Legal Interpretations

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REJ Aviation Services asked whether a helium envelope's lift reduces a small drone's takeoff weight under 14 CFR 107.3. The FAA said no: takeoff weight is total mass, including the helium, so a 54-pound aircraft still weighs at least 54 pounds. Buoyancy can still support a waiver request for part 107 operational restrictions.

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Forza Business Strategies, Inc. asked whether a private heliport owner could stop part 107 drone flights over the neighboring lot. The FAA said no, because airport owners may not regulate the airspace above and near their airports, but the remote pilot must not interfere with heliport operations or traffic patterns and must yield right of way to helicopters using the heliport.

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Counsel for the Turlock Irrigation District asked whether the utility's drone inspections of its power and water facilities qualify as public aircraft operations. The FAA said no: although the district is a government entity, the FAA could not find that supplying electric power is a governmental function under 49 U.S.C. 40125(a)(2). The district may instead apply for a civil exemption under Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act.

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Student unmanned aircraft flights within accredited coursework are hobby or recreational use under section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, if the students meet its conditions and receive no related compensation. Hobbyists may fly school demonstrations if any compensation is unrelated to their flying, and faculty may give only de minimis help. The memo notes it may need revisiting after the small UAS final rule.

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A model aircraft hobbyist asked whether models the owner did not plan to fly for two to three years had to be registered. The FAA said registration is required only for small unmanned aircraft operated in the national airspace system, so the owner complies as long as registration under 14 CFR part 47 or 14 CFR part 48 is completed before flying them.

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The FAA addressed whether news media may fly drones for newsgathering and use or buy drone imagery. Media newsgathering flights need FAA authorization because they are business, not hobby, operations. The FAA does not regulate media that merely receive images from an operator, but anyone flying to sell images needs authorization.

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Central Michigan University asked whether state, local, or nonprofit grants would let it fly an unmanned aircraft as a public aircraft. The FAA said the governmental function behind an operation matters, grant money alone does not permit UAS flights for any purpose, and education by itself is not a governmental function. The university could instead fly as a contractor for an eligible government entity with a valid governmental function.

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The FAA concluded that public universities may fly UAS as public aircraft operations for aeronautical research, meaning research on the aircraft and its systems, not research that simply uses a drone to observe something else. Grant funding is acceptable if the findings belong to the state university and the research does not carry the property of another, including the funder.

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A university that qualifies as a public aircraft operator may not use its UAS COA to run a UAS flight school or provide education. The FAA found that education is not a governmental function under the public aircraft statute, so such operations are limited to the listed governmental functions.

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An attorney for an airline pilot asked whether a felony conviction for a false state income tax return bars unescorted airport access, and whether a deferred adjudication counts as a conviction. The FAA answered neither question: aviation security rules moved to TSA in 2002 and are now at 49 CFR 1542.209(d)(26)(v) and 49 CFR 1544.229(d)(26)(v), so it referred the requester to TSA.

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ARSA questioned the FAA's authority to issue an airworthiness directive on Survitec life preservers, asking whether they meet the 14 CFR 1.1 definition of an appliance. The FAA said a life preserver's assurance is used to ensure safe operation of aircraft in flight, as operating and design rules reflect, and that its general statutory safety authority applies regardless; it has issued many ADs on such equipment.

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The FAA's Chief Counsel rescinded the 2008 Glaser and 2012 Pratte interpretations of the instrument rating cross-country requirement in 14 CFR 61.65(d)(2)(ii)(C). The rule requires three different kinds of approaches, not three different navigation systems; precision approach radar counts as a navigation system, and Flight Standards should determine whether airport surveillance radar does.

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Spartan College asked whether spin training in its part 141 courses requires parachutes under 14 CFR 91.307(c). The FAA said no when the training is given by a certificated flight instructor: under 14 CFR 91.307(d), maneuvers required for any certificate or rating may be taught without parachutes even if the student's certificate does not require them. It rejected treating students as crewmembers.

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When logging cross-country time to meet aeronautical experience requirements, pilots should use flight time as defined in 14 CFR 1.1, from when the aircraft moves under its own power for the purpose of flight until it comes to rest after landing. The FAA read the 14 CFR 61.1(b) phrase "time acquired during flight" as meaning flight time, based on the 1997 final rule.

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The Air Line Pilots Association asked whether flight time under 14 CFR 1.1 ends during diversions, remote parking, or congestion stops while the crew must stay aboard. The FAA said no: an aircraft has not come to rest after landing while the flightcrew is required to remain on it, so flight time keeps accruing in all four scenarios.

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The Air Line Pilots Association asked whether time taxiing after landing, including waiting on a ramp for a gate, counts as flight time under 14 CFR part 117. The FAA said yes: flight time continues until the aircraft is shut down with no further movement under its own power, except while it is being moved by a tug.

