Legal Interpretations

FlightPush Summary

The FAA's Flight Technologies and Procedures Division asked whether 14 CFR 91.217(b) requires ADS-B Out and the transponder to share a single altitude encoder. The FAA said yes: "same source" includes a single encoder, and the rule applies to ADS-B Out equipment meeting 14 CFR 91.225 and 14 CFR 91.227, not to equipment that does not meet those sections.

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An operator conducting part 91 commercial air tours over a national park under the 14 CFR 136.37(g) exception cannot escape the five-flights-per-30-days limit just by obtaining a letter of agreement from the FAA and the park superintendent. Flying without that limit requires a 14 CFR part 119 certificate permitting 14 CFR part 135 operations and FAA interim operating authority.

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A requester with an amateur-built turbine helicopter asked whether an annual condition inspection could replace an approved inspection program. The FAA said no, because 14 CFR 91.409(c) excludes experimental aircraft from the annual inspection option. The builder is considered the manufacturer and may recommend a program under 14 CFR 91.409(f)(3), but it must be FSDO-approved under the aircraft's operating limitations.

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An individual asked whether several inaccurate record entries were fraudulent or intentionally false under 14 CFR 61.59(a)(2). The FAA explained the elements of each violation but said the limited facts did not allow it to decide, since it would weigh the totality of the circumstances. It added that a certificate holder should correct an inaccurate record when the inaccuracy becomes apparent.

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An attorney asked whether companies with a single common owner could provide flight services to one another in a Cessna 401B under Part 91. The FAA said the operations must be conducted under 14 CFR part 135, because the Cessna 401B is not a large airplane and the flying company, a Part 135 certificate holder, appears formed to provide transportation by air.

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General Aviation Modifications, Inc. asked whether the FAA can add requirements to AC 20-24B without notice and comment. Because an advisory circular has no regulatory effect, the FAA said it may add guidance to one without notice and comment as long as the guidance is consistent with the pertinent regulation.

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The Boeing Company asked how to determine an airplane's "date of manufacture" under various FAA rules. The FAA declined to give a single calculation: specific regulations may define the date for their own purposes, an earlier required date controls, and otherwise an easily recorded date such as airworthiness certificate issuance can be used. An airplane may have more than one date of manufacture.

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Under 14 CFR 133.35(a)(2), a "flight crewmember trainee" who may be carried during rotorcraft external-load operations is a person training to become a pilot, flight engineer, or flight navigator. People training for rescue operations do not qualify under that provision; the FAA pointed to 14 CFR part 11 for petitioning for an exemption.

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The FAA found no reason to conclude that Utah Valley University's flights carrying the state higher education commissioner and visiting foreign nationals qualify as public aircraft operations. It will not presume a university is a state government entity, and in any case providing air transportation is a commercial purpose and such passengers are not qualified non-crewmembers. Such questions are decided case by case.

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Charitable donations alone do not cost a law enforcement agency public aircraft status, as long as the donations are unrestricted and each flight otherwise meets the statute. An aircraft operated for a charity's own mission under the charity's control cannot be a public aircraft operation, and the FAA decides status flight by flight rather than for an operator in general.

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Whether a part 125 LODA holder's carriage is within the scope of and incidental to its business depends on the facts: carrying a contracted engine supplier's staff appears to qualify, while unrelated passengers may fly only as guests with no charge. Operating limitations imposed on one operator for holding out are not applied to all part 125 operators.

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Bombardier Learjet asked whether Learjet Model 60 pilots may check tire pressure daily as a preflight task using a passive monitoring system. The FAA said yes, under 14 CFR part 91 or 14 CFR part 135, if the system is FAA-accepted, because reading wireless sensor data on a remote display avoids pilot-caused errors from manipulating the valve stem.

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An FAA-approved course for an additional aircraft category or class rating under 14 CFR part 141, appendix I has no solo flight time requirement. Appendix I's references to appendices A, B, and D require training on their areas of operation, not their solo time, and enrollees already hold the pilot certificate level, including its required solo flight time.

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A requester asked whether an ATP without a CFI could give dual instruction in a BE-300 under part 91 outside an approved air carrier training program. The FAA said no: the ATP instructing privilege in 14 CFR 61.167(b) is limited to air transportation service, tied to an approved part 121 or 135 training program, so the time cannot count as instructional time.

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A requester asked whether VFR pilots need a clearance to fly through a "cold" restricted area. The FAA said no: once the controlling or using agency determines the area is cold, VFR aircraft may legally enter and transit it. An ATC statement that the area is cold is not itself a clearance, permission, or authorization under 14 CFR 73.13 and 14 CFR 91.133.

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A requester asked whether an ATC traffic vector during VFR flight following clears a pilot into Class B airspace. The FAA said no; a specific clearance is required, and turning to avoid the airspace does not violate 14 CFR 91.123 if only a vector was given. A student pilot cleared in without authorization must get an amended clearance, and pilots should know how to request Class B clearance.

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The FAA's Air Transportation Division asked what a record of en route radio contact under 14 CFR 121.711 must contain. The Chief Counsel's office said time of day and flight number alone are insufficient; at a minimum, the record must show the time and date, approximate aircraft position, registration number, flight call sign, and a narrative of the conversation.

