatcher's parallel duties (Task VII.A)
• Part 91 is the floor: persons subject to part 119 must comply with the rest of the chapter except where part 119, 121, 125, or 135 modifies or adds requirements (119.1(c)). Where both speak, the stricter carrier rule governs your operation
• The ACS scope adds subparts F, G, and H — the rules for large and turbine-powered airplanes and operations outside the U.S. Part 119 itself points into that territory: 119.1(a)(3) excepts operations conducted under 91.501(b) from the certification requirement, which is where part 91 subpart F's regime for large and turbine-powered airplanes begins — so know where subpart F applies to the airplane you fly

The efficient study move: for each scenario, ask "what would part 91 allow, and which 117/121/135 rule takes it away?"