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AirPooler, Inc., whose website lets private pilots offer seats on flights they plan to take, asked whether participating pilots receive prohibited compensation or need a 14 CFR part 119 certificate. The FAA said expense sharing is compensation, and pilots posting flights on the website hold out to the public, so they engage in common carriage requiring a 14 CFR part 119 certificate.

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The 14 CFR 1.1 definition of "night," tied to civil twilight times published in the American Air Almanac, is an appropriate incorporation by reference. That almanac merged into the Air Almanac in 1953, and the civil twilight times the definition relies on are available free on the U.S. Naval Observatory website and at Federal Depository Libraries.

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A part 135 helicopter pilot must pass a competency check in each basic make and model of helicopter flown, because 14 CFR 135.293(b) defines helicopter type that way. Under 14 CFR 135.327 and the 14 CFR 1.1 definition of type, the operator's training program must cover each specific make and basic model in its fleet.

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A certificated part 145 repair station, as a "person" under 14 CFR 1.1, may prepare the airworthiness release or aircraft log entry for work it is rated to perform and actually performs for a part 121 or 135 certificate holder. It must follow that certificate holder's manual procedures, which reflects the operator's duty under 14 CFR 121.367 and 14 CFR 135.425 to ensure each aircraft released to service is airworthy.

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An individual asked whether helicopter ground time with the engine running and rotors turning, before moving or after coming to rest, counts as flight time. It does not: under 14 CFR 1.1, flight time starts when the helicopter moves under its own power for flight and ends when it comes to rest after landing.

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A law firm asked whether airships may conduct sightseeing and other operations for hire under 14 CFR part 91. The FAA confirmed they may, provided they comply with 14 CFR part 91, because the commuter and on-demand definitions that trigger 14 CFR part 135 apply only to airplanes and rotorcraft.

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The FAA's Production and Airworthiness Certification Division asked what repositionable landing gear means for light-sport aircraft. The Chief Counsel's office said it is wheeled gear that can be repositioned only on the ground and stays fixed from takeoff through landing. A seaplane with gear that retracts in flight is not a light-sport aircraft and cannot be certificated as one or flown by sport pilots.

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ExpressNet Airlines asked whether taxi time stops counting as flight time when a flight returns to the gate before takeoff. The FAA said not necessarily: if the pilot must stay aboard, flight time continues from the first taxi until landing at the destination. Unforeseen problems can excuse exceeding daily limits under 14 CFR 121.471(g), but all time counts toward cumulative limits.

FlightPush Summary

Pushback by a tug before the aircraft moves under its own power is not flight time for Part 121 flight time limitations. Taxiing under its own power from the gate to a de-icing pad is for the purpose of flight, so flight time starts then, runs until the aircraft comes to rest at the next point of landing, and counts toward 14 CFR 121.471.

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The Air Line Pilots Association asked whether taxi time from the gate to a de-icing pad counts as flight time. The FAA said yes: because FAA-required de-icing is preparatory to flight, flight time begins when the aircraft taxis under its own power from the gate and runs until it comes to rest after landing, all credited toward 14 CFR 121.471 limits.

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The pilot under the hood may log PIC time as sole manipulator of the controls if rated for the aircraft, while the appropriately rated safety pilot logs SIC. If the pilots agree before the flight that the safety pilot is PIC, the safety pilot may log all the flight time as PIC and the pilot under the hood may still log PIC under 14 CFR 61.51(c)(2)(i).

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The National EMS Pilots Association asked whether EMS flights without a patient fall under part 91 or part 135. The FAA said a hospital flying only its own employees could use part 91, though such flights assigned by the certificate holder count toward part 135 limits, while a contract operator carrying medical staff as passengers must use part 135 if it receives compensation or benefit.

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Watermakers Air asked whether another Part 135 on-demand carrier could fly its scheduled operations, and which rest rules apply to pilots flying both kinds of flights. The FAA said the substitute must hold the same operations authority, except that passengers stranded by cancelled scheduled flights may be flown under on-demand rules. Pilots must meet each operation's limits, or the operator may, with amended operations specifications, use scheduled rules for all.

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A Part 135 chief pilot asked whether strict company policies on alcohol, tobacco, or staying near base violate rest rules. The FAA said alcohol and tobacco limits do not by themselves, but distance rules that amount to on-call status do. It also declined to reconsider its view that realistically scheduled duty may exceed 14 hours if plans are upset for reasons beyond the operator's control.

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Ignoring a manufacturer's overhaul or life-limit schedules on a special light-sport aircraft does not make its airworthiness certificate "invalid," but it makes the certificate ineffective and the operator subject to enforcement. Maintenance procedures must come from the manufacturer or a person acceptable to the FAA, not a homemade program.

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SP Aviation asked whether part 135 crews may deadhead home right after a duty period and whether that counts as duty. The FAA said yes, as passengers, but the 10-hour rest under 14 CFR 135.267(d) must follow before further duty, and deadhead time is neither duty nor rest. No rule limits deadhead length, but a long one after a full duty day may raise fatigue concerns.

