Ortiz 2008

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U.S. Department
of Transportation
Federal Aviation
Administration
NOV 2 4 2008
Mr. Dennis Ortiz
Dear Mr. Ortiz:
Office of the Chief Counsel 800 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington. D.C. 20591

This letter is in response to your request for an interpretation of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), section 61.58. Your question was whether a qualified single pilot of a Cessna 525 is required to comply with the pilot-in-command (PIC) proficiency check requirements set forth in that section.

Except as otherwise provided, section 61.58 requires a person serving as a pilot in command of an aircraft type certificated for more than one required pilot flight crewmember to complete 12 and 24 month proficiency checks, respectively. ln particular, a person must ( 1) within the preceding 12 calendar months complete a pilot-in-command proficiency check in an aircraft that is type certificated for more than one required pilot flight crewmember, and (2) within the preceding 24 calendar months complete a pilot-in-command proficiency ch.eek in the particular type of aircraft in which that person will serve as a pilot-in-command. Your letter poses the specific scenario where a pilot has satisfied the requirements of section 61.58 (a)( 1), and thus is qualified to operate an aircraft type certificated for more than one required pilot flight crewmember. However, that same pilot intends to operate a CE 525 as a single pilot operation. The CE 525 is type certificated for single pilot operations, but it is also type certificated for more than one required pilot flight crewmember. Hence, you question whether a pilot must comply with the proficiency check requirements of §61.58 even for single pilot operations.

In this scenario, the requirement for whether the pilot is required to meet the proficiency check requirements is predicated on two factors: ( 1) how the aircraft is type certificated and (2) the type rating indicated on the pilot's certificate. As §61.58 states, if the aircraft is type certificated for more than one pilot flight crewmember, the proficiency check requirements would apply. Vis-a-vis the requirements of§ 61.58 and the type certification of the airplane, the Cessna 525 presents an anomaly. Its type certification data sheet specifies both the minimum pilot flightcrew of one pilot and a minimum pilot flight crew of a pilot and a copilot. A pilot certificate that indicates a CE-525 pilot type rating means that the pilot completed the practical test for the CE-525 pilot type rating with a pilot and copilot flightcrew in a Cessna 525. Accordingly, the proficiency check requirements of§ 61.58 would apply. A pilot certificate with a CE-525S type rating means that the pilot completed

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the practical test for the CE-525S pilot type rating as a single pilot in the Cessna 525. If a pilot is type rated for the CE-525S and the airplane is appropriately equipped, as specified on the Cessna·525 type certification data sheet, a copilot is not required and the PIC is not required to submit to a§ 61.58 PIC proficiency check. Note however that single pilot authorization may be contingent upon the installation and operation of certain cockpit equipment, as specified on the type certificate data sheet and minimum equipment list.

We appreciate your patience and trust that the above responds to your concerns. If you need further assistance, please contact my staff at (202) 267-3073. This response was prepared by Angela Washington, an attorney in the Regulations Division of the Office of the Chief Counsel, and coordinated with the Office of Flight Standards Service.

Sincerely,

~&v-

Rebecca B. Mac~h~on

Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations, AGC-200