Legal Interpretations

FlightPush Summary

An individual asked whether the aerobatics ban in 14 CFR 91.303(c) covers all of Class B airspace and the area beneath it. The FAA said the ban applies only to surface areas that touch the ground, not outer Class B or C layers or Class E transition areas, reversing its 1999 interpretation.

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Air Center Helicopters, Inc. asked whether a multiengine helicopter meeting the engine-out climb performance of 14 CFR 135.183(c) must also carry helicopter flotation devices for passenger flights over water. The FAA said no: meeting paragraph (c) fulfills the rule, so the paragraph (d) flotation devices are not also required.

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The Air Line Pilots Association asked whether airmen providing special airport qualification checks must count those flights toward flight time limits. The FAA found the pilot had already met 14 CFR 121.445(b) by pictorial means and the airman rode in an observer seat as an added safety measure, not as a required crewmember, so the time does not count.

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A requester asked whether a glider without a transponder may fly at 14,500 feet MSL above Class B airspace. The FAA said 14 CFR 91.215 does not prohibit it, since gliders are excepted above 10,000 feet MSL, but descending below 10,000 feet MSL would violate 14 CFR 91.215, and such flights call for great care around terminal traffic.

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When an IFR flight plan must include an alternate airport, an airport whose approach chart is marked 'NA' for alternate use cannot be listed as the alternate. The FAA answered with Instrument Procedures Handbook guidance rather than a formal interpretation, and noted that alternate information under 14 CFR 91.169(a)(2) is not required when the 14 CFR 91.169(b) exception applies.

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Blue Origin asked whether it needed an FAA license to operate the private launch site it would use under an experimental permit. The FAA said it would not require one for now, because the part 420 preamble said operators launching from their own sites need only a launch license, but it is revisiting that position in its experimental permit rulemaking and advised Blue Origin to follow it.

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Armadillo Aerospace asked whether it needed an FAA license to operate a launch site when launching its rocket from temporary, privately owned sites. The FAA said no: intermittent use of a site with no infrastructure is a temporary site, not the permanent site 14 CFR 401.5 ties to launch site operation. A second question, about launching from a prospective licensed launch site, was deferred.

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A military KC-135 copilot asked whether time as sole manipulator of the controls could be logged as PIC time. The FAA said yes: having completed the pilot proficiency check, the pilot is considered rated in the aircraft, so the time counts as PIC time under 14 CFR 61.51(e)(1)(i).

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The FAA confirmed that operating a motorized paraglider is subject to its regulatory jurisdiction. A motorized paraglider that meets the 14 CFR 103.1 ultralight definition is governed by 14 CFR part 103; one that does not is governed by 14 CFR part 91 and other applicable regulations.

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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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A law firm asked whether its client, an aircraft equipment manufacturer, could charge prospective purchasers for empty positioning legs before demonstration flights. The FAA said yes, and the charges need not be limited to 14 CFR 91.501(d) expenses, because a truly empty leg is not a demonstration under 14 CFR 91.501(b)(3). Higher charges are allowed only if no passengers or property are aboard.

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ALPA asked whether carriers must give crews climb gradient data and whether pilots must fly a published ODP when ATC assigns a SID. The FAA said no regulation requires climb gradient data, and either a SID or an ODP satisfies the requirement to follow a published IFR departure procedure; a PIC who prefers the ODP must request an amended clearance under 14 CFR 91.123.

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A Detroit FSDO inspector asked whether a supplemental crew may fly a final leg after delays push total flight time past 8 hours. The FAA said the crew may complete the leg if the original schedule was realistic, the delays were truly beyond the carrier's control, and the crew is not so fatigued as to be careless or reckless. It directed the FSDO to review three months of carrier data.

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General Motors asked whether GMAC could keep reimbursing it for flights under 14 CFR 91.501(b)(5) after GM's stake fell below 50 percent. The FAA said the rule requires a true parent-subsidiary relationship and did not decide, because GM had not provided objective evidence that such a relationship would continue.

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A requester asked whether Air Canada may overfly the United States with a pilot in command over 60. The FAA said that under the ICAO standard effective November 23, 2006, which the U.S. applies to foreign air carriers, operations are allowed with a pilot in command or second in command age 60 or over, provided one of them is under 60.

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The Wicks Group asked whether a U.S. corporation flying a Boeing 737 only in Saudi Arabia could get a part 125 certificate or carry its owner and guests under 14 CFR 91.501(b)(4). The FAA said no: it will not certificate operators based or operating entirely abroad, and a corporation formed solely to provide air transportation needs a commercial operator or air carrier certificate. It offered no advice on Saudi rules.

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Jet Linx Aviation, a 14 CFR part 135 on-demand operator, asked whether website features letting clients share flights fit its authority. The FAA said posting empty and occupied flights with departure location, departure window, and arrival location holds out scheduled operations its operations specifications do not authorize, and cautioned that idle-aircraft and requested-itinerary listings could be scheduled operations too.

