Legal Interpretations

FlightPush Summary

Relaying an NTSB question, the FAA's Accident Investigation Division asked whether 14 CFR 121.651(a) lets a pilot take off on a weather report obtained before the airport's ASOS failed. The FAA said the rule is silent on equipment status and report age, but a pilot must have reasonable certainty the report accurately reflects conditions at the time of takeoff.

FlightPush Summary

FAA air traffic officials asked whether an aircraft may broadcast its registration number as its ADS-B Flight ID while filing a flight plan under a different call sign. The FAA said no: 14 CFR 91.227(d)(8) requires the flight plan call sign and the ADS-B broadcast to match so ATC can correlate them.

FlightPush Summary

Crowe & Dunlevy asked whether its manufacturer client could use time sharing agreements with a few dealers to recover costs of customer site-visit flights. The FAA said the flights likely remain private carriage and three to five agreements, limited to 14 CFR 91.501(d) charges, are acceptable, but because 14 CFR 91.501(b)(9) bars charging prospective customers, agreements with all or a substantial number of them would be improper.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

A news helicopter pilot asked whether landing at the TV station to download images makes an electronic newsgathering flight a part 135 operation. The FAA said the stop takes the flight outside the aerial photography exception in 14 CFR 119.1(e), creating a dual purpose operation that requires a 14 CFR part 119 certificate, under the facts and assumptions stated.

FlightPush Summary

A pilot asked whether a Cessna 172 could fly on its white strobes alone after its red rotating beacon failed and was placarded and logged. The FAA said no, absent a waiver: the beacon and strobes form one anticollision light system, and 14 CFR 91.209(b) requires an aircraft equipped with such a system to have lighted anticollision lights.

FlightPush Summary

Procopio asked whether a no-payment turbojet lease, flown by the lessee's CEO who is also a shareholder of the lessor, would be treated as a wet lease. The FAA said that on the facts given it is a dry lease, assuming it is enforceable, but noted that a lease without consideration may be unenforceable, raising operational control questions.

FlightPush Summary

SevenBar Aviation asked whether 14 CFR 135.267(b)'s flexibility for unforeseen circumstances also applies to crews on regularly assigned 14-hour duty periods under 14 CFR 135.267(c). The FAA said no: the 14-hour limit is rigid, except for unexpected en route delays on flights reasonably anticipated to finish in time. Operators whose duty end times vary regularly must operate under 14 CFR 135.267(b).

FlightPush Summary

An A&P mechanic with inspection authorization asked whether the customer's logbook is needed to record maintenance and return to service. The FAA said the entry may be made on a separate piece of paper, since the rules do not specify what the maintenance record must be, and the owner remains responsible for keeping records under 14 CFR 91.417.

FlightPush Summary

The FAA declined to decide whether an aircraft may fly with an inoperative MEL item removed, calling it fact-specific and referring it to AFS-300. It said "repair" generally carries its plain meaning, that temporary repairs are recognized in some cases, that ferry-flight fixes are repairs subject to 14 CFR part 43, and that manufacturer serial-number-specific instructions are generally acceptable data for minor repairs.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

The Allied Pilots Association Training Committee asked whether carriers must schedule duty time for required distance learning. The FAA said a certificate holder must give pilots an opportunity outside rest periods to complete such training, which is duty; otherwise training done during rest is involuntary and interrupts rest. It withdrew its Robinson and Ewing interpretations to the extent they barred voluntary distance learning during rest.

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The FAA said it could issue a single operating certificate naming both Alaska Airlines and Virgin America during their merger, under four conditions: the entities are committed to a full merger with one controlling the other, can meet 14 CFR part 119 and part 121 or 135, show operational control through one management team under 14 CFR 119.65, and are reflected on DOT economic authority documents.

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The ACLU objected that FAA flight restrictions over the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests ignored the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and blocked media. The FAA's Acting Chief Counsel replied that the 14 CFR 91.137 restrictions responded to drones approaching law enforcement helicopters too closely, were narrowed after tribal outreach, allowed media aircraft access, and were never meant to abridge First Amendment rights.

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Rectrix Aviation asked whether all-cargo pilots in command must meet Part 135 pilot qualification hours and whether line checks may be done on revenue flights with passengers. The FAA said 14 CFR 135.243(a) applies only to passenger operations, but all-cargo pilots must still meet 14 CFR 135.243(b) or 14 CFR 135.243(c). Line checks may be conducted during revenue operations.

