Legal Interpretations

FlightPush Summary

A person performing maintenance under 14 CFR 43.13(a) may in many cases use a prior version of a manufacturer's maintenance manual or ICA, because the rule also allows other methods, techniques, and practices acceptable to the Administrator. Repair stations must still keep up-to-date versions of the listed documents and data under 14 CFR 145.109(d).

FlightPush Summary

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade asked whether Pitkin County could deny permits for helicopter filming flights on noise and safety grounds. The FAA said it lacked enough detail to determine the county's basis, but explained that airspace use, flight safety, and aircraft noise are under exclusive federal authority, and local attempts to regulate them would raise preemption questions.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether the crewmember exception in the parachute rule of 14 CFR 91.307(c) is limited to required crewmembers. The FAA applied the 14 CFR 1.1 definition: anyone assigned to perform duty in an aircraft during flight time is a crewmember, so the parachute requirement does not apply to them.

FlightPush Summary

An individual argued that gliders without transponders are restricted above 10,000 feet MSL within 30 nautical miles of an appendix D, section 1 airport. The FAA disagreed: 14 CFR 91.215(b)(3)(ii) is an exception to 14 CFR 91.215(b)(2) covering the surface to 10,000 feet MSL, not a limit on the separate 14 CFR 91.215(b)(5) exception for gliders and balloons at and above 10,000 feet.

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Pratt & Whitney asked how the one-day-off-in-seven rule of 14 CFR 121.377 applies to its repair station staff. The FAA said any work for the employer, or responsibility for it, counts as duty; off-duty work elsewhere does not affect Pratt's compliance; and the monthly "equivalent" flexibility does not allow 48 straight duty days between four-day breaks, or splitting the 24 hours.

FlightPush Summary

The FAA may not deny a qualifying 14 CFR part 141 pilot school examining authority because enough designated pilot examiners already serve the area; the need provision of 14 CFR 183.11 does not apply to school employees who give flight tests. A pilot school also does not need an approved Airmen Certification Representative to hold examining authority.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether 14 CFR 91.3 governs operational control in 14 CFR part 121 operations and when a dispatcher may declare an emergency. The FAA said the specific 14 CFR part 121 operational control rules apply instead, and under 14 CFR 121.557(b) a dispatcher may declare an emergency only when unable to communicate with, or after losing contact with, the PIC, who retains ultimate authority.

FlightPush Summary

The National Business Aviation Association asked the FAA to narrow its Schwab Interpretation barring reimbursement for personal travel on company aircraft. The FAA agreed in part: a company may be reimbursed the pro rata cost of owning, operating, and maintaining the aircraft for routine personal travel by high-level individuals whose plans it can change on short notice, but not merely because they must stay in contact or work aboard.

FlightPush Summary

An NBAA member company operating its Piper Seneca under Exemption No. 7897D may carry a client attorney as a company guest under 14 CFR 91.501(b)(5) and charge a mileage expense, but only up to the cost of owning, operating, and maintaining the airplane. Profiting from the transportation may require 14 CFR part 119 certification as a commercial operator.

FlightPush Summary

TransPac Aviation Academy asked whether a lost-communications IFR flight arriving early at its destination clearance limit may immediately start an approach. The FAA said that under 14 CFR 91.185 the pilot proceeds to a fix from which an approach begins and, if early, holds there so descent and approach begin as close as possible to the estimated time of arrival.

FlightPush Summary

The Broward County Sheriff's Office asked whether police and medevac helicopters with permanently mounted spotlights, a microwave downlink antenna, and a FLIR gimbal need a part 133 external-load certificate. The FAA said no: equipment installed under a supplemental type certificate that cannot be jettisoned and carries no payload beyond its own weight is an external fixture, not an external load.

