AFS-14-252-E 

September 12, 2014 

 Exemption No. 9944B 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2002-12249

Mr. Larry G. Hamilton 

Director of Operations 

Flight Inspection Services 

6500 South MacArthur Boulevard 

Oklahoma City, OK 73169 

Dear Mr. Hamilton: 

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your petition to extend Exemption No. 9944. It 

explains the basis for our decision, describes its effect, and lists the revised conditions and 

limitations. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

By letter dated April 8, 2014, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 

behalf of Flight Inspection Services (FIS) to extend and amend of Exemption No. 9944. The 

amendment would allow FIS to operate under the exemption for a 3-year period. That 

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

FIS to issue facsimile pilot certificates and medical certificates to crewmembers whose 

certificates have been 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 FIS. 

Our Decision 

The FAA has made updates to the conditions and limitations of Exemption No. 9944 to clarify 

our original intent, to refine our requirements, and for standardization with similar exemptions. 

While this exemption does not differ materially from those presented by previous petitions, the 
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FAA requires special emphasis to be placed upon operators having a method to ensure positive 

identification of the pilot flight crewmember whose photo identification is lost, destroyed, or 

mutilated. FIS must receive approval from its FAA principal operations inspector (POI) for the 

procedures FIS intends to employ in issuing a confirmation document to the pilot flight 

crewmember who does not have, in his/her personal possession, the required photo 

identification, pilot certificate, and medical certificate. The intent of these procedures is to 

mitigate security concerns regarding pilot identification. 

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 9944 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, I hereby grant Flight Inspection Services an exemption from 14 CFR §§ 61.3(a) and (c) to 

the extent necessary to allow FIS to issue company-provided facsimiles of pilot and medical 

certificates to its pilot crewmembers when those certificates are lost, destroyed, or misplaced, 

subject to the conditions and limitations described below. 

Although FIS requested to extend the exemption for 3 years, the FAA finds that it is in the 

best interest of safety to review this exemption every 2 years to ensure that there has been no 

change in the circumstances or regulations from which the exemption is granted. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. The privileges of this exemption are intended for situations where pilots have no 

access to airman services at the faa.gov website to receive via fax or internet 

download FAA-issued documents that contain temporary authority to exercise 

certificate privileges. 

2. This exemption allows FIS to develop and issue to a pilot flight crewmember a 

document confirming his/her FAA-issued pilot and medical certification. The 

document issued by FIS must be in the pilot flight crewmember’s physical possession 

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

information: 

a. The pilot flight crewmember’s certification information from his/her pilot and 

medical certificates. 

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

c. The FIS confirmation document must include the following statements: 

i. “Issued under the authority of Exemption No. 9944;” 

ii. “Expires [insert date/time 72 hours after issuance];” 

iii. “The privileges of this exemption may be exercised only for flights 

within the District of Columbia and the 48 contiguous United States, 

or is an intrastate operation that does not involve flight through 

international airspace;” and 
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iv. “The privileges of this exemption may only be exercised for 

scheduled or unscheduled air carrier flights. The privileges of this 

exemption may not be exercised for operations under part 91, or part 

91 subpart K. 

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

its FAA principal operations inspector (POI) for the procedures FIS intends to 

employ in issuing a confirmation document to pilot flight crewmembers that do not 

have in their personal possession the required pilot and medical certificates and photo 

identification. These procedures must include a method to ensure positive 

identification of the pilot flight crewmember when the pilot no longer has photo 

identification. 

4. Each pilot 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 pilot flight crewmember’s FAA pilot and medical certificate are 

permanently lost or destroyed, the pilot flight crewmember must comply with 

the requirements of §§ 61.29(c) and ensure 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. FIS is authorized to make this application to 

the FAA on behalf of the pilot flight crewmember; and 

c. The pilot flight crewmember must provide a copy of an FAA–issued 

document that contains temporary authority to exercise certificate privileges 

to FIS within 24 hours of the receipt of that document. 

The Effect of Our Decision

Our decision extends the termination date of Exemption No. 9944 to October 31, 2016, unless 

sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

John S. Duncan 

Director, Flight Standards Service