FlightPush Summary

Under 14 CFR 117.5, there is no fixed number of hours awake that makes a flightcrew member unfit; each must individually determine whether he or she can perform assigned duties at the highest level of safety, weighing time awake and other factors. The same standard applies to nighttime and daytime flight duty periods, though 14 CFR part 117 adds certain nighttime restrictions.

FlightPush Summary

An aircraft originally certificated without an electrical system is not required to equip for ADS-B Out just because batteries or an electric starter were later installed. The FAA read the exception in 14 CFR 91.225(e) to cover the same aircraft excluded from the transponder requirement, and said it may consider a technical amendment to remove confusion from the wording difference.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked how the two-hour in-flight rest rule of 14 CFR 117.17(c)(1) applies to augmented flights with several landings in one flight duty period. The FAA said it applies only to the pilot flying the final landing, who must have two consecutive hours of rest available in the second half of the period; the monitoring pilot needs 90 consecutive minutes under 14 CFR 117.17(c)(2).

FlightPush Summary

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

HeliFlite Shares LLC asked whether the 14 CFR 135.168(b)(1) rule requiring occupants to wear life preservers beyond autorotational distance from the shoreline covers single-engine or multiengine helicopters. The FAA said it covers all rotorcraft, because neither the regulation nor the FAA's 2014 final rule distinguishes between the two.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether an LLC that owns an aircraft and flies its majority member and others can operate under 14 CFR part 91. The FAA said no: the LLC is a flight department company whose air transportation is not incidental to another business, so it must be certificated under 14 CFR part 119, regardless of its liability or tax structure.

FlightPush Summary

ALPA asked whether a pilot may accept a second over-30-minute flight duty period extension before takeoff without 30 hours of rest. The FAA said 14 CFR 117.19(a)(2) is triggered only when an over-30-minute extension actually occurs, not when one is requested or agreed to, so multiple extensions up to 2 hours may be requested before takeoff.

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.

FlightPush Summary

A part 121 supplemental captain asked whether a two-hour duty extension violated the 14 CFR 117.25(b) rest rule and whether a PIC is liable for flight attendant duty violations. The FAA said the extension does not violate 14 CFR 117.25(b) if rest was met when the duty period began, and a PIC cannot be charged under 14 CFR 121.467 but must not knowingly operate a noncompliant flight.

FlightPush Summary

A captain asked whether a flightcrew member must report rested for the longest flight duty period that could be assigned or only the one actually assigned. The FAA said only the assigned period, with a duty to reassess fitness if the period lengthens. Certificate holders may adopt stricter rest policies, which they monitor and enforce themselves.

FlightPush Summary

A part 91 aviation manager asked who may sign the records, endorsement, and Form 8710-1 for a second-in-command type rating under 14 CFR 61.55(d). The FAA said the person who gave the training may, even a type-rated PIC without a flight instructor certificate, or a qualified management official in that person's organization. An applicant may not self-endorse, even with a flight instructor certificate.

FlightPush Summary

Time spent as second in command under 14 CFR 135.109, even by a type-rated pilot, does not count toward the 100 hours as pilot in command required by 14 CFR 135.225(e), because serving as PIC requires both designation and actually fulfilling PIC duties. The required pilot checks are separate from the 15-hour recent-experience requirement of 14 CFR 135.247(a), and a PIC must meet all applicable requirements.

FlightPush Summary

Southern California Soaring Academy asked why certificated pilots need a current flight review to solo while training for a new category or class rating. The FAA said 14 CFR 61.56 requires it and only rulemaking could change that, though it referred the issue to Flight Standards. Instructors cannot use a 14 CFR 61.87 student endorsement but may add limits and an expiration date to a 14 CFR 61.31(d) endorsement.

FlightPush Summary

Aerial photography flights may be conducted under 14 CFR part 91, but a repositioning flight that also carries photographers to the work site serves a dual purpose and requires an operating certificate. A diversion for an emergency or airport conditions does not create common carriage, and a letter of authorization is needed only if a regulation requires it.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

An A&P mechanic asked whether installing an STC requires FAA Form 337. The FAA said an STC change is not part of an aircraft's specifications until the aircraft is altered, so an STC installation that is a major alteration requires Form 337, and a 14 CFR 43.9(a) maintenance record entry alone is not enough.

FlightPush Summary

Flight-engineer time creditable toward ATP total time under 14 CFR 61.159(c), at no more than 1 hour per 3 hours and 500 hours total, also counts toward the 1,500 hours required for a restricted ATP under 14 CFR 61.160(f). An applicant with 1,000 pilot hours, 500 credited flight-engineer hours, 200 cross-country hours, and the other 14 CFR 61.159 experience may apply.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether Part 135 simulator checkrides and training may use a support pilot not qualified with the carrier. The FAA said its regulations set no specific support pilot requirements, pointing instead to crew pairing guidance in FAA Order 8900.1 and to seat support protocols in the carrier's approved training program.

