Legal Interpretations

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A county fire rescue air unit's tax-funded trauma transport flights may qualify as public aircraft operations if the statutory requirements are met on each flight. If the unit collects reimbursement fees from patients, the fees are compensation, the flights become commercial, and the unit must comply with 14 CFR part 135 certification and operating rules.

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SC Aviation asked whether a pilot under 14 CFR 135.225(a) may use a higher surface visibility in a METAR's remarks when the body shows visibility below minimums. The FAA said no: consistent with its policy that the worst reported weather controls, the lower of the two values must be used to determine whether the approach may begin.

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Compass Airlines asked whether it may move passengers and their carry-on bags within the cabin after the doors close, based on weight distribution software. The FAA said yes: 14 CFR 121.589(b) requires stowage to be verified before the doors close, but afterward carry-on baggage may be moved within the cabin as long as all items are properly stowed again before takeoff.

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A part 135 scheduled pilot asked whether a carrier could extend a duty day when the 24-hour look-back under 14 CFR 135.265(b)(1) found only 8 hours of rest after compensatory rest had already been given. The FAA said yes: the reduced-rest provision of 14 CFR 135.265(c)(1) may be applied again, if at least 8 consecutive hours of rest are found and new compensatory rest begins within 24 hours.

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A requester asked whether an air traffic controller may authorize speeds above 250 knots below 10,000 feet MSL under 14 CFR 91.117(a). The FAA said no: a correcting amendment replaced "ATC" with "Administrator," and that authority is delegated to the Flight Standards Service. It also said "FAA" in 14 CFR 91.175(a) should read "Administrator."

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Ray, Wood & Bonilla asked how the aerial work exception applies to a multi-state pipeline survey. The FAA withdrew its January 2011 Lieber interpretation and said refueling and human-needs stops are allowed, but the survey passenger must be returned to the starting point, and the operator, as a commercial operator, would otherwise need a part 119 certificate.

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Buckholz Traffic asked where a roadable aircraft may take off and land. The FAA said a roadable aircraft is an aircraft subject to the same rules as other aircraft, so 14 CFR 91.13 and 14 CFR 91.119 govern its takeoffs and landings, and other rules may apply depending on the aircraft's certificate, the pilot's certificate, and the type of operation.

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A Part 135 pilot may begin an instrument approach when the reported visibility meets the published minimum even if the reported ceiling is below decision height, as long as no operational requirement apart from the approach procedure imposes a ceiling limit. This interpretation takes precedence over a 1991 FAA interpretation of 14 CFR 135.225 that reached a different conclusion.

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LeTourneau University asked whether the "visual approach slope indicator" listed in 14 CFR 91.175(c)(3)(vi) means only VASI. The FAA said no: PAPIs, tri-color and pulsating indicators, and alignment of elements systems are also acceptable visual references for descending below DA, DH, or MDA, and the same applies under 14 CFR 121.651.

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Flight Options asked whether FAA Order 8900.1 guidance requiring in-flight observation of aircraft check airman candidates conflicts with 14 CFR 135.339(a)(2). The FAA agreed it does: the regulation lets the observed check occur in an aircraft, flight simulator, or flight training device, and the regulation prevails over guidance. The FAA referred the conflict to Flight Standards Service for further review.

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The FAA Chief Counsel agreed with Flight Standards that repositioning flights by part 137 agricultural operators are part 91 operations, not agricultural aircraft operations. A pilot repositioning an aircraft type certificated for more than one required pilot must therefore meet the 14 CFR 61.58(a) pilot-in-command proficiency check requirement.

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An individual asked whether AC 43.13-2B can be used as approved data to install an emergency locator transmitter as a major alteration. The FAA said it can when the AC's criteria are met, but installing a TSO ELT in a small airplane using the AC's methods is not a major alteration, so no Form 337 is needed. Manufacturer instructions count as approved data only if developed from FAA-approved technical data.

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JPS Aviation asked whether an aircraft a student provides for that student's own flight instruction needs a 100-hour inspection. The FAA said no: the 100-hour rule applies when the instructor provides the aircraft, so a student-provided aircraft needs its annual inspection. If the student does not own the aircraft, the FAA may check that the instructor did not effectively provide it.

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Red Wing Aeroplane Company asked whether a pilot who has reached the daily flight time limit of 14 CFR 135.267(b) can then fly a Part 91 ferry flight. The FAA said yes, but the ferry time counts toward quarterly and yearly limits and, if assigned by the certificate holder, cannot be counted as rest. Under 14 CFR 119.1(e)(3), certain ferry flights may be conducted under Part 91.

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Red Wing Aeroplane, a Part 135 operator, asked whether its free one-hour ride for crewmembers from Bay City, Wisconsin, to MSP counts as rest under 14 CFR 135.263(c). The FAA said it may be considered local in character and part of rest if no duty is required during the ride, but the commercial flight from MSP to the assignment is not rest.

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Island Air Charters asked the FAA to interpret the word "recommended" in FAA Order 8900.1, an internal order for aviation safety inspectors. The Chief Counsel declined, explaining that legal interpretations generally address the regulations in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, not established internal policy, and referred the company to the General Aviation and Commercial Division.

