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December 31, 2014 Exemption N o . 10836A Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2013

- 0495

Mr. Fred Dyen Coordinator, Blue Ridge Community College 43 Aviation Circle, Hangar 4 East Suite 101

Sh enandoah Valley Regional Airport Weyers Cave, VA 24486

Dear Mr. Dyen :

This letter is to inform Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) that t he Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reassessed and amended its July 30, 2013, decision to grant

E xemption N o. 10836

. This lette r also ex plain s the basis for our decision , describ e s its effect s
, and list s the revised conditions and limitations.

The Basis for Our Decision

By letter dated May 30, 2013, Mr. Fred Dyen petitioned the F AA on behalf of BRCC for an

exe mption from § 65.75(a) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) to the extent necessary to allow BRCC students to take the Aviation Mechanic General (AMG), Aviation Mechanic Airframe (AMA) and Aviation Mechanic Powerplant (AMP) written tests after completing the corresponding portion of the curriculum, prior to meeting the e xperience requirements of § 65.77

.

Our Decision

The FAA has reassessed its prior grant of exemption to BRCC

. On July 30, 2013

, the FAA granted the “exemption from 14 CFR § 65 .75(a) so that BRCC students may take the airframe and powerplant written tests after completing the corresponding portion of the curriculum

, before they meet the experience requirements of § 65.77.” In the past, the FAA has granted similar § 65.75 exempti ons to ena ble a few Aviation Maintenance T echnical Schools (AMTS) to administer the airframe and powerplant written test s to students immediately followingAFS

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successful completion of the airframe and /or powerplant curriculums but before meeting the § 65.77 experience requirements

.

Upon further consideration, the FAA has concluded that certain aspects of this type of exemption could adversely affect safety. In particular, allowing students to take the AMA or AMP test in advance of meeting the experience requ irements could result in a scenario in which an individual is able to obtain his or her airframe and/or powerplant certificate prior to meeting the § 65.77 experience requirements. Under § 65.80, when an AMTS shows the FAA that any student has made satisfa ctory progress and is prepared to take the appropriate oral and practical test, that student may test prior to meeting the applicable experience requirements of § 65.77. Permitting a student who has passed the oral and practical skill requirements of § 65.79 to also take the AMA and AMP written test, before completing the experience requirements in § 65.77, could enable students to circumvent our eligibility requirements. The FAA is therefore taking action to amend our previous AMTS § 65.75(a) exemp tions by

re

- issuing each of them as a partial grant of exemption.

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition

in the Federal Register because the amendment would not set a precedent, and any delay in acting on this amendment would be detrimental t o public interest

.

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a partial grant of exemption would best serve the public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 401 13,

and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, Blue Ridge Community College is granted

an amended exemption from 14 CFR § 65.75(a) to the extent necessary to provide Blue Ridge Community College the ability to administer the AMG written test to stude nts immediately following successful completion of the general curriculum , and before meeting the experience requirements of 14 CFR § 65.75(a), subject to the conditions and limitations listed below.

Conditions and Limitations :

1. Develop written procedures for administering the AMG written test to B RCC students immediately following successful completion of the general curriculum.

2. Ensure these procedures are available for use in the BRCC’s approved operating procedures or curriculum procedures document

, o r manual, as applicable.

3. Before retesting after failure, BRCC must require a student to repeat the entire

instructional unit associated with the failed test and receive authorization from BRCC to retake the test. BRCC must have procedures for documenting and tracking compliance with all retesting procedures.AFS

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4. Before exercising the privileges of this exempt ion

, BRCC must provide the revised procedures to its Certificate Holding D istrict O ffice (CHDO) for review and approval.

The Effect of Our Decision

The FAA amends our prior exemption (Exemption No. 10836) and denies BRCC the authority to administer the AMA and AMP written test to any student who does not satisfy the experience requirements of § 65.77. This amended exemption is effective immediately and

te rminates on June 30, 2015, unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/s/

John S. Duncan Director, Flight Standards Service