FlightPush Summary

A requester argued the FAA misreads the rule letting a supervised pilot log pilot in command time under 14 CFR 61.51(e)(1)(iv). The FAA disagreed, citing its 2009 final rule: the pilot must hold a commercial or airline transport pilot certificate with appropriate ratings, be supervised by a qualified pilot in command, and be in an approved pilot in command training program.

FlightPush Summary

McAfee & Taft asked whether a repair station needed WACO's permission to install a higher-horsepower engine on a WACO YMF-5. The FAA said no: the major alteration used FAA-approved data rather than anyone's STC, so 14 CFR 91.403(d) did not apply; WACO's permission would be needed only to alter an aircraft based on WACO's STC.

FlightPush Summary

Revising an August 22, 2016 response, the FAA Chief Counsel told Flight Standards that one operator may use the same aircraft to meet the exclusive-use rules of 14 CFR 133.19 and 135.25, may use it for accepted flight instruction including solo flights, and must keep it operable, since a dormant certificate can face enforcement.

FlightPush Summary

Flight Standards asked whether DHL contract workers trained by Airborne Express could handle hazmat on Atlas Air aircraft. The FAA said yes under 14 CFR 121.1005(c), as long as Airborne Express holds a part 121 or 135 certificate, has the same hazmat operations specifications as Atlas, and trained them for that job function.

FlightPush Summary

Flight Standards asked when individual A&P mechanics must appear on an air carrier's maintenance provider list. The FAA said the listed provider is whoever performs the work and approves it for return to service: individual mechanics when they sign with their own certificates, work for a non-certificated company, or contract directly with the carrier, and a certificated provider such as a repair station when its certificate number is used.

FlightPush Summary

The manager of a non-towered airport with a 14 CFR part 141 school asked whether the traffic direction indicator rule in 14 CFR 141.38(d) applies only to non-standard traffic patterns. The FAA said no: an airport without an operating control tower and without available UNICOM advisories must have the indicator, whatever its pattern.

FlightPush Summary

Precision Design asked four maintenance record questions. The FAA said a blanket statement that all ADs were complied with does not meet 14 CFR 91.417(a)(2)(v), and a 100-hour inspection need be recorded only in the aircraft's records. Because FAA rules do not prescribe how to correct errors or remove unauthorized comments, those questions were referred to Flight Standards.

FlightPush Summary

An aircraft owner asked whether a transponder test and inspection under 14 CFR 91.413 is recorded under 14 CFR 43.9 or 14 CFR 43.11, after FSDO inspectors insisted on 14 CFR 43.11. The FAA said 14 CFR 43.9 applies, because appendix F to 14 CFR part 43 requires it and the transponder inspection is a maintenance procedure.

FlightPush Summary

Salinas Municipal Airport asked the FAA to treat airport inspections as a governmental function so the city could fly them as public aircraft operations. The FAA declined: operating or inspecting an airport is not a core state function under 49 U.S.C. 40125, but the city may conduct UAS airport inspections as a civil operator under 14 CFR part 107 or by exemption.

FlightPush Summary

A flight instructor asked whether a single-engine commercial pilot applicant can mix solo time and pilot-in-command time with an instructor aboard to meet the 10-hour requirement of 14 CFR 61.129(a)(4). The FAA said no: the applicant must log all 10 hours under one alternative or the other, because the rule contains no combination language.

FlightPush Summary

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.

FlightPush Summary

A part 135 operator may have a licensed A&P mechanic outside a DOT/FAA testing program perform emergency maintenance, abroad or at a U.S. airport with no covered provider available, but must meet the notice and re-inspection requirements of 14 CFR 120.35(c) and 14 CFR 120.39(c). The FAA superseded and revoked its May 29, 2015 interpretation, which described a one-leg flight provision not in the regulation.

FlightPush Summary

A mechanic asked which tasks must be logged under 14 CFR 43.9(a) and whose names must appear. The FAA said only maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration must be recorded, with the performer's name, and that routine preflight tasks need no entry. The answers address general aviation, not necessarily part 121 or 135 operations.

FlightPush Summary

A requester asked whether a helicopter instructor giving the five hours of instrument-reference training for a commercial certificate under 14 CFR 61.129(c)(3)(i) needs an instrument rating on the instructor certificate. The FAA said no: that training covers control and maneuvering solely by reference to instruments, which is not instrument training under 14 CFR 61.195(c).

FlightPush Summary

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.