NorthStar Trekking LLC

PO Box 32540  Juneau, Alaska 99803

Phone (907) 790-4530  Fax (907) 790-4419

www.northstartrekking.com

info@northstartrekking.com

January, 30, 2014

FAA Docket Management System

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.

To Whom It May Concern,

NorthStar Trekking L.L.C. , henceforth NorthStar, hereby submits the following petition for exemption from the 

requirements of 14 CFR §§136.9(a), 136.11(a) and 136.11(c)(2) as they apply to three specific flight routes that are 

used in conjunction with NorthStar’s glacier trekking tours in Juneau, Alaska. 

Pertinent Regulations

This petition for exemption seeks relief from 14 CFR § 136.9(a) which requires passengers and flight crew to wear life 

preservers for the duration of air tour flights under certain circumstances. Should relief be granted from 14 CFR 

136.9(a), NorthStar further requests exemption from 14 CFR § 136.11, which requires fixed or inflatable floats under 

certain circumstances, because the mitigating conditions described within 14 CFR § 136.11(c)(2) would no longer 

apply.

Basis for this Exemption

This petition will outline measures that will further reduce the possibility of a forced landing in water with air tour 

passengers, well below the acceptable level of risk (10-6

). By adhering to these measures, the petitioner assures a 

higher level of safety than that provided by existing regulations. 

Furthermore, the risk of entrapment in a helicopter underwater egress scenario for untrained tourists is unacceptably 

high. This, combined with the difficulty of survival in the frigid waters of Alaska, leads NorthStar to a conviction that 

safety priorities should be focused on ensuring that aircraft are operated over specified and approved routes at an 

airspeed and altitude that enable the helicopter to reach dry land in the event of an emergency, the proper use of 

passenger restraints, and post-crash egress techniques. 

Turbomeca, the manufacturer of the Ariel model 1D1 turbine engine which powers each of NorthStar Trekking’s 

helicopters, asserts a mean-time between failures of 5 million hours. Notwithstanding the mitigating measures that 

follow in this petition, this factor alone is within the acceptable risk published by the FAA following the following 

formula. 

The longest exposure time for NorthStar Trekking is the Auke Bay route (see the attached diagram). The total time 

over water on this route is less than 2 minutes which results in an exposure risk of 6.66 x 10 -9

, well less than the 

acceptable risk. (5,000,000 hour x 60 minutes divided by 2 minutes = .000000006666 or 6.66 x 10 -9

)

However, the intent of this exemption request is to guarantee that NorthStar’s helicopters are always operated in a 

manner that excludes the possibility of landing in the water, even considering the statistically negligible risk of engine 

failure. If approved, the level of operational discipline described in this exemption request will far exceed the level of 

safety currently afforded by operating in accordance with 14 CFR §§ 136.9 and 136.11.
NorthStar Trekking LLC

PO Box 32540  Juneau, Alaska 99803

Phone (907) 790-4530  Fax (907) 790-4419

www.northstartrekking.com

info@northstartrekking.com

2

Conditions in Support of Exemption

1. Attached to this request for exemption are graphical depictions of NorthStar’s intended routes beyond the 

shoreline, minimum altitudes and pre-designated suitable landing areas for which NorthStar is requesting 

inspection and approval by their Principal Operations Inspector (POI) for inclusion into their 14 CFR §135 

Operations Specifications.

2. These graphical depictions contain an overlay of aircraft manufacturer’s autorotative glide data which will 

prove that the pre-designated landing areas are realistically reachable with a wide margin of safety. It is 

expected that NorthStar will be required to demonstrate this capability to their POI using NorthStar aircraft 

loaded as if conducting typical air tour operations.

3. Wind Effects on Depicted Routes:

a. The average wind speed in the Auke Bay region of Alaska is 8.43 MPH (7 knots) as established by the 

National Weather Service with prevailing winds from approximately 090 and 270 degrees depending 

on the meteorological pattern.

b. Glide distances to the specific landing areas in the graphical route depictions can be demonstrated 

with winds from any azimuth in excess of 30 knots. NorthStar will not perform helicopter tour 

flights with winds above 30 knots while exercising the privileges of this exemption. 

c. The Auke Bay route is the only intended route where glide distances to suitable landing areas can 

possibly be compromised due to high winds. Therefore, an overlay has been made indicating the 

effects on glide distances of 30 knots of wind from the most prevalent directions in the Juneau area 

(easterly and westerly). An additional overlay indicates a 20% reduction in the glide distance 

accounting for delays in pilot reaction and the penalty for changing direction.

4. NorthStar will train pilots annually in the use of these specific landing sites using an FAA approved training 

module added to its 14 CFR § 135 training program. The module will address the glide distance of the AS350 

as affected by weight and variable wind conditions. Additionally, NorthStar will train pilots in techniques for 

extending glide distances significantly further than those depicted on the graphical depictions.

5. Any changes in engine type being operated by NorthStar Trekking will require that NorthStar Trekking 

prepare an analysis demonstrating the acceptable exposure risk of due to engine failure.

6. NorthStar will incorporate into its Operation Specifications a requirement for its pilots to operate at or above 

the altitude needed to maintain power-off glide capability to the site-specific emergency landing areas from 

any point on each of the subject routes. 

