Advisory 

Circular 

S8d@&: 1” 12/21/88 ACZNo= 20-132 

PUBLIC AIRCRAFT 

ImitMed by: AIR-200 cI--rtr 

1 PURPOSE. This advisory circular (AC) provides guidance that public 

aircraft status under the Federal Aviation Act (PA Act) does not permit 

operations outside the territorial limits of the United States without a 

valid U.S. airworthiness certificate. 

2 . REFERENCE. The FA Act of 1958 sections lOl(36) and 1102. 

3 0 BACKGROUND. 

a. Under the FA Act, as amended, all U.S.-registered civil aircraft 

except public aircraft are required to carry an airworthiness certificate 

in order to operate. “Public aircraft” are defined in section lOl(36) of 

the FA Act as follows: 

“aircraft used exclusively in the service of any government or of 

any political subdivision thereof including the government of any 

State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or the 

District of Columbia, but not including any government-owned 

aircraft engaged in carrying persons or property for commercial 

purposes. ” 

b The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has received numerous 

querik concerning public aircraft. A recent situation involved a U.S.- 

registered aircraft leased to a foreign government and operated in a third 

country. The question raised was whether the words “any government@’ in 

section lOl(36) of the FA Act were to be taken literally so that the 

aircraft would not require a U.S. airworthiness certificate. 

c. The FAA Chief Counsel reviewed the issue and reasoned as follows: 

Section 1102 of the FA Act requires the agency to act consistently with - 

U.S. international obligations. Thus, even if an aircraft may be defined 

as a public aircraft under U.S. statutes and is not required to carry aa 

airworthiness certificate for domestic operations, the requirement to 

carry an airworthiness certificate in international operations must be 

determined in light of international obligations. Article 31 of the 

Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention, to 

which the U.S. is a party) requires that every aircraft engaged in 

international air navigation be provided a certificate of airworthiness 

issued, or rendered valid, by the state of registry. Article 20 of this 
AC 20-132 12/21/80 

agreement also requires that all aircraft engaged in international air 

navigation must be registered. Only “state aircraft” are excluded from 

these two requirements by virtue of language appearing in Article 3 of the 

Convention. The terlr “state aircraft” is defined by Article 3(b) of the 

Convention to include those used ia military, customs, and police 

services. 

d On the basis of this analysis, the Chief Counsel concluded that 

the ieased aircraft was not a “state aircraft” and hence, as a U.S. civil 

aircraft being operated in international air navigation, required a valid 

U.S. airworthiness certificate. 

4. CRITERIA. U.S.-registered public aircraft operating within the 

territorial limits of the United States are not required to have an 

airworthiness certificate. All U.S.-registered aircraft engaged in 

international air navigation are required to have a valid certificate of 

airworthiness. Only “state aircraft*’ (e.g., those used by U.S. military, 

customs, or police) are excluded from this requirement. Questions 

concerning the “state aircraft” status of other aircraft should be 

directed to the Assistant FAA Chief Counsel in the region where the 

aircraft is located. . 

W$lliam J. Sullivan Act@g Director, Aircraft Certifxation 

Service