FlightPush Summary

A private pilot asked whether he could run a hobby aerial photography business with a private pilot certificate. The FAA said no: a 1987 interpretation from the Chief Counsel's office, which takes precedence over a conflicting 1995 regional letter, found that flight operations are integral to an aerial photography business, so the pilot must hold a commercial pilot certificate.

FlightPush Summary

A law firm asked whether a non-profit could reimburse U.S. private pilots for fuel and airport charges on volunteer conservation flights abroad in U.S.-registered aircraft. The FAA said no: the pilots exercise U.S. certificate privileges, so 14 CFR 61.113 applies, and none of its exceptions fits these facts. The answer assumes the pilots hold no license from the foreign country.

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An FAA regional office asked whether DOE hazmat flights flown by a contractor pilot are public aircraft operations and whether hazmat training applies. The FAA said the flights are public aircraft operations not subject to Title 14, even when another federal agency reimburses DOE, but the pilot's employer must comply with federal hazmat law and the Hazardous Materials Regulations, including their training requirements.

FlightPush Summary

The FAA Chief Counsel concluded that current FAA employees are not "private persons" under 14 CFR part 183 and cannot be appointed as designees. Employees of other Executive Branch agencies may serve as designees with caveats and a case-by-case ethics review; organizations of other federal agencies raise the same considerations, and the FAA advised caution with such requests.

FlightPush Summary

A U.S. Army controller asked whether he needed extra experience to meet 14 CFR 65.39. The FAA said no: a member of the U.S. Armed Forces who has satisfactorily served as an air traffic control tower operator for at least 6 months meets the experience requirements for a facility rating.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether pilots in a Part 135 call-out rotation are resting while waiting. The FAA said that if a pilot must accept an assignment when called, the duty to keep operations advised of his status is a restraint, so the time is not rest; each assignment needs 10 consecutive hours of rest in the preceding 24 hours.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether Southern Air Cargo could schedule B777 crews under either set of supplemental flight and duty rules. The FAA said the nature of the operation, not the aircraft type, controls: if the flights meet the international or overseas criteria of 14 CFR 121.513, the carrier may elect either set of rules.

FlightPush Summary

A pilot operating at or below 2,500 feet within 4 nautical miles of a Class C or D primary airport must configure the aircraft to stay at or below 200 knots if it can, unless ATC authorizes otherwise or the minimum safe airspeed for the operation exceeds 200 knots. When ATC assigns a speed the aircraft can fly, the pilot chooses the configuration.

FlightPush Summary

An individual bidding to supply pilots and aircraft for a radio traffic reporting team asked whether Part 91 applies and whether 100-hour inspections are needed. The FAA said traffic reporting appears to be aerial work that may be flown under Part 91 if flights return to their departure point, but landing elsewhere would require Part 135. The aircraft also need 100-hour inspections under 14 CFR 91.409(b).

FlightPush Summary

The FAA's 14 CFR part 137 rules do not require supervision by a local certificate holder or an on-site supervisor when an out-of-state operator performs agricultural aircraft operations, and the FAA places no geographic limits on part 137 operators. Operators must still comply with state and local laws, and pilots must still become familiar with all available information about each flight.

FlightPush Summary

Banner Tow USA asked whether pilots may treat yellow chart areas as congested areas under 14 CFR 91.119 and everything else as non-congested. The FAA said charts and NOTAMs offer only general guidance, since congested area has no regulatory definition and is judged case by case. The pilot remains responsible for maintaining minimum safe altitudes.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether later owners may use a manufacturer's inspection program as it stood at aircraft delivery under 14 CFR 91.409(f)(3). The FAA said no: each new owner must select the program current at the time of selection, though an unrevised original program remains current. The response was reissued to correct mistaken references to 14 CFR 91.403(f).

FlightPush Summary

Nevitt Aircraft asked whether a mechanic performing an older, validly adopted manufacturer inspection program may use the maintenance manuals that matched that program. The FAA said yes, because 14 CFR 43.13(a) also allows methods acceptable to the Administrator, unless an Airworthiness Directive or other rule makes the earlier manuals unacceptable.

