AFS-15-120-E 

December 18, 2014 

 Exemption No. 11126 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2014-0901 

Mr. Kenneth R. Barthel 

Director of Operations 

Chautauqua Airlines and Shuttle America Corporation 

8909 Purdue Road 

Indianapolis, IN 46268 

Dear Mr. Barthel: 

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your request for exemption. It transmits our 

decision, explains its basis, and gives you the conditions and limitations of the exemption, 

including the date it ends. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

By letter dated October 24, 2014, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

on behalf of Chautauqua Airlines and Shuttle America Corporation (Shuttle America) for an 

exemption from § 121.291(b)(1) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) to the 

extent necessary to allow Shuttle America to add airplanes to its operating certificate without 

first conducting a partial demonstration of the emergency evacuation procedures. 

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

in the Federal Register because the requested exemption would not set a precedent, and any 

delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to Shuttle America. 

The FAA has issued a grant of exemption in circumstances similar in all material respects to 

those presented in your petition. In Grant of Exemption No. 9979 (copy enclosed), the FAA 

found that the surviving certificate holder would be required to conduct the partial 

demonstrations. In that exemption, the FAA found that an equivalent level of safety would be 

maintained during the period of time between issuance of a single operating certificate and 
2 

the conduct of the partial evacuation demonstrations, because only qualified Northwest 

Airlines flight attendants would serve these aircraft until the demonstrations were completed. 

Having reviewed your reasons for requesting an exemption, I find that— 

 they are similar in all material respects to relief previously requested in the enclosed Grant 

of Exemption No. 9979; 

 the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 9979 

also apply to the situation you present; and 

 a grant of exemption is in the public interest. 

Our Decision 

Under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113, and 44701, which the FAA 

Administrator has delegated to me, I hereby grant Shuttle America Corporation an exemption 

from 14 CFR 121.291(b)(1) to the extent necessary to allow Shuttle America to add an 

airplane to its operating certificate without first conducting a partial demonstration of the 

emergency evacuation procedures, subject to the conditions and limitations described below. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. Shuttle America must submit a plan to complete the Partial Evacuation 

Demonstration to the FAA in accordance with the guidance in 8900.1, Volume 3, 

Chapter 30, Section 1, paragraph 3-2464, for EMB-145 no later than January 30, 

2015. The plan must include a schedule of events that ensures that all evacuation 

demonstrations are completed by January 31, 2016. 

 

2. All crew member operating manual revisions, Aircraft Qualification (AQ), 

differences training will be completed and training qualification records updated 

prior to commingling flight attendant crewmembers. 

3. Until the partial evacuation demonstrations are completed on these aircraft, no 

cross-utilization of flight attendant crewmembers on the EMB-145 will be 

permitted. Shuttle America flight attendants will not be scheduled on the EMB145 until the partial evacuation demonstrations have been completed. 
3 

This exemption terminates on January 31, 2016, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

John S. Duncan 

Director, Flight Standards Service 

Enclosure