AFS-14-146-E

May 29, 2014

 Exemption No. 10526A

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2012-0434

Mr. Noel McDermott

Chief Pilot

SeaPort Airlines

7505 NE Airport Way

Portland, OR 97218

Dear Mr. McDermott:

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your petition to extend Exemption No. 

10526. It explains the basis for our decision, describes its effect, and lists the conditions and 

limitations.

The Basis for Our Decision

By letter dated January 31, 2014, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

on behalf of SeaPort Airlines, Inc. (SeaPort), for an extension of Exemption No. 10526. The

exemption from § 61.3(a) and (c) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), allows

SeaPort to issue company-provided facsimiles of pilot and medical certificates to its pilot 

crewmembers when those certificates are lost, destroyed, or misplaced.

In your petition, you indicate that there has been no change in the conditions and reasons 

relative to public interest and safety that were the basis for granting the original exemption.

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

in the Federal Register because the requested extension of the exemption would not set a 

precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to SeaPort.

Our Decision

The FAA has made updates to the conditions and limitations of Exemption No. 10526 to

clarify our original intent, to refine our requirements, and for standardization with similar 
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exemptions. While the relief does not change substantially, all users of this exemption should 

thoroughly review the revised conditions and limitations.

In addition, and while not specifically requested, the FAA notes the relief from § 61.3(a) 

includes relief from the requirement for a required flight crewmember to have photo 

identification that is in that person's physical possession or readily accessible in the aircraft 

when exercising the privileges of their pilot certificate. This additional relief is consistent with 

relief granted in similar petitions and is reflected in the updated conditions and limitations. 

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 10526, as 

amended, remains valid with respect to this exemption and is in the public interest. Therefore, 

under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113 and 44701, which the FAA 

Administrator has delegated to me, SeaPort is granted an extension to Exemption No. 10526 

to permit SeaPort to establish special procedures that enable it to issue to its flight 

crewmembers, on a temporary basis, confirmation of any required crewmember certificate or 

photo identification based on information contained in SeaPort’s approved record system, 

subject to the following conditions and limitations.

Conditions and Limitations

1. This exemption is issued for the purpose of preventing cancellation of scheduled 

air carrier’s flights in situations where a flight crewmember’s FAA airman 

certificate, FAA medical certificate, and/or photo identification are valid but 

physically unavailable. The privileges of this exemption are intended for situations 

where crewmembers have no access to Airman Services at the www.faa.gov 

website for receiving via FAX or internet download FAA-issued documents 

containing temporary authority to exercise certificate privileges.

2. This exemption allows SeaPort to develop and issue to a crewmember a document 

confirming the crewmember’s FAA-issued airmen and medical certification. The 

document issued by SeaPort must be in the crewmember’s physical possession 

when exercising the privileges of the exemption and must contain the following 

information—

a. The crewmember’s certification information from the crewmember’s airman 

and medical certificates. 

b. The exact text or a photocopy of this exemption.

c. The SeaPort confirmation document, including the following statements:

i. “Issued under the authority of Exemption No. 10526, as amended.”

ii. “Expires (insert date/time 72 hours after issuance).”

iii. “The privileges of this exemption may only be exercised within the 

District of Columbia and the 48 contiguous United States.”
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iv. The privileges of this exemption may only be exercised for scheduled 

air carrier flights. The privileges of this exemption may not be 

exercised for operations under part 91, part 91 Subpart K, or for 

unscheduled flights operated under part 135.

3. Before conducting operations under this exemption, SeaPort must receive approval 

from its FAA principal operations inspector (POI) for the procedures SeaPort

expects to employ in issuing a confirmation document to crewmembers who do not 

have in their personal possession the airmen and/or medical certificate or photo 

identification. These procedures must include a method to ensure positive 

identification of the crewmember when the crewmember no longer has photo 

identification.

4. Each flight crewmember who operates a flight under this exemption must—

a. As soon as practicable, obtain from airman services at the faa.gov website a 

document containing temporary authority to exercise certificate privileges.

b. If the flight crewmember’s FAA airman and medical certificate are 

permanently lost or destroyed, comply with §§ 61.29(c) and/or 63.16(d) and 

assure that a request for a replacement certificate from the FAA is made within 

72 hours of the initiation of any flight conducted under this exemption. 

SeaPort is authorized to make the application to the FAA on behalf of each 

applicable flight crewmember.

c. The flight crewmember must provide a copy of the FAA-issued documents 

containing temporary authority to exercise certificate privileges to SeaPort

within 24 hours of the receipt of that document. 

The Effect of Our Decision

Our decision extends the termination date of Exemption No. 10526 to May 31, 2016, unless 

sooner superseded or rescinded.

 

Sincerely,

//s//

John Barbagallo

Acting Deputy Director

Flight Standards Service