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An FAA inspector asked whether flight attendants voluntarily added to part 135 flights beyond the required crew fall under 14 CFR 135.273. The FAA said yes: anyone assigned to the flight with cabin-safety-related responsibilities during flight time is a flight attendant under that section and subject to its flight, duty, and rest rules.

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The FAA said a Part 135 operator with one leased aircraft loses exclusive use under 14 CFR 135.25(b) if the owner or anyone else operates it. It also said the number of pilots actually used decides whether 14 CFR 135.267 or 14 CFR 135.269 applies, and operators may apply stricter limits to augmented crews.

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CAS Aviation Services asked about the legal basis for FAA Notice 8900.197, which directs inspectors to correct Part 135 training programs that credit training done with another certificate holder. The FAA said the notice reflects existing 14 CFR part 135 training rules, which make each certificate holder responsible for its own tailored training, allows only limited reduced-hour curricula, and created no new regulations.

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Kugel Air Flight Service asked whether an FAA designated examiner may give part 135 competency checks. The FAA said no, unless the examiner also meets the check airman qualifications of 14 CFR 135.337, because examiners' authority covers only part 61 certificate and rating tests, while 14 CFR 135.293 checks assess ability to safely conduct part 135 operations.

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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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King Schools asked whether paid flight instruction and outside part 91 flying count as other commercial flying under the 14 CFR part 135 flight time rules. The FAA said yes: any paid nonmilitary flying as a required crewmember, other than air transportation, counts, including compensated instruction under 14 CFR part 61, 14 CFR part 91, or 14 CFR part 141, regardless of who assigned it.

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Moulis & Associates asked whether a Part 121 carrier may train active-duty military pilots toward ATP certificates under a Defense Department contract. The FAA said training others to meet 14 CFR part 61 or 14 CFR part 121 requirements requires 14 CFR part 142 or an exemption. Training solely for DOD needs is allowed but cannot lead to a certificate or rating unless conducted under 14 CFR part 61.

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A requester asked whether a part 135 pilot may estimate flight and duty time on required records. The FAA said an estimate would not satisfy 14 CFR 135.63, which requires flight time in enough detail to show compliance with flight time limitations, and could not support accepting assignments under 14 CFR part 135, subpart F. Whether it violates 14 CFR 61.59 depends on facts the FAA lacked.

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The Air Line Pilots Association asked whether carrier-provided ground transportation between co-domicile airports, such as from Baltimore-Washington International back to Washington Dulles, counts as rest. The FAA said yes: travel between co-domicile airports is local in character, so it is not deadhead transportation and could be considered rest.

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The FAA concluded that 14 CFR 91.409(f)(3), which lets an owner or operator use a current inspection program recommended by the manufacturer, is not limited to type-certificated aircraft. The manufacturer is whoever fabricated and assembled the major portion of the aircraft, and the facts did not show that a foreign military that previously owned KC-135R airplanes met that test.

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Air Cargo Carriers argued that manufacturer life limits referenced in its Shorts airplanes' type certificate data sheet were not mandatory. The FAA said they are mandatory for this carrier because its FAA-approved aircraft inspection program under 14 CFR 135.419 requires life-limited items to be replaced per Chapter 5 of the maintenance manual, and the 2015 Williams interpretation, about a part 91 aircraft, does not apply.

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A company owner asked whether a company that does no charter work could build a primary kit-built rotorcraft under an experimental certificate and fly it for company business. The FAA said yes, if it carries no persons or property for compensation or hire and complies with 14 CFR 91.319 and its operating limitations, cautioning that compliance depends on the facts of each operation.

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Pacific States Aviation asked whether its repair station may fabricate parts for its own repairs when the type certificate holder sells them. The FAA said yes under 14 CFR 21.9(a)(6), if the parts are fabricated under an acceptable quality system and consumed in the maintenance for which they are made; availability from the type certificate holder is irrelevant, but separate sale requires a PMA.

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14 CFR 21.120 does not require both holders of a jointly held STC to give written permission, but whichever holder allows its use must provide it, and an owner needs that permission under 14 CFR 91.403(d). A holder that allows use without written permission could face a 14 CFR part 13 complaint; disputes over documents may require a civil remedy.

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Air Cargo Carriers, Inc. asked whether maintenance manual life limits referenced in a TCDS note bind its Shorts SD3-30 and SD3-60 fleet. The FAA said yes, because the carrier's own FAA-approved aircraft inspection program requires replacing life-limited items per Chapter 5 of the manual, and the carrier must follow that program.

FlightPush Summary

Answering a working group of an FAA aviation rulemaking committee, the FAA interpreted 14 CFR part 39 to require operators to keep AD-mandated modifications in place, perform every action an AD requires, read "applicable" as limiting actions to a given aircraft's configuration, and obtain an AMOC whenever an AD cannot be followed, even after the affected part is removed.