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Allegiant Air asked whether InFO 09017's medical rule for second-in-command pilots covers only single long supplemental flights. The FAA said the ATP and first-class medical requirements of 14 CFR 121.437 and 14 CFR 61.23 apply to any three-pilot crew required by 14 CFR 121.507, including when a series of flights in 24 consecutive hours triggers the flight deck duty, aloft, or duty limits.

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Precision Design Inc. asked the FAA to confirm several views about unregistered aircraft. The FAA agreed registration is required for an airworthiness certificate and that a 100-hour inspection does not transfer with an engine, but said it may inspect any aircraft at any time, ADs apply to unregistered aircraft, and operating rules like 14 CFR 91.7 apply whether or not an aircraft is registered.

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An FAA Flight Standards division asked whether it could use a stamp-style electronic signature, which does not track changes, to approve special instrument procedures. The Chief Counsel's office said this is not a legal question, but suggested weighing information security, signature security, and non-repudiation, and consulting the FAA's Office of Information Systems Security.

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The Aeronautical Repair Station Association asked whether failing to provide enough urine for a follow-up drug test, after an earlier verified positive, permanently disqualifies an employee under 14 CFR 120.111. The FAA said no, because a refusal is not a verified positive result. The employee must still be removed from safety-sensitive functions until completing the return-to-duty process.

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Federico Helicopters, a seasonal Part 135 operator, asked whether long off-season breaks force it to surrender its certificate or keep a full-time pilot. The FAA said no to both, provided the operator notifies the FAA before resuming under 14 CFR 119.63 and is available for inspection, and reports any personnel change before resuming.

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There is no hierarchy between 14 CFR part 43 and 14 CFR part 65; both must be followed. The "approve and return to service" wording in 14 CFR 65.81, 14 CFR 65.85, and 14 CFR 65.87 is imprecise, since a mechanic without a pilot certificate cannot legally return an aircraft to service by flying it, but the FAA does not believe it has misled mechanics about their privileges.

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An individual asked whether an FAA aviation safety inspector may keep a personal firearm in a business-travel rental car for off-duty use. The FAA said not without authorization: a rental car paid with government funds is a government vehicle, and FAA policy bars privately owned firearms in government vehicles regardless of state law. Violations can bring a 45-day suspension for a first offense and removal for a second.

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A manufacturer's SID, such as Cessna's for the Conquest, is not mandatory for an owner who adopted the manufacturer's recommended inspection program before the SID was issued, unless the FAA mandates it through an AD or other rulemaking or requires the revision under 14 CFR 91.415. An owner who chooses to adopt the SID is bound by it, and the FAA cannot delegate grounding power to a manufacturer.

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A TSO authorization cannot be transferred to a company that buys its holder, whether by asset purchase or stock purchase, because it is an FAA authorization to a specific person, not an asset. The buyer can seek re-issuance under FAA Order 8150.1B by showing it meets all requirements, and 14 CFR 21.614 continues the ban on transfer.

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A ground instructor asked whether an advanced or instrument ground instructor counts as an authorized instructor for instrument training in simulators and training devices. The FAA said no: 14 CFR 61.215 lists ground instructor privileges exhaustively and does not include supervising flight training in those devices, so such time cannot be logged toward an instrument rating or pilot certificate.

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FAA Flight Standards asked whether 14 CFR part 145 governs certificated repair stations working on parts for foreign-registered aircraft outside 14 CFR part 121 or 135 operations. The FAA said no: part 145 is limited by the scope of 14 CFR part 43, so a repair station doing such work is not exercising its FAA certificate privileges, even if it records the work on FAA Form 8130-3.

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Embry-Riddle asked whether training center instructors teaching in single-pilot airplanes occupy a "required crewmember seat" that triggers the second class medical requirement in 14 CFR 142.49(c)(3)(iv). The FAA said the term means the same as "required crewmember" under 14 CFR part 61 and is not limited to multi-pilot aircraft, and referred the mismatch with the part 61 third class standard to Flight Standards.

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The additional training and endorsement requirements in 14 CFR 61.31(e) through (j) are not ratings limitations, so the 14 CFR 61.31(l)(2) exception does not excuse student pilots or checkride candidates from them. They must complete the training and hold the endorsements before acting as PIC of those aircraft.

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A requester asked whether a flight instructor with only an instrument-airplane rating on the instructor certificate could give instrument training in airplane classes held only on a commercial pilot certificate. The FAA said no: under 14 CFR 61.195, the instructor needs the applicable class rating on both the pilot and flight instructor certificates, and FAA Order 8900.1, 5-503 is inconsistent with the current regulation.

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A requester asked whether a CFI without an instrument rating may give instrument rating applicants training beyond the required 15 hours, and which solo endorsements instructors must record. The FAA said any training for an instrument rating is instrument training requiring an instrument-rated CFI under 14 CFR 61.195(c). Instructors must record at least the 14 CFR 61.87 solo endorsements and should record all solo endorsements.

