AFS-14-295-E

Exemption No. 11994

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, DC 20591

 

In the matter of the petition of 

 

PMI GLOBAL SERVICES, INC Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2014- 0331

 

for an exemption from § 91.211(b)(1)(ii) 

of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations 

 

DENIAL OF EXEMPTION

 By letter dated May 21, 2014, Mr. John Dillman, Chief Pilot, PMI Global Services, Inc. 

(PMI), 180 Airport Road, Hangar D-2, Westchester County, Airport White Plains, NY 10604 

petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of PMI for an exemption 

from § 91.211(b)(1)(ii) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed 

exemption, if granted, would relieve PMI from the requirement that one pilot crewmember 

wear and use an oxygen mask while at flight altitudes above flight level 410. Relief is sought 

for domestic and international 14 CFR part 91 operations for company aircraft equipped with 

quick donning oxygen masks and Automatic Emergency Descent Mode technology.

The petitioner requires relief from the following regulation:

Section 91.211(b)(1)(ii) prescribes, in pertinent part, that no person may operate a civil 

aircraft of U.S. registry with a pressurized cabin at flight altitudes above flight level 350

unless one pilot at the controls of the airplane is wearing and using an oxygen mask that 

is secured and sealed and that either supplies oxygen at all times or automatically 

supplies oxygen whenever the cabin pressure altitude of the airplane exceeds 14,000 

feet (MSL), except that the one pilot need not wear and use an oxygen mask while at or 

below flight level 410 if there are two pilots at the controls and each pilot has a quickdonning type of oxygen mask that can be placed on the face with one hand from the 

ready position within 5 seconds, supplying oxygen and properly secured and sealed.
2

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner states that it is a corporate flight department operating the majority of its

scheduled trips with two Gulfstream 550 airplanes on long flights to international destinations 

throughout the world. The petitioner explains that it employs ten fulltime, fully trained, pilots 

as crew members on company aircraft. PMI states that each company pilot is sent to Flight 

Safety International every 6-8 months for recurrent ground school and simulator training, to 

include demonstrating manual emergency descents.

PMI states the Gulfstream 550 airplane is capable of cruising up to an altitude of flight level 

510. PMI claims that the FAA type certification of the airframe and systems results in a very 

“highly improbable” decompression failure rate up to and including its service ceiling. PMI 

names four ‘mitigators’ that the airplane is equipped with to reduce the likelihood and risk of 

decompression. PMI lists the ‘mitigators’ as follows: 

1. Automatic Emergency Descent Mode (EDM) – EDM is armed any time the airplane 

altitude is greater than 40,000 feet with the autopilot selected ON. When the “Cabin 

Pressure Low” warning message illuminates on the Crew Alerting System (CAS) 

(usually 8,000 feet cabin pressure), with the airplane above 40,000 feet and autopilot 

ON, the following occurs:

1) Speed target changes to 340 KCAS in manual mode.

2) The altitude is preselected to 15,000 feet.

3) The autopilot commands a left turn with a 90 degree heading change.

4) The auto throttle retards power to idle. (If auto throttles are not engaged, they 

will automatically be engaged).

5) The airplane descends at Mmo / Vmo to 15,000 feet.

6) At 15,000 feet, the speed target changes to 250 KCAS.

According to PMI, with EDM installed, the pilots are not preoccupied by having to 

perform this “automatic” emergency descent so their immediate attention can be 

focused on donning the oxygen mask. 

2. Quick-don Oxygen Masks. PMI asserts that each crewmember is trained and 

evaluated at Flight Safety International every 6-8 months to don their mask within 5 

seconds.

3. Aft Bulkhead Door. The airplane is equipped with an Aft Bulkhead Door which PMI 

claims creates a dual hull, protecting the cabin from the two most likely causes of 

decompression (a catastrophic engine failure resulting in a puncture of the aft baggage 

area, or the external baggage door/seal failure). 

