AFS-15-3925

 Exemption No. 14616

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2015-3854

Mr. William Butts

Director of Aviation Operations

Intermountain Life Flight

250 North 2370 West

Salt Lake City, 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 Basis for Our Decision

By letter dated September 8, 2015, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

on behalf of Intermountain Life Flight1 (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 equipment (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 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 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 petition. 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 

Operations 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 along the route with 

onboard weather radar or lightning detection equipment.

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

• they do not differ materially from those presented by the petitioner in the enclosed Grant

of exemption No. 14075;

• 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 

§ 135.611(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 operations 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 alternate, or along the route of flight, subject to the conditions and limitations 

described below.

Conditions and Limitations:

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

Flight (operating certificate I7LA073J) in accordance with § 135.601 in helicopters 

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

2. Use of this exemption is authorized only at airports or heliports with an instrument

approach procedure and at which a weather report is not available from the National 

Weather Service (NWS), a source approved by the NWS, or a source approved by the

Administrator.
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3. When conducting operations under the provisions of this exemption, Intermountain 

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

(d) as applicable.

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

Condition and Limitation No. 8 of this exemption must participate in the IFR preflight planning and risk analysis required by § 135.617 for the purpose of assessing 

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

of Condition and Limitation 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 declined.

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 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. Sources 

include all of the following: AIRMET, SIGMET, Convective SIGMET, METAR, 

Regional 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 Condition and 

Limitation 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. Flight planning for IFR flights conducted under this exemption must include selection

of an alternate airport that meets the requirements of §§ 135.221 and 135.223 and has

an approved weather reporting source in accordance with § 135.213.

8. Intermountain Life Flight must amend its FAA-approved training 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 identified in paragraphs a. through f. of this condition 

and limitation 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 

condition and limitation 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 applicable 
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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 operating procedures for locations without weather reporting;

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

d. Use and interpretation of NWS charts, weather reports, and forecast productsthat 

depict current or forecast thunderstorm activity as well as weather services, such as 

pilot reports, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, live radar feeds, and in-flight 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. Methods for determining weather conditions including the presence of severe 

weather precursors during observations by the pilot. This must include methods for

determining present visibility (measured or estimated), methods for determining 

estimated ceilings, and methods for weather observation used by the NWS.

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

Sincerely,

Enclosure