AFS

- 13

- 182

- E June 17, 2013

Exemption No. 5549L Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 200 0

- 8434

Mr. Paul W. Railsback

Airlines for America 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

. Suite 110 Washington, D

. C

. 20004

Dear Mr. Railsb ack :

This letter is to inform you that The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has initiated an action to amend Exemption No

. 5549 to clarify the condition s and

limitations of that exemption. It explains the basis for our decision, describes

its effect s
, and lists the conditions and limitations.

The Basis for Our Decision

By letter dated September 28, 2012, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Air Transport Association (ATA) dba Airlines for America (A4A) for an extensio n of Exemption No. 5549, as amended. That exemption from § 121.652(a) and (c) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) allows a new pilot in command (PIC) of any A4A member airline, and of any other similarly situated part 121 certificate holder, who is subject to higher landing weather minimum requirements to operate to the normal, lower Category I and Category II minimums under the conditions stipulated.2

On January 25, 2013 , the FAA granted your petition

. There has been no change

in the con ditions and reasons relative to public interest and safety that were the basis for granting the original exemption. The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition in the Federal Register

because this amendment t o Exemption 5549 would not set a precedent, and any delay in issuing this amendment would be detrimental to A4A.

Our Decision

S ubsequent to the FAA ’ s issuance of Exemption 5549K, the FAA determined

that the conditions and limitations should be revised for clarity and consistency with Exemption 5549G, which prior to Exemption 5549K, contained the last substantive change to the c onditions and l imitations of Exemption 5549, as

amended

.

In Condition No. 1 of Exemption 5549K, we inadvertently included Condi tion

No. 1 (a)(iii)

. However, i n this amendment, the concern with that condition is

addressed in Condition No. 3(a)

.

The FAA has also amended Condition No. 1(b) to read

, “Each operator using this exemption must comply with § 121.438 (b) ” for consistency with our basis for granting Exemption 5549G. T he FAA has also amended other sections of

the General Conditions and Limitations to align the wording of Exemption

5549 L with Exemption 5549G

.

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance o f Exemption No. 5549 , as amended, remains valid with respect to this e xemption and is in the public interest. Therefore, under the authority provided by

49 U.S.C. 40113 and 44701, which the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, I grant your petition , sub ject to the following conditions and limitations

.

Conditions and Limitations

1. General

. To use either Category I or Category II instrument approach procedure weather minimums under any provisions of this exemption, a

certificate holder must meet the follow ing general requirements

—3

a. The certificate holder's training and qualification program must be amended to include the following:

i. Suitable low visibility instrument approach, landing, and missed approach scenarios using the applicable airborne system and appropriate training devices or simulators for those scenarios; and

ii. Specific approval by the certificate holder's principal operations inspector to use this exemption for each aircraft
type.

b. Each operator using this exemption must comply with § 121.438

.

2. Category I, specific. A pilot in command (PIC) with fewer than 100 hours as PIC in the airplane being operated may be authorized to use the lowest applicable Category I instrument approach minimums for a particular runway and instrument approach procedur e if each of the following

conditions is met

—

a. The PIC and other required flightcrew members are trained and qualified for Category II or Category III, or are trained to an equivalent level with respect to the airborne system use, ground facility use, asso ciated procedures , and any other relevant topics;

b. The aircraft and associated airborne systems are eligible for Category I or II for that operator when the certificate holder's approved training program incorporates the use of an approach coupler or a HUD system that provides flight guidance information to decision height;

c. The approach coupler or HUD system is used for the approach to decision height or until initiation of a missed approach ;

d. The flight crew must use appropriate instrument approach procedur es for Category II or III, or equivalent instrument approach procedures acceptable to the Administrator ; and

e. Category I instrument approach procedures or landings will not be initiated when the weather conditions are below 4,000 RVR (3/4 mile visibility) a nd the cross

- wind component exceeds 15 knots combined with a braking action report of less than "good."4

3. Category II, specific. A PIC with fewer than 100 hours as PIC in the airplane being operated may conduct Category II operations in accordance with Oper ations Specifications paragraph C059 if each of the following conditions is met

—

a. The PIC has at least 300 hours as PIC or second in command (SIC) in a turbojet airplane ;

b. The PIC and other required flightcrew members are trained and qualified in Category II or III instrument approach procedures, and use those procedures appropriately ;

c. The airplane and associated airborne systems are approved for Category III for the certificate holder or for Category II for the certificate holder using an approach coupler and an autoland system or HUD which provides flight guidance information to decision height ; and

d. That approach coupler and autoland system or HUD is used for the instrument approach procedure and landing or until initiation of a missed approach.

The Eff ect of Our Decision

Our decision extends the termination date of Exemption No. 5549 , as amended,

to January 31, 201 5

, unless sooner su perseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/s/

John S. Duncan Deputy Director, Flight Standard s Service