AFS-12-194-E 

March 8, 2012 

 Exemption No. 10426A 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2011-0981 

Mr. Michael C. Hurst 

Chief Pilot 

PHI, Inc. 

P.O. Box 90808 

Lafayette, LA 70509 

Dear Mr. Hurst: 

This letter is to inform you that we have denied your petition to amend Exemption No. 10426. 

 It explains the basis for our decision and describes its effect. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

By letter dated January 18, 2012, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

for an amendment to Exemption No. 10426. That exemption from § 61.3(a)(1) and (c)(1) of 

Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) allows PHI to issue company-provided 

facsimiles of pilot and medical certificates to its pilot crewmembers when those certificates 

are lost, destroyed, or misplaced. The amendment you request would modify condition No. 7 

from the exemption which restricts the exemption’s applicability to scheduled air carrier 

flights. 

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition 

in the Federal Register because this is not a precedent-setting petition, and any delay in acting 

on this petition would be detrimental to PHI. 

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

those presented in your petition. In Denial of Exemption No. 8700 (copy enclosed), the FAA 

found that this type of relief is only in the public interest when limited to scheduled air carrier 

flights. The relief would not apply to operations under part 91, part 91 subpart K, and for 

unscheduled flights operated under part 135. 
2 

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

 they do not differ materially from those presented by the petitioner in the enclosed Denial 

of Exemption No. 8700; 

 the reasons stated by the FAA for denying the enclosed Denial of Exemption No. 8700 

also apply to the situation you present; and 

 a grant of exemption would not be in the public interest. 

Our Decision 

Under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 40113 and 44701, which the FAA 

Administrator has delegated to me, I hereby deny your petition to amend the relief from 

14 CFR 61.3(a)(1) and (c)(1) that was granted to you in exemption No. 10426. The 

conditions and limitations remain the same. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. A copy of this exemption must be carried onboard the aircraft whenever a PHI 

pilot flight crewmember operates a flight under this exemption. 

2. Before conducting operations under this exemption, PHI must develop, submit to, 

and have approved by its FAA principal operations inspector (POI) a plan 

outlining the procedures it expects to employ in issuing a temporary confirmation 

document to pilot flight crewmembers who do not have in their personal 

possession the airman or medical certificate required under the regulations for a 

particular flight. 

3. PHI’s procedures, as specified in Condition No. 2, must include a method to 

ensure positive identification of the pilot flight crewmember when the pilot flight 

crewmember no longer has any identification. 

4. Each pilot flight crewmember who operates a flight under this exemption must 

comply with § 61.29(c) and ensure a request for a facsimile from the FAA 

confirming the applicable certificate is made within 72 hours of the initiation of 

any flight conducted under this exemption. PHI is authorized to make this 

application to the FAA on behalf of the pilot flight crewmember. The pilot flight 

crewmember must provide a copy of the facsimile to PHI within 24 hours of the 

receipt of that facsimile. 

5. PHI confirmation document must include the written words “Issued under the 

authority of Exemption No. [insert the number of this exemption].” 

6. The privileges of this exemption may be exercised only when the affected pilot 

flight crewmember operates totally within the District of Columbia and the 

contiguous United States. The privileges of this exemption may not be exercised 

in Alaska or Hawaii. 
3 

7. The privileges of this exemption may only be exercised for scheduled air carrier 

flights operated under part 135. The privileges of this exemption may not be 

exercised for operations under part 91, part 91 subpart K, or for unscheduled 

flights operated under part 135. 

The Effect of Our Decision 

The termination date of Exemption No. 10426 remains January 31, 2014, unless sooner 

superseded or rescinded. This letter must be attached to, and is a part of, Exemption 

No. 10426. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

John W. McGraw 

Acting Director, Flight Standards 

 Service 

Enclosure