4. Cabin Pressure Low warning system. A red message light will illuminate and three 

chimes sound when the cabin pressure exceeds a predetermined value (usually 8,000 

feet cabin altitude).
3

PMI asserts that the Gulfstream 550 pressurization system components are highly redundant,

making a failure of the system very unlikely. As examples of redundancy, PMI explains 

various functionality built into the Thrust Recovery Outflow Valve (TROV) and Cabin 

Pressure Controller (CPC).

PMI makes additional safety arguments related to oxygen systems and human factors to 

demonstrate no degradation of safety if the exemption were granted. PMI claims that oxygen 

masks and associated systems were designed primarily to be used in the event of an 

emergency – not for prolonged use. 

PMI also asserts that operations at flight level (FL) 450 without one pilot on oxygen is not 

accepting a higher level of risk than operations at flight level 410 because EDM and the Cabin 

Pressure Low warning system make the pilot’s reaction time quicker and pilot actions fewer 

than in other aircraft. As an example, PMI states that the time of useful consciousness (TUC) 

is documented by the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute to be 9 to 12 seconds at altitudes from 

flight level FL410 up to FL450. PMI states that a PMI pilot need only don the oxygen mask 

within the TUC while the aircraft begins the emergency descent. PMI claims to train for this 

scenario. Even if both pilots, along with the flight technician, were to experience a brief loss 

of useful consciousness, PMI states that the Gulfstream 550 will still initiate an emergency 

descent to a safe altitude.

PMI believes it is unique within the aviation community for two reasons: 

1) Flight Technician. PMI states that on every passenger carrying flight, that there 

are four crewmembers (2 pilots, 1 flight technician, and 1 flight attendant). According 

to PMI, the presence of the flight technician is an added safety factor because the 

technician occupies the jump seat on every flight. The jump seat (located behind and 

directly between the pilot seats) is equipped with its own quick donning oxygen mask 

that can be donned and supplying oxygen within 5 seconds. PMI claims that in the 

event that a pressurization emergency was to occur, the flight technician is fully 

trained and capable of not only donning his own oxygen mask, but he can assist either 

pilot in donning their mask if required. The third flight deck crewmember, in PMI’s 

view, is an added safety benefit on every flight by offering a third pair of eyes, 

situational awareness, and maintenance technician skills to assist in decision making. 

2) Flight Planning. PMI states that it does not flight plan their Gulfstream 550 

airplanes above FL410. The petitioner asserts that it only flies above FL410 when 

conditions dictate (e.g. weather, turbulence, and fuel range considerations) and, once 

clear of these conditions, its airplanes will descend to FL410 or below. The petitioner 

states that it has identified negative effects on the pilot’s ability to perform due to 

long-term wear and use of oxygen masks. According to PMI, difficulties such as 

communication, fatigue, eating, drinking water, inability to properly scan and 

difficulty reaching certain cockpit items when wearing oxygen masks for long periods 

have been identified in the petitioner’s Safety Management System (SMS). 
4

PMI claims that the public interest would be served by increased fuel efficiency, increased 

fuel economy, decreased fuel consumption, and decreased harmful atmospheric gases, all as a 

result of higher altitude flight. PMI also believes that airspace will be less congested because 

operators will be encouraged to fly at higher altitudes. 

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for waiving the requirement for Federal 

Register publication because the exemption, if granted, would not set a precedent, and any 

delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to PMI.

The FAA’s analysis is as follows:

The FAA has reviewed the information presented by PMI Global Inc. in support of its petition 

for exemption and has determined that a grant of exemption would not provide an equal level 

of safety or be in the public interest. The type of operations proposed by PMI have previously 

been proposed and evaluated by the FAA. However, because of the specific features of the 

Gulfstream 550 and unique information provided by the petitioner, the FAA will provide a 

full analysis of the petition.