FlightPush Summary

Private pilots who fly a balloon in exchange for a free dinner from its owner receive compensation in violation of 14 CFR 61.113(a), and a dinner-for-advertising arrangement would require a commercial certificate. The owner paying part of the propane also violates the 14 CFR 61.113(c) expense-sharing rule unless the owner is a passenger on those flights.

FlightPush Summary

COMAIR, Inc. asked whether the 24 consecutive hours of rest required by 14 CFR 121.471(d) must fall on one calendar day. The FAA said no: the rest period may begin on one day and end the next, such as 1500 Wednesday to 1500 Thursday, though compliance depends on the pilot's actual flight time.

FlightPush Summary

An aviation maintenance technician school may teach diesel engines type certificated as reciprocating engines under 14 CFR part 147, Appendix D, because they are reciprocating engines. The curriculum still needs approval from the school's principal maintenance inspector under 14 CFR 147.21(a).

FlightPush Summary

Only a mechanic holding an inspection authorization may perform an annual inspection under 14 CFR 91.409 and approve the aircraft for return to service, even though annual and 100-hour inspections share the same standards. An IA who signs off an annual without inspecting the aircraft would likely violate 14 CFR 43.12(a)(1) by making a false maintenance record entry.

FlightPush Summary

Tanabe Flying Services asked whether ash-scattering flights carrying family members at no extra charge could operate as part 91 commercial air tours. The FAA said no: sightseeing is not a purpose of the flights, so they are not commercial air tours, and the passengers are not needed for the scattering, so the aerial work exception does not apply. A part 119 operating certificate is required.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked three helicopter training questions under 14 CFR part 61. The FAA said a non-IFR-certified helicopter may fly on an IFR flight plan if it stays in VMC, that instrument rating training does not satisfy 14 CFR 61.129(c)(3)(i), and that a night cross-country flown during private pilot training cannot count toward the commercial pilot requirement.

FlightPush Summary

General Dynamics' chief pilot asked whether a pilot with the runway in sight may descend below DA/DH or MDA when reported RVR is below minimums. The FAA said yes: flight visibility, not RVR, is controlling under 14 CFR 91.175(c), so a pilot who has determined flight visibility and sees the runway may continue, maintaining that visibility until touchdown.

FlightPush Summary

The MSP FSDO asked how Mesaba Airlines' Exemption 3585 applies when a circling approach is expected at the destination. The FAA said the exemption's visibility conditions cover circling approaches, but because it says nothing about ceilings, the OpSpec ceiling minimum still applies to dispatch. The exemption also gives no relief from the high-minimums pilot-in-command rule of 14 CFR 121.652.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked three questions about the IFR lost-communications rule in 14 CFR 91.185(c). The FAA said a clearance limit is not necessarily a holding fix, the rule applies even if no holding instructions were issued, non-GPS aircraft should plan on ground-based navaids, and ATC expects pilots to commence descent under 14 CFR 91.185(c)(3)(i) or (ii) as appropriate.

FlightPush Summary

A private pilot who meets 14 CFR 61.69 may act as pilot in command for compensation or hire when towing a glider or unpowered ultralight vehicle under the exception in 14 CFR 61.113(g), and is not limited to logging flight time. The private pilot still may not carry passengers or property in the tow plane for compensation or hire.

FlightPush Summary

For extended overwater dispatch under 14 CFR 121.615(a), the destination may be forecast below minimums at dispatch so long as the required alternate is at or above minimums at the estimated time of arrival. A flight may not be dispatched if the alternate would be below minimums on arrival, and if the alternate drops below minimums en route, the dispatch or flight release may be amended.

FlightPush Summary

A pilot who flies company property for his employer and is reimbursed only for operating expenses is receiving compensation, so the flights are on-demand operations requiring 14 CFR part 119 certification and compliance with 14 CFR part 135. The FAA counts both the reimbursement and the flight hours gained at the employer's expense as compensation.

