Regional Jet 700 ER/LR (CRJ700)
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Fatigue; Other / Unknown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Company Policy; Weather; Human Factors
My captain and I had a situation arise where under circumstances out of our control; the captain and I had timed out of Duty time for the day while on the ground. We had completed 4 of 5 flights already and had only 40 minutes of so left of our 11.5 hours of available duty time. Completing our final flight was not possible under the given conditions. We proceeded to call into scheduling and notify them of this as they attempted to force a 2 hour extension upon the captain and myself after we clearly attempted to inform them that we were not in good condition for operating safely under another 2 hours of duty time. They continued to give excuses and ignore our advice as they used intimidation tactics to force us to accept the unwanted extension. There were other factors that were playing into all this than just our unfit condition to fly. The ramp was shut down to inclement weather; as well as a line of thunderstorms covered our entire route of flight. Making it very unsafe conditions for an already tired flight crew. Scheduling then proceeded to bring the chief pilot on the phone who started to explain that it was 'Company Expectations' that we accept this extension and that if we were to decline this extension that we would possibly be 'subject to company repercussions'. This left myself with no other option but to call in as 'fatigued '. This bullying tactic is more than just unsafe. It sets an unprofessional and hostile work environment to work in and should be considered unacceptable.
A CRJ700 First Officer reports being bullied by scheduling and the Chief Pilot when he refuses to accept a two hour duty time extension under FAR 117.