AFS

- 15

- 3925 Exemption No. 146 16

Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 201 5

- 3854

Mr. William Butts

Director of Aviation Operations

Intermountain Life Flight

250 North 2370 West

Salt Lake Ci ty, UT 84116

Dear Mr. Butts :

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 Ba sis for Our Decision

By letter dated September 8 , 2015

, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

on behalf of Intermountain Life Flight 1 (ILF) for an exemption from § 135. 611 (b) of Title 14,

Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) to allow ILF to conduct instrument flight rules (IFR)

departures and IFR approach procedures at airports and heliports that do not have an approved

weather reporting source in Helicopter Air Ambulance (HAA) aircraft and without

functioning severe weather detection equ ipment (airborne radar or lightning strike detection

equipment) when there is no reasonable expectation of severe weather at the destination, the

alternate, or along the route of flight.

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a s ummary 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 Intermountain Life Flight

.

1 IHC Health Services, Inc. holds Air Carrier Certificate I7LA073J and is authorized to do business as IHC Life

Flight and Intermountain Life Flight.2

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

those presented in your petiti on. In Grant of Exemption No

. 14075 (copy enclosed), the FAA

found that smaller operators and operators that have not yet established an Operations Control

Center ( OCC ) can establish flight monitoring capabilities utilizing personnel trained on

availablility of severe weather reporting and forecasting products and appropriate methods of

communicating observed real

- time location and rate of development of severe weather. In

addition, the FAA found that granting an exemption from the requirement for onboard severe

weather detection equipment would not adversely affect safety if the operator provides

appropriate training in conveying thunderstorm reporting and forecasting to flight crew and

Ope rations Control Specialists ( OCS ) or personnel assigned to monitor operations to ensure

that the exemption is utilized only when there is no reasonable expectation of thunderstorms

or other potentially hazardous weather that could otherwise be detected alo ng the route with

onboard weather radar or lightning detection equipment.

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

—

• they do no t differ materially from those presented by the petitioner in the enclosed G rant

of e xemption No. 140 75 ;

• the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No

. 14075

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, Intermountain Life Flight is granted an exemption from

§ 135. 6 11(b) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) to allow Intermountain Life

Flight to conduct IFR departures and IFR approach procedures at airports and heliports that do

not have an approved weather reporting source in Helicopter Air Ambulance operation s using

aircraft without functioning severe weather detection equipment (airborne radar or lightning

strike detection equipment ) when there is no reasonable expectation of severe weather at the

destination, the alternat e, or along the route of flight

, subject to the conditions and limit ation s

described below.

Conditions and Limitations :

1. The exemption is limited to IFR HAA opera tions conducted by Intermountain Life

Flight (operating certificate I7LA073 J ) in accordance with § 135.601 in helicopters

with a passenger seating configuration of nine seats or less (excluding any pilot seat).

2. Use of t h i s e x e m p ti on i s a u t ho r i z e d on l y a t a i r po r t s or h e li po r t s w it h a n i ns t r u m e nt

a pp r o ac h p r o ce du r e a nd a t wh i c h a w ea t h e r re po r t i s not a v a il a b l e fr om t he National

Weather Service ( N W S )

, a sou rc e a pp r ov e d by t he N W S

, or a sou rc e a pp r ov e d by t he

Ad mi n i s t ra t o r

.3

3. When conducting operations under t he provisions of this exemption, Intermountain

Life Flight and the pilot in command ( P I C ) must comply with §§ 135.611(a), (c), and

(d) as applicable.

4. The PIC and Intermountain Life Flight personnel who satisfy the requirements of

C ondition and L imitation No. 8 of this exemption must participate in the IFR pre

flight planning and risk analysis requi r ed by § 135.617 for the purpose of assessing

the probability of severe weather. If the PIC or personnel who satisf y the requirements

of C ondition and L imitatio n No. 8 determines that there is a reasonable expectation of

thunderstorms at the destination airport or heliport, at the alternate airport or heliport,

or along the route to be flown for the period of time planned for the flight, the flight

must be declin ed.

5. Each PIC who conducts operations under this exemption must use current weather

observations and forecast information obtained from the NWS or from a source

approved by the FAA, to determine that there is no reasonable expectation of

thunderstorms at t he destination airport or heliport, at the alternate airport or heliport,

or along the route to be flown for the period of time planned for the flight. Sources

include all of the following: AIRMET, SIGMET, C onvective SIGMET, METAR,

R egional NEXRAD, NOTAM, PIREP, and TAF or other aviation weather forecast

sources , as appropriate and available.

6. All flights conducted under this grant of exemption must be continuously monitored by

Intermountain Life Flight personnel who satisfy the requirements of C ondition a nd

L imitation No. 8 of this exemption. Any information concerning thunderstorms and

severe weather must be provided directly to the PIC via two

- way communication

system or by relay through a communications center.

7. F li g ht p l a nn i ng f or I F R f li g h t s c ondu c t e d und e r t h i s e x e m p ti on must include s e l ec ti on

of a n a lt er n a t e a i r po r t t h a t m ee t s t he re qu i re m e n t s of §§ 135.221 a nd 135.223 a nd h a s

a n a pp r ov e d w ea t h e r re po r ti ng sou rc e i n acc o r d a n c e w it h § 135.213.

8. Intermountain Life Flight m ust amend its FAA

- approved t raining program as provided in

§ 135.325 to ensure all pilots conducting IFR operations under this exemption and all IFL

personnel monitoring flights satisfactorily complete additional initial and recurrent training,

checking and testing on the subjects i dentified in paragraphs a. through f. of this c ondition

and l imitation prior to operating under the provisions of this exemption. The pilot recurrent

training, testing and checking on the subjects identified in paragraphs a. through f. of this

c ondition a nd l imitation must take place within 12 calendar months before service as a pilot

operating in compliance with this exemption. The personnel monitoring the flight must

complete this additional recurrent training and testing every 12 calendar months after

completion of initial training and testing. The training, testing, and checking, as applicable4

to the pilot and the other personnel monitoring the flight must include the following

subjects:

a. The applicability and use of this exemption;

b. IFR op era ti ng p r o ce du re s f or l o ca ti ons w it hout w ea t h e r re po r ti ng;

c. IFR flight planning considerations for thunderstorms and convective activity;

d. Use and interpretation of NWS charts, w ea t h e r r e po r ts, and f o reca s t product s that

depict current or forecast thunderstorm activi ty a s w e l l a s w ea t h e r s er v i ce s, such as

p il ot re po r t s, AIRMET s

, SIGMET s , live radar feeds, a nd i n

- f li g ht severe weather

advisories ;

e. Interpretation and appropriate use of available cockpit weather displays including

the significant limitations of NEXRAD or similar mosaic weather displays and that

such in

- flight graphic weather depictions may not be used for penetration of areas

of thunderstorms or navigation around thunderstorms; and

f. M e t hods f or d e t er mi n i ng w ea t h e r conditions including the presence of seve re weather precursors during obs er v a ti ons by t he pil o t

. Th i s m ust i n c l ude m e t hods f or

d e t er mi n i ng p re s e nt v i s i b ilit y ( m ea su re d or e s tim a t e d )

, m e t hods f or d e t er mi n i ng

e s tim a t e d ce ili n g s, a nd m e t hods f or w ea t h e r obs er v a ti on us e d by t he NWS

.

This exemption terminates on January 31, 2018 unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

Enclosure