Legal Interpretations

FlightPush Summary

Southwest Airlines asked whether age-60 crew pairing rules apply to part 121 flights from Puerto Rico to the contiguous states and to domestic flights through Canadian airspace. The FAA said 14 CFR 61.3(j) applies to both when the flight passes through another country's airspace and meets the operational characteristics in 14 CFR 61.3(j)(1).

FlightPush Summary

A pilot asked whether flying a friend's airplane for only the cost of fuel is compensation under 14 CFR 61.113. The FAA did not decide, citing too few details, but said compensation is construed very broadly and that not paying the full operating costs might be a financial benefit that counts, depending on the arrangement and the flight's purpose.

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The FAA was asked whether any approved part 142 course allows a flight instructor reinstatement practical test in a level D simulator. The Chief Counsel's office said no: under 14 CFR 61.199(a)(1) and 14 CFR 61.183(h)(2), the instructor must be enrolled in an approved course specific to instructor certification or reinstatement for that training to be conducted in a level D simulator.

FlightPush Summary

A private pilot who uses her employer's avionics and pilot supplies in her own aircraft and gives unpaid feedback may not be receiving compensation, so 14 CFR 61.113(a) may not be implicated when the flights are recreational and not directed or reimbursed by the company. Because compensation is defined broadly, any compensation would be prohibited for flights made to test the products.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether a flight instructor with an instrument rating but no aircraft category or class ratings may give instrument training in simulators or training devices. The FAA said no: under its reading of 14 CFR 61.195(b) and (c), the instructor needs category and class ratings plus an appropriate instrument rating, and that applies in devices that replicate aircraft by category and class.

FlightPush Summary

A pilot asked whether a Civil Air Patrol CAPF 5 annual check ride counts as a flight review under 14 CFR 61.56. It does not on its own, since the regulations do not list it as a substitute. However, if the person conducting it is a flight instructor authorized in that aircraft and willing to cover all flight review items, one flight check can satisfy both.

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The School of Aeronautical Science asked which endorsements a student pilot needs for repeated solo cross-country flights to an airport within 50 nautical miles. The FAA said both are required: the logbook endorsement in 14 CFR 61.93(b)(2)(ii) and the student pilot certificate endorsement in 14 CFR 61.93(c)(1).

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked what paperwork a private pilot applicant who used a home-study course needs. The FAA said 14 CFR 61.105 requires no specific documentation, the knowledge test endorsement has no required wording, and 14 CFR 61.107 requires logged ground and flight training without listing each area of operation verbatim.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether landings flown by a student count toward a flight instructor's own takeoff and landing currency. The FAA said no, because 14 CFR 61.57(a)(1)(i) and 14 CFR 61.57(b)(1)(i) require the person to be sole manipulator of the controls. Instrument approaches differ because 14 CFR 61.57(c)(1) uses "performed and logged" language instead.

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A first officer may log PIC time as sole manipulator only with the appropriate category, class, and type rating (not an SIC-privileges-only type rating), or under 14 CFR 61.51(e)(1)(iv) while in an approved PIC training program. The interpretation corrects a 1999 FAA Northwest Mountain Regional Office interpretation to Bill Carpenter that said an SIC can log PIC time under 14 CFR 61.51.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether the 25 hours of supervised flight time to remove a 14 CFR 61.64 pilot-in-command limitation can be flown from either seat and under 14 CFR part 135 or 14 CFR part 91. The FAA said 14 CFR 61.64(g) requires no particular seat, only that the time be obtained performing pilot-in-command duties, and does not limit the operating rules.

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The FAA's Air Transportation Division asked whether an airline transport pilot applicant needs 250 hours as pilot in command. The FAA said no: 14 CFR 61.159(a)(4) lets applicants count time as second in command performing pilot in command duties under supervision, logged as second in command time unless the pilot is in an approved pilot in command training program under 14 CFR 61.51(e)(1)(iv).

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A requester asked which medical certificate a private pilot needs to tow gliders or unpowered ultralights for compensation or hire under 14 CFR 61.113(g). The FAA said a third-class medical certificate, because towing requires only a private pilot certificate and 14 CFR 61.23 requires a third-class medical certificate to exercise private pilot privileges.

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The FAA found that issuing AW-139 type ratings with an SIC Required limitation to Maryland State Police pilots was a reasonable reading of 14 CFR 61.63 and 14 CFR 61.43. Pilots can remove the limitation under 14 CFR 61.43(b)(3) by demonstrating single-pilot proficiency in VFR conditions, and future applicants can combine two-pilot instrument and single-pilot VFR test segments.

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The FAA said currency under the flight review rule in 14 CFR 61.56(c) lapses on the first day of a month, following its earlier reading of the same language in 14 CFR 61.58. A flight review accomplished April 2, 2002, would not lapse until May 1, 2004.

