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VOLUME 3 GENERAL TECHNICAL AD MINISTRATION
CHAPTER 6 3 TITLE 14 CFR PART 65 AIRCRAFT DISPATCHER CERTIFICATION COURSES
Section 2 Federal Aviation Administration Resourc es and Assignment of Inspectors
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- 4999 GENERAL. This section contains directives and guidance regarding the assignme nt of the appropriate Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) resources for approval, renewal , and oversight of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations ( 14 CFR ) p art 65 FAA

- approved Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Courses. This section provides guidanc e specific to the designation of FAA Flight Standards (AFS) f ield o ffices and personnel who will be responsible for approving, renewing , and conducting oversight of these courses. The following terms will be used throughout this chapter and section:
A. FAA Ap proving Office

. The FAA AFS field o ffice , i ncluding a c ertificate

- h olding d istrict o ffice (CHDO), c ertificate m anagement o ffice (CMO) and a Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), with approval and oversight responsibility of an FAA

- approved Aircraft Disp atcher Certification Course, will be referred to as the FAA approving office.
B. Dispatch Course Program Manager (DCPM). An aviation safety inspector ( ASI ) who is responsible for the approval, renewal , and oversight of an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Cou rse will be referred to as a DCPM in this o rder

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- 5000 SCOPE. The directives contained in th is section apply to AFS field o ffice s and ASI s with responsibility, or potential responsibility , for approval and oversight of FAA

- approved Aircraft Dispatcher Certificat ion Courses. The directives contained in this section also apply to
r egional Flight Standards d ivisions (RFSD).
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- 5001 ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE

. AFS field o ffice s , ASIs , and RFSDs with approval and oversight responsibility of Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Courses must review the following additional guidance in conjunction with this section:

• Volume 3, Chapter 6 3 , Section 1: guidance on the general regulatory requirements for part 65 FAA

- approved Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Courses.

• Volume 3, Chapter 6 3 , Secti on 3 : guidance on approval, renewal , and oversight of Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Courses.

• Volume 5, Chapter 5, Section 10 : guidance related to certification of aircraft dispatchers.

• Advisory Circular (AC) 65

- XX , FAA

- Approved Aircraft Dispatcher Cert ification Courses (current edition) : advisory information for course operators.
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- 5002 AFS FIELD OFFICE RESPONSIBILITY. A n AFS field o ffice that is the FAA approving office of an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course is responsible to maintain oversight of tha t course and to conduct on site surveillance of the course whenever necessary. In addition, the field office will typically be responsible to meet the certification testing needs of the graduates of the course.

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A. Geographic Area of Responsibility. Each FAA A FS field o ffice has a geographic area of responsibility. In order to ensure adequate oversight, a field office may only approve an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course that is located within the office’s geographic area of responsibility. The following exceptions apply: 1) An FAA approving office of an existing Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course may continue the course approval if the course changes its location to an area outside of the geographic area of responsibility of the office. Continued appr oval by the FAA approving office is contingent upon the office’s ability to maintain adequate oversight and perform surveillance whenever necessary. If the FAA approving office is unable to maintain oversight due to the change in location of the course, th e o ffice m anager must contact the RFSD, which will determine the appropriate action ( see p aragraph 3

- 5003 ). 2) A n AFS f ield o ffice may accept responsibility to approve and maintain oversight of an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course if assigned by the RF SD, provided the office has the adequate ASI resources , can maintain adequate oversight , and perform onsite surveillance whenever necessary.
B. Appropriate ASI Resources ASI

– Aircraft Dispatcher (ASI

- AD). The appropriate ASI resource for approval and oversight responsibility of an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course is an ASI

- AD, commonly referred to as a d ispatch i nspector. An ASI

- AD is not simply an ASI who holds an Aircraft Dispatcher Certificate. The title of Aviation Safety Inspector Aircraft Dispatch er is a specific U .S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) p osition d escription (PD). PDs are contained in the Human R esources Policy Manual (HRPM). The PD for an ASI

- AD is contained in HRPM Supplement, Volume 1, and is listed as “1825AD”. An ASI is not co nsidered to be an ASI

- AD unless specifically designated as such in an official OPM PD. A n AFS field o ffice will assign responsibility for approval and oversight of an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course to the ASI

- AD , provided that ASI’s current assig nments allow that individual to carry out these duties effectively. Prior to assigning oversight responsibility to the ASI

- AD, the o ffice m anager must consider the following factors to determine the ASI

- AD’s ability to maintain adequate and effective overs ight:

• The number of A ir C arrier C ertificates the ASI

- AD is currently assigned ;

• Other Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Courses for which the ASI

- AD has approval oversight responsibility ;

• The number of designees the ASI

- AD is managing ;

• The number of Aircraf t Dispatcher Practical Tests the ASI

- AD may have to administer ; and

• The amount of travel involved for each of the ASI

- AD’s certificate management, designee management, course oversight , and testing responsibilities.
C. Examination and Certification of Graduat es. The FAA is responsible for the examination and certification of airmen. Successful completion of an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course is just one part of the certification process for aircraft dispatchers . Once graduated from a course, an applic ant for an Aircraft Dispatcher Certificate must pass t he Aircraft Dispatcher Practical Test. The practical test must be given by the Administrator (or his/her designee). As a representative of the Administrator, the FAA approving office of an

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Aircraft Disp atcher Certification Course will typically be responsible to test the successful graduates of the course. Only an ASI

- AD or a Designated Aircraft Dispatch er Examiner (DADE) may administer the Aircraft Dispatcher Practical Test. ( See Volume 5, Chapter 5, Se ction 10 , and Volume 13, Chapter 3, Section 4.) With limited exception s , only an ASI