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SEI Industries asked the FAA to agree that external-load flights over an interstate highway or sparsely spaced homes are not over congested areas under 14 CFR 133.33(d). The FAA did not concur: congestion is decided case by case, and NTSB decisions have found a street intersection, an interstate area, and a busy recreational lake to be congested areas.

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When Part 135 recurrent training is given in modules, the operator may record each module as it is completed or make one record when all modules are done; it need not record each element. The actual completion date must be recorded, and giving recurrent training early can reset the crewmember's base month, as long as training stays within the required look-back periods.

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A requester asked whether a part 135 carrier must list and report changes to a president who lacks operational control. The FAA said the president may need to be listed under other rules or for citizenship purposes; if listed, changes require notice and an operations specifications amendment needing FAA approval. Changes to the president, shareholders, shares, or agent for service address generally must be reported.

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A repair station with a limited rating that keeps a capability list may add an article within its ratings after its own self-evaluation, without a PMI visit or pre-approval, and must send the revised list to its certificate holding district office. Articles outside its ratings need an additional limited rating approved by the FAA.

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The Air Transport Association asked how the emergency deviation rules apply to Hurricane Katrina relief flights. The FAA said that because Katrina was an incident of national significance, air carriers may generally determine that deviations are appropriate for affected flights, with the PIC retaining ultimate authority, and each carrier may file one consolidated report within 10 days of its last emergency flight.

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Summit Jet, a Part 135 operator, asked whether its pilots' "not scheduled" days met the 14 CFR 135.267(f) requirement for at least 13 rest periods of at least 24 consecutive hours per quarter. The FAA said a day is not rest if pilots must respond to messages during it, and that Summit Jet must show each crewmember receives at least 13 such periods every quarter, not just an average.

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Atlas Air asked whether crewmembers who must stay contactable on layover or on residence reserve are resting under 14 CFR 121.483(b). The FAA said no: rest must be continuous, known in advance, and free of all restraint, so flight time cannot be assigned without a qualifying 24-consecutive-hour rest in the prior seven days. Deadheading, which is not flight time, may still be assigned.

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Pinnacle Airlines asked whether an unforeseen mechanical delay can extend a flight attendant's duty past 14 hours under 14 CFR 121.467(b)(14). The FAA said yes, if the flights normally terminate within limits, but the delay cannot reduce required rest, such as the 9 hours under 14 CFR 121.467(b)(2), before the next duty period. Fatigue still matters under 14 CFR 91.13(a).

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IFR fuel under 14 CFR 91.167 must cover flying to and landing at the destination, then flying to the alternate and 45 minutes beyond; fuel to merely attempt an approach is not enough. A pilot may reasonably land at the destination if, before the approach, reported weather is still at least a 2,000-foot ceiling above the airport and 3 statute miles visibility.

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A Colombian air taxi operator flying an airplane exclusively for one company between a foreign country and the United States for compensation is a foreign air carrier in common carriage and must operate under 14 CFR part 129, not part 91. The exclusive contract does not separate those flights from its common carriage business.

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The Air Line Pilots Association asked whether the weather-delay exception in 14 CFR 121.471(g) excuses compensatory rest. The FAA said no: it covers flight time limits only, so a pilot who knows before the last segment that delays will push compensatory rest beyond the 24-hour limit may not depart.

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If destination weather deteriorates after a domestic airline flight departs without an alternate, the pilot in command must, under certain circumstances, designate an alternate airport or fuel stop en route. Where the pilot and carrier know weather is worsening and fuel is insufficient to reach an alternate, the FAA probably would consider both careless and reckless for continuing without amending the release.

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ALPA asked whether a reserve day followed by six flight duty days meets the rule requiring 24 consecutive hours of rest in any 7 days. The FAA said no: reserve duty is not rest, and under 14 CFR 121.483(b) and 121.503(c) a 24-hour rest must appear looking back 7 days from midnight of each flight day. Even a rest the day before Day 1 would cover only through Day 6.

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Ogden, Newell & Welch asked whether a charity could fly needy patients for free under 14 CFR part 91 with volunteer pilots and donor-funded expenses. The FAA said no: donor-paid expenses and flight hours are compensation, so a 14 CFR part 119 certificate is required. Pilots who donate their time and pay all expenses themselves may log the time and may be eligible for a tax deduction.

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The Association of Flight Attendants asked whether pilot rest interpretations apply to flight attendants. The FAA said its three-part definition of rest and its narrow 'one phone call' exception both apply to flight attendant rest under 14 CFR 121.467, but it cannot impose a 'do not call' letter regime through an interpretation, since that would require rulemaking.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether supplemental carriers may use "legal to start, legal to finish" to exceed 14 CFR part 121 duty limits. The FAA said no: a pilot scheduled to exceed the limit before pushback may not depart, only a minimum 8-hour rest breaks a duty period, and no rules let a company avoid duty limits, although the FAA may weigh unforeseen in-flight delays in enforcement.