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ELAN Express, Inc., a Part 125 operator, asked whether its employees could be paid by it while flying for an unrelated Part 121 carrier. The FAA said yes on these facts, because the Part 121 carrier supplies the aircraft and keeps operational control. It cautioned that additional measures could indicate the companies are impermissibly interrelated under 14 CFR 125.11.

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Private pilots flying free humanitarian flights may not have fuel or operating expenses reimbursed, whether through donations that prepay an FBO or a dedicated 501(c)(3). The FAA treats any reimbursement as compensation requiring a 14 CFR part 119 certificate, so such flights are not permissible under 14 CFR 61.113, though the FAA may consider a petition for exemption.

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A requester asked how much rest three pilots need after a nine-hour supplemental flight on which each spent six hours on the flight deck. The FAA said each pilot has "flown" the full 9 hours because the entire time on the airplane counts, so each must receive at least 16 hours of rest under 14 CFR 121.503(b) before further duty.

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Supporting an NTSB investigation, the FAA's Accident Investigation Division asked whether a Navy-contracted Omega Air Refueling tanker flight that crashed on takeoff was a public aircraft operation. The FAA concluded it was: the flight was under Navy contract, intended as a public aircraft operation, carried only required crewmembers, and served a governmental purpose. The opinion took no position on Omega's other flights.

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The FAA's Air Transportation Division asked whether the September 11, 2007 date in 14 CFR 91.147(b) shut out new part 91 air tour operators. The Chief Counsel's office said no: it was only a compliance date for existing operators to obtain a Letter of Authorization, and the rule anticipated future operators applying for and receiving authorizations too.

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An internal FAA memo addressed whether the flight deck hand fire extinguisher required by 14 CFR 121.309(c)(4) must be reachable from a pilot's seat. The Office of the Chief Counsel said no: placement is best handled through type certification, and an extinguisher on the flight deck, clearly marked with unobstructed access for the flight crew, meets the rule.

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The FAA's Air Transportation Division asked how far 14 CFR 121.583 relieves all-cargo operations of passenger rules. The Office of the Chief Counsel said it applies only to all-cargo operations and only to requirements pertaining to passengers, so flight deck admission rules in 14 CFR 121.547(a) still apply, while 14 CFR 121.285 and 14 CFR 121.291 are excused entirely.

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Flight Standards asked whether part 121 carriers may use text messaging such as ACARS instead of voice communication. The Office of the Chief Counsel said 14 CFR 121.99(a) allows it for non-ETOPS domestic and flag operations in normal conditions, and 14 CFR 121.99(c) allows it in ETOPS where voice is unavailable. But other rules still require voice for almost all part 121 flights.

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The FAA's Southwest Airlines Certificate Management Office asked whether supplemental operators may rely on web-portal manual access instead of carrying manuals aboard. The FAA said generally no: 14 CFR 121.139(a) requires carrying the appropriate manual parts, and 14 CFR 121.139(b) excuses only maintenance parts en route to specified stations that keep them, with backup procedures if the portal is unavailable.

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A requester asked whether individual co-owners who share an airplane's ownership and maintenance costs can each fly it for personal use under 14 CFR 91.501(b)(4). The FAA said the shared costs are not a charge for transportation because the other owners and their guests are not aboard. It also found 14 CFR 91.501(b)(6) does not apply to a joint ownership agreement using a management company.

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Jay Bird Air asked whether it could dry lease its aircraft while encouraging lessees to use its third-party manager's pilots and services. The FAA said operational control is a fact-specific question based on both the lease terms and how the arrangement actually operates, and that this arrangement may require further review to decide whether the leases are truly dry leases.

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For foreign air carriers, the FAA reviews and approves maintenance programs only for U.S.-registered aircraft operated in common carriage; it has no jurisdiction to impose operations and maintenance requirements, such as EPA drinking water plans, on foreign-registered aircraft they operate. The FAA also has no jurisdiction or expertise to determine compliance with the EPA rule.

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The USDA Forest Service asked whether a rotorcraft must carry the latest revision of its flight manual. The FAA said the "current" RFM under 14 CFR 91.9(b)(1) is the version in place at purchase plus any AD-mandated changes; other later revisions are not included. It could not address 14 CFR part 135 because no specific provisions were identified.

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A supplemental flightcrew that flew a total of 9 hours in 24 consecutive hours must receive at least 16 hours of rest under 14 CFR 121.503(b) before further duty, even though it received 9 hours of intervening rest between flights. The intervening rest required by 14 CFR 121.505(a) is independent of the 16-hour requirement and does not relieve the crew of it.

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Night vision goggles must be inspected every 180 days, with a 24-month NVIS validation test, under the RTCA/DO-275 standard adopted for part 135 NVIS operations. Aircraft lighting changes for NVG use require an STC, and no NVG model has blanket approval; each must be evaluated for compatibility with an approved NVIS lighting system.