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Al's Air Service asked whether airplanes carrying non-jettisonable pheromone dispensers, with empty hoppers, could fly gypsy moth eradication over congested areas. The FAA said the rule does not prohibit it: although the load does not meet the jettison requirement of 14 CFR 137.53(c)(2), the airplanes carry less than half their maximum authorized load, so they would perform at least as well as after jettisoning half.

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Holding an instrument rating is not, on its own, proof that a commercial pilot applicant has met the instrument aeronautical experience requirements of 14 CFR 61.129. The applicant must clearly document the instrument training used, though the FAA expects instrument-rating training will often satisfy some or all of those requirements. The FAA clarified that its Theriault interpretation added no extra hours.

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The age-65 pilot limit in 14 CFR 121.383(d)(1) applies only to operations under the 14 CFR part 121 operating rules. Because it is not triggered until a part 121 operating certificate is issued, an applicant does not have to comply with it during the certification process.

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Boeing asked whether "required by the operating rules of this chapter" in 14 CFR 25.1457 and 14 CFR 25.1459 means N-registered airplanes only. The FAA said applicability starts with the operating rule: when one requires a flight recorder, the 14 CFR part 25 installation requirements apply. Most operating rules cover only U.S.-registered airplanes, and 14 CFR 129.20 applies to the U.S.-registered aircraft described in 14 CFR 129.1(b).

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An FAA airworthiness inspector asked whether Delta's non-routine maintenance cards and cabin furnishings records count as the aircraft log under 14 CFR 121.709. The FAA said the term is undefined, but any log must be available in the airplane and accessible to each flightcrew member. Such cards and records identify discrepancies, and a 14 CFR 121.709 log entry is still required after correcting them and before return to service.

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Harley-Davidson asked whether it could charge fantasy camp participants for flights on its company aircraft under 14 CFR 91.501(b)(5). The FAA said no: carrying people on what is primarily a pleasure trip is not within the scope of and incidental to the company's business, even if it promotes sales, so the operation would require a 14 CFR part 119 operating certificate.

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An FAA Flight Standards division asked whether AC 43.13-1B can bar use of its methods when manufacturer instructions exist. The Office of the Chief Counsel said that reading is legally incorrect, because 14 CFR 43.13(a) allows other methods acceptable to the Administrator. The AC's methods are generally acceptable for minor repairs on non-pressurized areas unless the manufacturer recommends against them, and the office proposed revised wording.

FlightPush Summary

Whether a part 135 employee involved in releasing flights must be drug and alcohol tested under 14 CFR part 120 depends on the duties. Employees who share operational control are covered, but weight and balance work alone is not. Supervisors are covered only if they perform safety-sensitive functions, so a Chief Pilot handling only recordkeeping and management is not.

FlightPush Summary

On the facts given, a Part 135 flight departing under an IFR clearance with a VFR climb is an IFR operation, so the 14 CFR 135.213(a) weather reporting requirements apply. A composite clearance, VFR first and IFR from a point in space, is permissible, but some VFR operations still require approved weather reports rather than the pilot's own observations.

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An attorney asked whether a state court could transfer a 14 CFR part 135 air carrier certificate to another company without FAA approval. The FAA said no: air carrier certificates are not transferable, the FAA would not recognize a transferred certificate, and Federal law preempts state law in aviation.

FlightPush Summary

A sheriff's office volunteer pilot asked about surveillance flights in a rented aircraft. The FAA lacked facts to decide, but said occasional use of a rented aircraft would not make it a public aircraft, so normal 14 CFR rules would apply. Unpaid flying may not trigger 14 CFR 61.113, though compensation includes expense reimbursement and flight time.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether 2009 preamble language saying instrument-current pilots need no instructor in a simulator overrides 14 CFR 61.51(g)(4). The FAA said no: when rule and preamble conflict, the rule controls, so an authorized instructor must be present to observe simulator or flight training device time logged for instrument recency. It forwarded the issue to Flight Standards because the preamble suggests intent to change the rule.

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American Airlines asked whether it must carry its maintenance manual aboard during supplemental operations when the manual is available on a web portal at its stations. The FAA said no, under 14 CFR 121.139(b), if all scheduled maintenance can be performed at those stations and each has backup procedures for portal outages. The exception applies only to the maintenance part of the manual.

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An FAA Flight Standards office asked how quickly a dispatcher must be able to reach an en route aircraft under 14 CFR 121.99. The FAA declined to apply a strict less-than-four-minute rule and said communications within four to five minutes generally meet the "reliable and rapid communications" requirement for normal operating conditions.

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A law firm asked whether its client, a commercial pilot with a third-class medical, could be fully reimbursed by a physicians' firm for flying his Cessna 182 to review its facilities, often with its physicians aboard. The FAA said he could not use his commercial privileges, could not be compensated for carrying the physicians, and those flights would need a part 119 certificate.

FlightPush Summary

A private pilot sharing expenses under 14 CFR 61.113(c) may be reimbursed only by fellow passengers. If the pilot's employer, the pilot's company, or a company in which the pilot is a partner pays the pilot's pro rata share, the pilot is paying less than a pro rata share, which is not allowed.