U.S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management Facility 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE West Building Ground Floor Room W12

- 140 Washington, DC 20590 **Subject:** Petition for Exemption Exemption from FAR §121.434(c)(1)(ii) **Sections of FA R**  **Af**

**fected** § 121.434 Operating experience, operating cycles, and consoli dation of knowledge and skills. “... In addition, if a qualifying pilot in command is completing initial or upgrade training specified in § 121.424, be observed in the performance of prescribed duties by a n FAA inspector during at least one flight leg which includes a takeoff and landing... “ **Discussion** The FAA has the authority to observe any pilot at any time it wished, and indeed the FAA does so routinely. However, the FAA conducts these routine obs ervations on a schedule without the burden of having to observe a particular pilot on specific flights necessitated by the airline’s training and flight schedule. Partially relieving FAA inspectors from FAR §121.434(c)(1)(ii) would allow FAA personnel to f ocus their efforts on higher priority concerns. Swift Air, LLC, currently operating five aircraft, is at a staffing level that necessitates timely observations in this part in order to maintain schedule integrity. Prospects of additional aircraft further c omplicate the scheduling, as adding one aircraft to our fleet results in a 70% increase in pilot staff. The natur e of our business operating non

-domestic flights also adds to the complexity to arrange timely observations, and an exemption would improve Swi ft Air`s ability to provide on -time, dependable service to the public, and in the long r un would be able to reduce unnecessary costs that might influence the price of its services to the public. Past experience during pilot workforce expansion has resulted in de lays while the FAA arranges for qualified observers, obtained necessary visas and/or U.S. State Department clearances. Due to lack of limited labor and resources at the Phoenix CMO Swift Air principal operations inspector (POI) has been unduly taxed trying to accommodate Swift Air to provide personnel to perform operating experience (OE). The Phoenix office has tried to use inspectors from other offices in the past, but results have been inconsistent.Finally, Swift Air proposes that a grant of exemption be subject to the following

conditions and limitations: 1. A Swift Air Check Airman may conduct a PIC observation in place of an FAA inspector when: a. The Administrator pre

-approves that substitution for each observation of a qualifying PIC candidate, thus reserving first right of refusal to the FAA in each case; b. The qualifying PIC candidate has completed no less than 10 hours of supervised OE and accomplished no fewer than two takeoffs and landings; and c. The qualifying PIC candidate is performing PIC dutie s during a complete flight leg, including flight deck preparation, before starting engine s checklist, taxi, takeoff, all other flight phases, landing, taxi, and securing checklist. 2. Each Swift Air Check Airman who conducts a PIC observation in place of an FAA inspector must: a. Be approved by the Administrator to conduct the observation, b. Be qualified and current to perform PIC duties for Swift Air in the airplane being operated, c. Have served as a Check Airman for Swift Air for no less than 6 months, and d. Not supervise the OE or conduct the initial li ne check for the qualifying PIC candidate being observed. 3

. Swift Air will maintain student and Check Airman record s that demonstrate compliance with the conditions and limitations of the exemption. **Public Interest**  This proposal would benefit the public as a whole, as a grant of t he exemption would give the FAA greater flexibility and better use of its inspectors by allowing them to focus on high er priority system safety concerns. Under a grant of exemption, Swift Air wo uld be able to use a qualifying PIC immediately after the PIC has completed OE, significantly i ncreasing the productivity of our crewmembers, reducing the unnecessary cost of wages and lost t ime for PICs waiting for an FAA observation. The grant of exemption would provide a level of safety at least equiva lent to that provided under the regulation and in fact in some instances , will increase the l evel of safety. During some FAA observations the FAA inspector performing the observation may not b e qualified the in the airplane or areas of operation for the aircraft and route being flown

. A Swift Air Check Airman, who is highly qualified in the aircraft will be able to provide Swift Air and the qualifying PIC with a greater level of scrutiny and o bjectivity.The FAA would still have the authority to observe any pilot at any time during line

operations. **Exemption not Precedent Setting** Swift Air understands that the FAA has granted several exemptions to ind ividual operators for similar relief sought by this request. Therefore, since granting the exemption is not precedent setting, Swift Air requests that publication of our petition in the Federal Register be waived in accordance with Section 11.27(j)(3) as a delay for publication and comment procedures in the Federal Register would be detrimental to Swift Air

. Further, Swift Air has held this exemption in the past until it`s expiry.
**Summary** Swift Air petitions the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a n exemption from §121.434(c)(1)(ii). The partial exemption from §121.434(c)(1)(i i) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), subject to certain conditions and limitations, would permit Swift Air, LLC, to the extent necessary, to substit ute a qualified and authorized Check Airman in place of an FAA inspector to observe a qualifying pilot

- in

-command (PIC) while th at PIC is performing prescribed duties during at least one flight that includes a takeoff and a lan ding when completing initial or upgrade training as specified in §121.434. Additionally the proposed exemption, if granted, would allow the substitution only at the discretion of the POI.

Respectfully,
Douglass Chouinard Chief Pilot Swift Air, LLC. I5EA212N dchouinard@flyswiftair.com