FlightPush Summary

A flight instructor giving instrument flight training in an aircraft must hold, on the flight instructor certificate, category and class ratings for that aircraft and an instrument rating appropriate to its category. The FAA described this as its consistent interpretation of 14 CFR 61.195(b) and 14 CFR 61.195(c).

FlightPush Summary

Beaumont & Son - Aviation at Clyde & Co LLP asked whether a pilot flying on a US certificate issued under 14 CFR 61.75 must also meet UK differences training rules tied to the underlying foreign license. The FAA said no: only limitations shown on the face of the US certificate or foreign license carry over, and the FAA has no differences training requirement for Cirrus aircraft.

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FlightSafety International asked whether a 14 CFR 61.58 proficiency check or a certification test satisfies part 142 instructor and evaluator check requirements. The FAA said not necessarily: instructor checks must cover a representative segment of every curriculum taught and evaluator checks every function evaluated, such as Category II, though an evaluator may combine the check with a 14 CFR 61.58 check.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether an ATP limited to SIC privileges, or an ATP with no type rating, can log PIC time as sole manipulator of the controls in a type-rated aircraft. The FAA said no in both cases, because neither holds the appropriate type rating, unless the pilot is in an approved pilot-in-command training program under 14 CFR 61.51(e)(1)(iv).

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether all aeronautical experience for adding a weight-shift-control rating to a private pilot certificate must be in a weight-shift-control aircraft. The FAA said no: the 40 hours of flight time may be in any category and class, and only the training in 14 CFR 61.109(j)(1) through (j)(4) must be in a weight-shift-control aircraft.

FlightPush Summary

A safety pilot does not have to pay a pro rata share of a simulated instrument flight under 14 CFR 61.113, because both pilots are required crewmembers under 14 CFR 91.109(b) and neither is a passenger. The safety pilot may offer to share costs, but not doing so is not a violation.

FlightPush Summary

A pilot asked whether 40 hours in a single-engine flight training device can count toward the 250 hours of total flight time for an initial commercial pilot certificate with a multiengine rating. The FAA said no: 14 CFR 61.129(i)(1)(i) allows crediting up to 50 hours only in a simulator or training device representing the class of airplane for the rating sought.

FlightPush Summary

An individual asked how the 2009 wording of 14 CFR 61.57(d) affects when an instrument proficiency check is needed. The FAA said a pilot who does not complete the 14 CFR 61.57(c) instrument experience within 12 calendar months of last being able to act as PIC under IFR must pass an IPC. The FAA amended the rule in 2011 to clarify this intent.

FlightPush Summary

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department asked whether instrument recency earned in helicopters counts for airplanes. The FAA said no: under 14 CFR 61.57(c)(1), a pilot must maintain instrument recency in each category of aircraft in which instrument privileges are exercised, and the 2009 rewording made only editorial changes.

FlightPush Summary

A rotorcraft flight school asked whether a student with fixed-wing ratings adding a private helicopter rating must meet the full aeronautical experience requirements. The FAA said yes: under 14 CFR 61.63(b)(1), the student must meet all of 14 CFR 61.109(c), obtain the required instructor endorsements, and pass a practical test meeting the practical test standards.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked when anticollision lights must be on, whether both beacon and strobes are required, and whether student pilot cross-country time counts for a commercial certificate. The FAA said lights go on once the engine starts for air navigation, both must be on unless the PIC turns them off for safety, and student pilot cross-countries do not satisfy 14 CFR 61.129(a)(3)(iii).

FlightPush Summary

A pilot asked whether a "Second in Command Required" limitation belongs on a certificate after a type rating test in a two-pilot Citation 550. The FAA said it may place the limitation, since the CE-500 type rating also covers single-pilot models; the pilot could have it removed by meeting single-pilot requirements on a practical test in another CE-500 model.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether a commercial helicopter applicant could fly the required night cross-country under IFR and log it as instrument time too. The FAA explained that a 2009 rule change lets the required cross-country training flights under 14 CFR 61.129 be flown under VFR or IFR, at the applicant's needs and instructor's discretion.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether a part 135 company flight instructor without a flight instructor certificate can log training, endorse logbooks, and sign Form 8710. The FAA said yes, as an authorized instructor under 14 CFR 61.1(b)(2)(iii), but only within the approved air carrier training program. It also said the 5 hours of instrument time under 14 CFR 61.129(c)(3)(i) may be done outside a helicopter.

FlightPush Summary

A private pilot may use a free aircraft cover printed with commercial advertising while the aircraft is parked and not operating, because the pilot acts as pilot in command only when the aircraft operates. The cover may also be carried aboard, as long as it is not stowed as a commercial display or in a manner contrary to safe operation.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.

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.

FlightPush Summary

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.