FlightPush Summary

An FAA regional attorney asked whether office duty before a flight assignment counts in a flight attendant's duty period. The FAA said yes: when a certificate holder mixes ground duties such as office or gate work with flight assignments, that time counts, because it adds to fatigue. An 18-hour day of office duty plus flights therefore exceeds the 14-hour limit of 14 CFR 121.467(b)(1).

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Omni Air International asked when pilots may train and check exclusively in a Level C simulator under 14 CFR part 121 Appendix H. The FAA said it depends on whether the training is initial, transition, or upgrade and on the pilot's experience: transition training within the same airplane group is open to all pilots, while initial and upgrade training carry experience prerequisites.

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The FAA Chief Counsel concluded that public airports that aided other public airports after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita acted consistently with federal airport revenue use requirements, comparing the aid to mutual aid agreements. The same approach would apply to aid after future declared emergencies, but only to airport revenue, not federal grant funds or Passenger Facility Charge receipts.

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Under 14 CFR 121.647, fuel computations must take into account an instrument approach and possible missed approach at the destination, even when no alternate airport is designated. Failing to consider it violates the regulations, but using the 45-minute reserve required by 14 CFR 121.639 is not illegal when circumstances not reasonably foreseeable make it necessary despite full compliance.

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A requester asked whether a startup fractional ownership program with one aircraft could operate under part 91 while transitioning to subpart K. The FAA said no: the management company would provide both aircraft and crew, making it a commercial operator under 14 CFR part 119 and 14 CFR part 135 until the program fully meets subpart K and receives management specifications under 14 CFR 91.1015.

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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

Time a reserve pilot must stay available to answer a carrier's call or page is not rest under 14 CFR 121.471, because rest means freedom from all restraint by the carrier. Transportation that is local in character may count toward rest, but the carrier must keep that travel time reasonably brief if it counts it.

FlightPush Summary

Continental Airlines asked the FAA to rescind two 14 CFR part 121 rest interpretations, including the Whitlow Letter, as improper rulemaking. The FAA refused, finding both were interpretative rules exempt from notice and comment, though it clarified the November 7, 2003 letter. It agreed to reinstate its 1980 public-comment procedures for new interpretive issues.

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The FAA Chief Counsel examined whether agreements labeled wet leases between U.S. and foreign air carriers violate the ban on U.S. carriers wet leasing from foreign carriers. Because the providers kept possession and operational control of the aircraft, the agreements were charters, not leases, so 14 CFR 119.53(b) did not apply and no FAA regulatory action was needed.

FlightPush Summary

A representative of a pilot holding only a Belgian/JAA license asked whether the pilot could fly a U.S.-registered aircraft in any country recognizing that license. The FAA said no: 14 CFR 61.3(a)(1) requires the license to be issued by the country where the aircraft is operated, and the FAA's validation of the Belgian license covers only flights within Belgium.

FlightPush Summary

The Teamsters Airline Division asked whether a carrier may break a duty period with a three-hour hotel stop during a maintenance delay. The FAA said no: rest must be continuous, known in advance, and free from responsibility for work, and a crew effectively on call in a hotel is on duty, so the time counted toward the 16-hour limit in 14 CFR 121.505(b).

FlightPush Summary

A resident of a private residential airport asked whether a homeowners association rule requiring arriving airplanes to overfly the runway at about 200 feet violates 14 CFR 91.119. The FAA said compliance depends on the facts of each case, so it gave no specific opinion, but noted that only the FAA may restrict aircraft in flight, making such association rules not valid and likely unenforceable.

FlightPush Summary

The Air Line Pilots Association asked whether a pilot who received reduced rest and then spent a day on standby and deadhead was owed compensatory rest. The FAA said no: neither standby nor deadhead triggers compensatory rest under 14 CFR 121.471, though neither may occur during a required rest period. The FAA also explained how ferry flights count toward rest and flight time limits.

FlightPush Summary

A pilot on 14 CFR part 121 domestic rest never has to answer the phone; one contact from the carrier does not break rest, but a second contact does, and repeated unanswered calls raise fatigue concerns. Travel to layover lodging or between "co-domicile" airports counts as rest only if it is reasonably brief, or local in character, under 14 CFR 121.471(f).

FlightPush Summary

Existing air tour operator status over a national park cannot be transferred to another person. A buyer can benefit from it only by purchasing the entire corporation that earned the status and keeping that corporation in existence and operating tours in the park; partnership or sole proprietorship status ends on dissolution. The buyer should notify its Principal Operations Inspector of the purchase.