- AD may be the FAA
m anaging s pecialist of a DADE. ( See Volume 13, Chapter 3, Section 1).
D. When ASI Resources or Geographic Location Prevent Adequate Oversight and Certifica tion Activities

. Contact the RFSD. 1) Existing Course. If the FAA approving office of an existing Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course is no longer able to maintain adequate oversight due to lack of appropriate ASI resources or a change in course location , the o ffice m anager will make a request to the RFSD to transfer the course approval to another AFS field o ffice with the appropriate ASI resources and oversight capability. See paragraph 3

- 5003 below for RFSD responsibilities. 2) New Course Applicant

. If a n AFS field o ffice is in receipt of a request for approval of a n ew application to operate an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course, and the
o ffice m anager determines that office is unable to maintain oversight and meet the testing needs of graduates, the o ffice m anager will de n y the request in writing and direct the applicant to contact the RFSD for further assistance . (See also Volume 3, Chapter 6 3 , Section 3, paragraph 3

- 503 8

. )
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- 5003 RFSD RESPONSIBILITY. When an FAA AFS f ield o ffice is unable to maintain
over sight of a new or existing Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course, the RFSD is responsible to take the appropriate action based on the circumstances and the needs of the public.
A. Existing Course. 1) Obtain Appropriate Resource s. The RFSD will determine if it is necessary to assign an ASI

- AD to the approving office or to the region for the purpose of approving and maintaining oversight of an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course. If an existing Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course is in high demand by t he public, the RFSD must consider the public interest and staff accordingly when ever possible . If obtaining an ASI

- AD resource at the approving office or at the RFSD is not practicable, the RFSD may consider transferring the course approval to another AFS field o ffice

. 2) Transfer Course Approval. a) If an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course changes its location to an area outside of the geographic area of responsibility of the FAA approving office, or if the FAA approving office no longer has an ASI

- AD, the RFSD may transfer approval of the course by reassigning the responsibility for approval and oversight to another AFS f ield o ffice located within the region that has an ASI

- AD who is available to maintain oversight of the course . This is allowable provided the RFSD is unable to obtain the necessary ASI

- AD resource at the original FAA approving office or at the RFSD. Prior to transferring a course approval, the RFSD must confirm the following at the field office receiving the transferred approval:

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1. The ASI

- AD ’s workload permits adequate oversight of the course through surveillance.
2. ASI

- AD workload permitting, the o ffice manager assigns the ASI

- AD to review the Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course prior to accepting the transfer of approval.
3. Any negative fi ndings by the ASI

- AD are resolved by the course operator prior to the o ffice m anager accepting the transfer of approval.
4. Once the o ffice m anager accepts the transfer of approval, he or she assigns oversight responsibility of the course to the ASI

- AD, who b ecomes the DCPM. b) If there is no AFS field o ffice within the region that has an available ASI

- AD, t he RFSD may allow an appropriately qualified ASI

– Air Carrier Operations (ASI

- AC

- OP) to be assigned temporary responsibility for approval and oversight of an e xisting Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course . The ASI

- AC

- OP must be available to conduct onsite surveillance of the course whenever necessary. If there is an appropriately qualified ASI

- AC

- OP in the original FAA approving office, responsibility for app roval and oversight of the course should be temporarily assigned to that inspector. If not, the RFSD may temporarily transfer approval of the course to a field office within the region that has an appropriately qualified ASI

- AC

- OP. The temporary transfer o f approval and oversight responsibility to an appropriately qualified ASI

- AC

- OP is allowable until such time as an ASI

- AD resource becomes available, up to a maximum of 24 calendar

- months. This is the equivalent of one full renewal cycle. For the purposes of approval and oversight of an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course, an appropriate ly qualified ASI

- AC

- OP is an inspector who meets all of the following criteria:
1. The ASI

- AC

- OP has a n A ircraft D ispatcher C ertificate

. 2. The ASI

- AC

- OP has successfully co mpleted FAA Academy Course 21047, Aircraft Dispatcher Functions for ASIs

. 3. The ASI

- AC

- OP has at least 1 year of experience in oversight responsibilities of a 14 CFR part 121 domestic and/or flag air carrier’s dispatch center

. B. New Course Applicant. If a new applicant seeking FAA approval to operate an Aircraft Dispatcher Certification Course contacts the RFSD at the advice of AFS field o ffice , the RFSD will consider the certification needs of the public located in its geographic region. The RFSD must weigh th e needs of the public with the availability of FAA resources. 1) Public Need for Aircraft Dispatcher Certification. Examples of public need include, but are not limited to: a) There is a part 121 dispatch center or flight

- following facility located in, moving to , or setting up in the area

. b) There is a 14 CFR part 91 subpart K (part 91K) program manager or 14 CFR part 135 air carrier that requires an individual to hold an Aircraft Dispatcher Certificate as a

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condition of employment, located in, moving to, or settin g up in the geographic area of the office

. 2) Availability of Resources. When there is no ASI

- AD available in a geographic area desired by a new course applicant, and there is a public need for certification, the RFSD may assign any field office within the r egion that does have an ASI

- AD to initially approve and maintain oversight of the course. This is allowable only if the ASI

- AD is able to effectively maintain oversight of the course and conduct onsite surveillance whenever necessary. The RFSD may also con sider staffing adjustments to include an ASI

- AD within the region who is able to approve, renew , and maintain adequate oversight. If those options are not feasible, or there is no public need for aircraft dispatcher certification within the district, the R FSD will direct the applicant to pursue approval within another RFSD that has the adequate ASI

- AD resources.
RESERVED. Paragraphs 3

- 5004 through 3

- 50 23

.

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