7. NorthStar will continue to make life preservers readily available to each passenger on all air tour flights. Life 

preservers are mounted in NorthStar helicopters in an open slot located between each passenger’s legs. This 

location is entirely free from interfering with the passenger’s lap or shoulder harness and virtually eliminates 

the chance of an entanglement during an underwater egress scenario. 

8. NorthStar will instruct passengers on the location of, and proper donning and use of life preservers following

a successful egress from the aircraft in the unlikely event of a forced water landing. 

In the preamble to the Final Air Tour Rule, the FAA defended its mandate for occupants of single engine helicopters 

operated over water to wear life preservers by writing: 

It is important for those required to wear life preservers to do so even if the flight is operated within power-off 

gliding distance of the shoreline. In an emergency, the pilot might not maneuver to get to an acceptable 

landing area beyond the shoreline. Also, the pilot might know the power-off glide distance, but might err in 

estimating the actual distance to shore. In other words, pilots of both helicopters and airplanes may 

overestimate gliding capability.
NorthStar Trekking LLC

PO Box 32540  Juneau, Alaska 99803

Phone (907) 790-4530  Fax (907) 790-4419

www.northstartrekking.com

info@northstartrekking.com

3

This comment from the preamble was used by the FAA to justify its rejection of previous petitions1 for relief from the 

life preserver mandate. However, the conditions offered in support of these proposed exemptions address each 

objection raised by the FAA in the preamble to the final rule. Annual pilot training on the site-specific, pre-approved 

landing areas will ensure there will be no confusion, no reason for overestimating gliding capability, or being unable to 

maneuver to an acceptable landing area. 

Additionally, if approved, these exemptions will carry with them the following safety advantages: 

1. Improvement of crash survivability due to less complicated use of aircraft restraint devices and elimination of 

inadvertently intertwining restraint devices and life preserver straps

2. Elimination of entanglement and entrapment hazards due to unintentional or premature inflation of life vests 

which could create impediments to expeditious evacuation in the event of an emergency landing

3. Decongestion and consequent reduced risk of mid-air collision on current air tour routes designed for strict 

compliance with 14 CFR§§136.9 and 136.11

4. Improvement of current air tour routes over extreme terrain and heavily forested areas designed for strict 

compliance with 14 CFR§§136.9 and 136.11

Summary

Petitioner: NorthStar Trekking LLC, holder of Certificate # N5JA943I

Sections of 14 CFR §§ 136.9(a), 136.11(a), and 136.11 (c)(2)

NorthStar is seeking relief from the requirement that all occupants must wear life preservers on helicopter air tour 

flights that follow the routes depicted in this exemption request. If granted, relief is also requested from equipping its 

helicopters with floats that otherwise would not be required. 

NorthStar proposes a higher level of safety than afforded by 14 CFR §§ 136.9 and 136.11 by virtually eliminating the 

risk of an emergency landing in the water by the self-imposition of the additional restrictions outlined in this exemption 

request. This plan will be augmented by the implementation of a training program that addresses the glide distance of 

the type of helicopters being operated and techniques for extending that glide. 

In the highly unlikely event of a NorthStar helicopter landing in the water, NorthStar asserts that entrapment is a more 

likely cause of death than survival in the water following a successful egress. Therefore, NorthStar places emphasis on 

briefing air tour passengers on egress procedures and, if necessary, proper utilization of life preservers. NorthStar’s life

preservers are stowed for immediate access in open slots between each passenger’s legs. This storage technique 

eliminates any potential for the life preserver to become entangled with the aircraft’s seatbelts or shoulder harnesses and 

it decreases the chance of a passenger prematurely inflating the life preserver while still inside the aircraft. 

REFERENCES:

136.21 Deviation procedures (from NPRM)

An air tour operator may be issued a deviation by the Administrator from the following sections of this subpart if the 

Administrator finds that the operation can be conducted with an equivalent level of safety under the terms of the 

deviation: § 136.3, Minimum altitudes; § 136.5, Standoff distance; § 136.7, Visibility; § 136.9, Cloud clearance;

§ 136.13, Life preservers; and § 136.15, Helicopter floats.

(b) For § 136.13, Life preservers, and

§ 136.15, Helicopter floats, the Administrator will consider the size and nature of the body of water and any other 

factors, as appropriate, when determining whether a deviation will be approved. (Italics added for emphasis)

NTSB Recommendation Number A–99–57 (cited in NPRM)

Require all occupants of single-engine airplanes and single-engine helicopters operated for hire (air taxi and air tour) to 

wear life preservers when the aircraft is operating over water, whether float- equipped or not, unless it is operated at an 

altitude that allows it to reach a suitable landing area in the case of an engine failure. (Italics added for emphasis)

 1 Papillon’s renewal request [exemption 9491(A)] and NorthStar requests [exemption 9934 and 10331]
NorthStar Trekking LLC

PO Box 32540  Juneau, Alaska 99803

Phone (907) 790-4530  Fax (907) 790-4419

www.northstartrekking.com

info@northstartrekking.com

4

NOTE: This exemption request is consistent with the exact intent of the deviation procedure outline in the NPRM. 

Additionally, this exemption request outlines procedures consistent with the NTSB recommendation cited above that 

served as a basis of this rule making.