In Denial of Exemption No. 4667 (copy enclosed), the FAA stated that in Notice No. 82-11, 

Pilot Oxygen Mask Requirements; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) (47 FR 35146, 

August 12, 1982) it proposed amendments that would allow the operation of aircraft at higher 

altitudes than presently specified in the regulations without requiring at least one pilot at the 

controls to wear and use an oxygen mask. Because of concerns expressed by commenters 

opposed to the proposed amendments, the FAA reconsidered the NPRM and the supporting 

rationale included therein and in previous grants of exemption. The FAA determined that it 

should not issue further grants of exemption and withdrew Notice No. 82-11 (51 FR 9432, 

March 18, 1986). The FAA further determined that if it found that it could grant relief from 

the current regulation, it would initiate a rulemaking action rather than issue grants of 

exemption. The FAA maintains this policy position.

PMI explains the safety and engineering features of the Gulfstream 550. However, in Denial 

of Exemption No. 6817 (copy enclosed), the FAA found that despite the safety and 

engineering features and structural integrity built into technologically advanced aircraft for 

operations at high altitudes, the possibility still exists that these aircraft could lose cabin 

pressurization. The FAA stated that consideration must be given to the physiological 

consequences of the flight crewmembers in the event of a rapid decompression. Therefore, 

notwithstanding PMI’s assertion that the pressurization system components are redundant and 

that the FAA type certification of the airframe and systems make a failure of the system very 

unlikely, the FAA considers that a reduction in the likelihood that such an incident might 

occur does not maintain a level of safety equivalent to the rule from which the exemption is 

sought. Additionally, the FAA does not concur with the petitioner’s claim that the airplane’s 

four ‘mitigators’ (EDM, oxygen masks, aft bulkhead door, and cabin pressure low warning 

system) reduce the likelihood and risk of decompression. Only one ‘mitigator’ (aft bulkhead 
5

door) is designed to reduce the likelihood and risk of decompression. The other ‘mitigator’s’ 

are designed to assist the crew in managing the pressurization emergency. 

The FAA does not agree with PMI’s assertion that the presence of a Flight Technician aboard 

the airplane on every passenger carrying flight is an added safety factor. It cannot be 

presumed that additional crewmembers equipped with their own quick donning oxygen mask, 

even if they are fully trained and capable of donning it, will be immune from the effects of 

rapid loss of pressurization and therefore able to assist either pilot in donning their oxygen 

mask. In cases of high altitude depressurization, a third pair of eyes, situational awareness, 

and maintenance technician skills to assist in decision making do not provide an equivalent 

level of safety or no degradation in safety to the rule from which the exemption is sought. 

The FAA does not agree that flight planning PMI Gulfstream 550 airplanes below FL410 

provides adequate justification for an exemption. The petitioner asserts that it only flies above 

FL410 when conditions dictate (e.g. weather, turbulence, and fuel range considerations) and 

once clear of these conditions its airplanes will descend to FL410 or below. Although PMI 

would benefit from increased fuel efficiency, increased fuel economy, and decreased fuel 

consumption because of higher altitude flight, this does not support the public interest. In 

Denial of Exemption No. 6817, the FAA stated that should it determine that it is appropriate 

to allow the relief requested, the FAA would take appropriate action to amend the rules rather 

than issue an exemption. The rulemaking process provides the FAA an opportunity to obtain 

comments from a much larger segment of the aviation industry, the public, other government 

agencies, thereby presenting issues to a much broader audience.

The FAA’s Decision:

 In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption would not be in the 

public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113 

and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, the petition of PMI Global Services Inc. for 

an exemption from 14 CFR § 91.211(b)(1)(ii) to the extent necessary to relieve PMI from the 

requirement that one pilot crewmember wear and use an oxygen mask while at flight altitudes 

above flight level 410, for domestic and international 14 CFR part 91 operations for company 

aircraft equipped with quick donning oxygen masks and Automatic Emergency Descent Mode 

technology, is hereby denied. 

Issued in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2015.

/s/

John S. Duncan

Director, Flight Standards Service
6