Reading 61.159 (e), you will get an ATP with the endorsement "Holder does not meed the pilot in command aeronautical experience requirements of ICAO" if:
1. The pilot credits SIC or Flight engineer time towards the required 1500 hrs of 'total time as a pilot' needed for the ATP.
2. Does not have at least 1200 hrs of flight time as a pilot including no more than 50% of his or her SIC time and and none of his or her flight engineer time.
3. Otherwise meets all the requirements of (a) which specifies 500 hrs of CC time, 100 hrs of night time, 75 hrs of instrument time, and 250 hrs of PIC time in an airplane.
I find #2 a little confusing, but FE time looks fairly straight foreward. For discussion purposes if you had exactly 1500 hrs of 'pilot time' and of this 500 was flight engineer time (to do this you would have to actually have 1500 hrs as a flight engineer, as you only get 1 hr of credit for each 3 hrs of FE time), but otherwise met all the other requirements listed in #3, then you would get the 'restricted' ATP. You would have to obtain another 200 hrs of flight time as PIC (or 400 as SIC?) to meet the 1200 hr requirement and get the restriction removed.
If you have alot of SIC time, it is a little less clear to me. It is obvious SIC time can be credited toward the 1200 hr requirement:[ QUOTE ]
Does not have at least 1200 hrs of flight time as a pilot including no more than 50% of his or her SIC time and and none of his or her flight engineer time.
[/ QUOTE ] But it is still confusing. It sounds like you could be in a position where you have 1500 hrs of flight time, but of this 300 is PIC time and 1200 hrs is SIC time. You would effectively have 300 PIC + 600 SIC (only 50% of 1200) = 900 hrs of credit toward the 1200 hrs needed to get the unrestricted ATP. In this example you might need another 600 hrs of SIC before the restriction could be removed.
If you are contemplating this, you would want to consult an examiner who has experience with these rules to make sure you have the required time for an ATP checkride. The good thing is that unless you went 'jet direct' straight from your commercial rating to a SIC postion, most people do not have to deal with this.