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December 31, 2014

Exemption No. 11132 Regu latory Docket No. FAA

- 20 14

- 0819

Mr. David Jensen

Director of Maintenance Aviation Consultants, Inc

. 945 Airport Drive San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Dear Mr. Jensen :

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 De cision

By letter dated October 7, 2014, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Aviation Consultants, Inc. for an exemption from § 135.152, Appendix F, parameter No. 5 ( Normal Acceleration, Vertical) of Title 14, Code of Feder al Regulations (14 CFR). This exemption , if granted, would allow one CL

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- 2B16 , N438E, S/N 5646 air plane to continue to operate without complying with the required flight recorder data sampling rates of

14 CFR § 135.152, Appendix F. While the petition requests relief from Appendix F requirements, relief is actually required from 14 CFR § 135.152, which requires compliance with Appendix F. The FAA has considered the petition as requesting relief from the 14 CFR § 135.152 requirements.

The FAA has dete rmined 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 Aviation Consultants, Inc.

The F AA has issued a grant of exemption in circumstances similar in all material respects to those presented in your petition. In Grant of Exemption No. 11052 (copy enclosed), the FAA

found that good cause exists to allow time for the airplane manufacturer to complete development of a modification to retrofit the subject aircraft with a redesigned data2

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- E concentrator unit (DCU) capable of providing the normal acceleration parameter information

to the Digital Flight Data Recorder ( DFDR ) system to meet Appendix F r equirements, and for the operators to modify their aircraft accordingly. The FAA does not agree with any assertion that flight recorder systems are not safety equipment simply because they do not affect the operation of a given flight. Flight recorder da ta are often the only evidence of airplane problems available to investigators following aircraft accidents and incidents. However, because the subject airplanes will still be recording flight data and the limitations are known, the FAA agrees that a limi ted time to complete the upgrades is appropriate.

The FAA finds that since the problem identified in this petition is a system design issue over which CL604 operators have no control or ability to fix, and that since the deficiency would

be known to accid ent investigators and can be compensated for in any necessary analysis, it is in the public interest to allow continued operation of a limited number of airplanes until the modifications can be incorporated.

The FAA has analyzed the petitioner’s request t o operate outside the United States using this exemption to examine any effect on U.S. obligations under international agreements. The FAA finds that even with the exemption, the DFDR system installation on the subject airplanes meets or exceeds the recor der requirements of both Annex 6 of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the regulations of the European Aviation Safety Agency. Accordingly, the petitioner is permitted to operate the listed airplanes outside of the United

States under the c onditions and limitations listed in this exemption.

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

—

 they are similar in all material respects to relief previously requested in the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 11052 ;

 the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 11052 also apply to the situation you present; and

 for the reasons st ated in Grant of Exemption No

. 11052 a grant of exemption is in the public interest.

Our Decision

Under the authorit y contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113 and 44701

, which the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, I hereby grant Aviation Consultants, Inc. exemption from 14 CFR § 135.152 to the extent necessary to allow the listed airplane to operate without complyin g with the Normal Acceleration (Vertical) data recording rate requirement listed in Appendix F to part 135, subject to the conditions and limitations listed herein.3

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- E Conditions and Limitations

1. This exemption applies on ly to the following air plane while it remains on the Part 135 operations specifications of Aviation Consultants, Inc. : CL

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- 2B16, N438E, S/N: 5646

.

2. This exemption allows for the continued operation of the affected air plane with a DFDR

that receives data from the source sensor for the Norma l Acceleration (Vertical) parameter

at a rate of 0.2 rather than the 0.125 as required by 14 CFR Appendix F to p art 135. No other relief from any other parameter requirement or other flight data recorder provision

of 14 CFR p art 135 is granted by this exe mption.

3. Aviation Consultants, Inc. must establish a firm schedule for accomplishment of the

modifications required to bring the subject airplane into compliance and submit the schedule to its oversight office. The schedule must include the following :

a. Bo mbardier service bulletin issued no later than September 30, 201 5 ;

b. Aviation Consultants, Inc. plan for incorporation of the service bulletin on the subject air plane , to be submitted to its Principal Avionics Inspector or other cognizant oversight office n o later than December 1, 2015. The plan must include a modification date within the term of this exemption for the air plane listed in condition 1 above;

c. Starting December 1, 2015, Aviation Consultants, Inc. must provide monthly status reports to its over sight office outlining the completion of the aircraft modifications necessary to bring its aircraft into compliance with the requirements of 14 CFR § 135.152.

4. Noncompliance with any term of these conditions and limitations terminates this exemption with o ut further action by the FAA

.

5. Use of this exemption is limited to Aviation Consultants, Inc. while the subject air plane

remain s on its p art 135 operations specifications. This exemption may not be transferred to any subsequent operator of the affected a irplane. Subsequent operators of the affected airplane must apply for and be granted an exemption in writing before such airplane may be operated if the airplane has not been modified to comply with 14 CFR § 135.152

.

6. A copy of this exemption must be ret ained with the operator's DFDR correlation documentation as specified in the applicable provisions of 1 4 CFR § 135.152 until the airplane identified in this exemption has been modified.4

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- E 7. In the event of an accident or incident after which the DFDR recordi ng media must be removed and retained subject to 14 CFR § 135.152(e), the operator must provide a copy of this exemption together with the recording media when submitted

.

8. This exemption may be used for operations outside the United States.

This exemptio n terminates on the sooner of the completion of the modification described in this exemption that brings the airplane into compliance with 14 CFR § 135.152, or on January

31

, 2017 , unless sooner superseded, rescinded or terminated.

Sincerely,

/s/

John S. Duncan Director, F light Standards S ervice

Enclosure Exemption No. 11052