FlightPush Summary

Patton Boggs LLP asked whether Windsor Jet Management's planned charters would be scheduled operations. The FAA said no, as described: a scheduled operation requires offering in advance the departure location, departure time, and arrival location, and Windsor would negotiate airports with each customer. A narrow advertised departure window could suggest an offered departure time.

FlightPush Summary

Kids in Flight asked whether free year-round flights for seriously ill children would be a charitable event under 14 CFR 91.146. The FAA said no, because the rides are not given in exchange for donations. It cautioned that it views compensation broadly: donations tied to flights, or pilot reimbursement for fuel or expenses, would require operating under 14 CFR 91.146 or a 14 CFR part 119 certificate.

FlightPush Summary

Trans States Airlines asked whether its PICs, auditors, or flight managers may correct load manifest errors found later. Under 14 CFR 121.665 the certificate holder must ensure the manifest is prepared and accurate before each takeoff, so the original may not be altered after takeoff; discrepancies should instead be reported and addressed.

FlightPush Summary

A Part 137 operator must keep meeting the 14 CFR 137.19(d) requirement to have at least one certificated, airworthy agricultural aircraft after initial certification, or it may not conduct agricultural operations. It does not need to own the aircraft; any agreement giving it use of one satisfies the rule.

FlightPush Summary

An FAA certificate management office asked whether a required two-hour window for pilots to contact crew scheduling the day before reserve counts as rest under 14 CFR 121.471(d). The FAA said no: any period in which a pilot must answer a call or page is not part of a continuous rest period, even if the carrier never calls.

FlightPush Summary

The 14 CFR 91.119 congested-area minimum altitude generally does not apply within an airport traffic pattern, including climbs after takeoff, descents to land, and practice touch and go operations; outside the pattern it does. Whether an area is congested is decided case by case, using factors such as housing density, the presence of people, and whether buildings are occupied.

FlightPush Summary

Flight Standards asked whether parasails are already regulated under 14 CFR part 101. The Office of the Chief Counsel said yes: a parasail held aloft only by wind from its towing vehicle is a kite, not an aircraft, so parasail operations must follow the kite rules, including the altitude, cloud, visibility, and airport-distance limits of 14 CFR 101.13 and the notice and line-marking rules.

FlightPush Summary

Baker Botts LLP asked whether a company furnishing its aircraft and crew under a time sharing agreement keeps operational control. The FAA said yes: it presumes the party that supplies the aircraft and flight crew retains operational control, consistent with the 2008 Bauer interpretation.

FlightPush Summary

A US Airways crew diverted for weather would exceed the 8-hour daily flight time limit on its final leg. The FAA said the crew may depart under 14 CFR 121.471(g) if the weather was truly unforeseeable, but all actual flight time counts toward cumulative limits, and the exception does not excuse rest requirements.

FlightPush Summary

After withdrawing a 2006 interpretation that AOPA challenged, the FAA distinguished "known ice" (ice actually observed or detected on the aircraft) from "known icing conditions" (where a reasonable pilot would expect a substantial likelihood of ice forming, based on all available information). Whether a pilot flew into known icing conditions is fact-specific, and the FAA said it would initiate action to revise the AIM definition, which is not broad enough.

FlightPush Summary

14 CFR 135.63(d) does not say what must be done with the duplicate load manifest, so it does not require leaving a copy at the airport. The FAA still advises certificate holders to put procedures for the duplicate in their operations manuals, working with their principal operations inspector, since it could help accident investigators if the onboard copy is destroyed.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether a Part 135 operator may keep pilots on 24-hour call and count any 10 uncalled hours as rest. The FAA said no: under 14 CFR 135.267(d), rest must be continuous, known in advance, and free from all restraint, so a pilot obliged to answer calls and not told of the rest period beforehand is not at rest.