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An aircraft lessee asked whether a Cessna 414A that is neither a large airplane nor a fractional program aircraft could be flown for a corporation under part 91 Subpart F. The FAA said not without an exemption, and named three options: convert to a Subpart K fractional ownership program, join the NBAA and use Exemption No. 7897D, or petition for a separate exemption.

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A requester asked how ground instructors may use simulators and training devices. The FAA said a ground instructor may use them as aids in ground training and to help certificated pilots stay proficient, but the time cannot be logged, endorsed, or credited toward aeronautical experience or recency, and a ground instructor cannot observe and endorse device time for instrument recency.

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Air Wisconsin asked whether Exemption 3585, which eases Part 121 dispatch rules when a forecast's conditional language shows weather possibly below minimums, covers flights involving foreign airports. The FAA said no for destinations and alternates outside the United States; for flights from abroad, it applies only when both the destination and alternate are in the United States.

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A state employee asked whether flying a rented light-sport airplane to work-related client visits, at personal expense, is in furtherance of a business. The FAA said yes: flights incidental to employment, even if not required by it, are in furtherance of a business under 14 CFR 61.315(c)(3), so they may not be flown with sport pilot privileges.

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During flight testing of an experimental amateur-built aircraft, the operating limitations in FAA Order 8130.2F bar carrying anyone not essential to the purpose of the flight, and the FAA considers only one pilot essential. A safety pilot or assisting person may not be carried; an owner who cannot safely test the aircraft should have another qualified person conduct the flight testing.

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An operator of an experimental exhibition aircraft may not charge someone to ride and be filmed at the controls; that is carrying a person for compensation contrary to 14 CFR 91.319(a)(2) and the aircraft's operating limitations. Advertising such rides is not barred by 14 CFR part 91 but may violate 14 CFR 119.5(k) unless authorized.

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A requester asked whether the AIM's 45-degree downwind entry, which involves a right turn into a left pattern, violates the left-turn rule of 14 CFR 91.126(b)(1). The FAA said no: the rule does not prohibit maneuvers needed to safely enter the traffic flow, and the AIM procedure does not contradict it.

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A private pilot asked whether he could advertise a planned trip on Facebook or an FBO bulletin board to find expense-sharing passengers. The FAA cautioned that such advertising may be construed as holding out, and that expense sharing under 14 CFR 61.113(c) requires a bona fide common purpose, which appeared to exist where the pilot set the destination and the passengers had their own business there.

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Answering an NTSB request, the FAA's Accident Investigation Division asked whether a liferaft is survival equipment and whether passengers must be briefed on its location. The FAA said a liferaft is survival equipment, so Part 135 passengers, and Part 121 passengers on flights without a flight attendant, must be briefed on its location. The briefing need not be given by the pilot in command.

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Carson Helicopters asked whether its aerial data-gathering flights in Peru qualify as 14 CFR part 91 operations. The FAA found the mounted survey equipment is a fixture rather than cargo but could not determine whether the flights qualify as aerial work, and noted that if Peru requires an operating certificate, the flights cannot be conducted under 14 CFR part 91.

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Under 14 CFR part 91 subpart F, a company operating its own aircraft may carry officials, employees, and guests of its parent, subsidiaries, and its parent's subsidiaries under 14 CFR 91.501(b)(5). An aircraft under a joint ownership agreement may carry only people from the companies that are parties to that agreement under 14 CFR 91.501(b)(6).

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A requester asked whether all part 135 aircraft need an operational transponder. The FAA said no: the requirement depends on the airspace described in 14 CFR 91.215, so a part 135 aircraft that stays out of that airspace needs none, while one operating in it must carry a transponder meeting 14 CFR 135.143(c).

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On-call time, or keeping a company pager that must be answered, is not rest for Part 135 EMS crews, because rest must be continuous, determined in advance, and free from all restraint. A crew near the end of a 14-hour duty period cannot take a 3-hour flight; HEMES crews need 8 consecutive hours of advance-scheduled rest. Both the operator and the crewmember are responsible for compliance under 14 CFR 135.263(a).

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The Air Line Pilots Association asked about United Airlines repeatedly calling a reserve pilot during rest and threatening adverse action. The FAA said a carrier may call, and one contact does not interrupt rest, but any time the pilot is obligated to respond or expected to be telephone-available is not rest, including during compensatory rest.

FlightPush Summary

The FAA could not say whether a military contractor's aircraft are public aircraft or whether its pilots' flying is "other commercial flying" under 14 CFR 121.517 without more facts. Contract operations are treated as civil until the government entity declares them public, and pilots must be adequately rested under 14 CFR 91.13(a) either way.

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Eric L. Johnson, PLLC asked five questions about an owner dry leasing an aircraft to several lessees who use the owner's management company and crew. The FAA sets no limits on lessee numbers, lease hours, or fee collection, and does not bar sharing the management company or crew. But those facts may show a wet lease in disguise, which is decided case by case.

FlightPush Summary

A civil contractor conducting a valid public aircraft operation for the Army is not bound by its civil certificate, though rules that apply to all aircraft still apply, and the Army takes responsibility for the operation. The operator need not hold FAA certification for the mission, but armed-forces charters qualify as public aircraft only with a Secretary of Defense national-interest designation.