P.O. Box 700548, Dallas, Texas 75370

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- 9000  FAX (972) 725

- 9090 D o c k et M a n agement F a cili t y U

. S

. De p artment of T r a n s p o r t a t i on
12 0 0 New J ersey A v e n ue, S E

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, G r ound F lo or

, Ro o m W1 2

- 1 4 0 Washington, D

. C

. 2059 0 January 6, 2016

Re: Peti t ion for Rule Change 14 CFR part 121 §121.436

V ia E lectr o n i c F i ling 

### Feder al Docket Management System

Pursuant to 14 CFR part 11 §11.16, this petition respectfully requests that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amend 14 CFR part 121 §121.436 (hereinafter 121.436) to include the flight time experience of a pilot that h as an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) Rating, is the Pilot

- in

- Command (PIC) in any 14 CFR part 135 operations when the aircraft that is being operated requires a type rating. This amendment to 121.436 is justified due to Congress’ and the FAA’s intent to re quire quality flight time prior to becoming a PIC in 14 CFR part 121 (part 121) operations. This request, for an amendment to
121.436, is based on the information provided below.

A. Introduction The FAA promulgated 121.436 as the result of congressional action and the FAA’s final notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). The language is very specific as to the qualifications that were intended for a pilot to be eligible to be a PIC n 14 CFR part 121 (Part 121) operations. The intent is for a prospective PIC in Part 121 operations to have the experience similar to that of a Part 121 PIC. This is very clear in the following passages:

1. In Public Law 111

- 216 The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Admini stration Extension Act of 2010 (FAA Extension Act of 20 10) it states:

“(a) Requirements (1) Rulemaking Proceeding.

— The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall conduct a rulemaking proceeding to require part 121 air carriers to develop and implement means and methods for ensuring that flight crewmembers have proper qualifications and experience. (2) Minimum Requirements.

—
(A) Prospective Flight Crewmembers.

— Rules issued under paragraph (1) shall ensure that prospective flight crewmembers undergo comprehensive pre

employment screening, includ ing an assessment of the skills, aptitudes, airmanship, and suitability of each applicant for a position as a flight crewmember in terms of functioning effectively in the air carrier’s operational

environment.

(B) All Flight Crewmembers.

— Rules issued und er paragraph (1) shall ensure that, after the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, all flight crewmembers

—
(i) have obtained an airline transport pilot certificate under part 61 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; and (ii) h ave appropriate multi

- engine aircraft flight experience, as determined by the Administrator.” 1

1 Public Law 111

- 216 The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 Sec. 216 Flight Crewmember screening

and QualificationsRequest for Rule Change to 14 CFR Part 121 §121.436 Page 2 Jan uary 5, 2016

2. In the final rule to the NPRM Pilot Certification and Qualifications Requirements for Air Carrier Operations (Final Rule) , the FAA stated:

“The Airline Saf ety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111

- 216) directed the FAA to conduct a rulemaking to improve the qualifications and training for pilots serving in air carrier operations. Specifically, section 216 of the Act focused o n the qualifications of air carrier pilots and directed the FAA to issue a rule that would require all pilots serving in part 121 air carrier operations to hold an ATP certificate by August 2, 2013. Section 217 of the Act directed the FAA to amend 14 CFR p art 61 to modify ATP certification requirements to prepare a pilot to function effectively in a multipilot (multicrew) environment, in adverse weather conditions, during high altitude operations, and in an air carrier environment, as well as to adhere to t he highest professional standards. Section 217 also directed the FAA to ensure pilots have sufficient flight hours in difficult operational conditions that may be encountered in air carrier operations ...” 2 (Emphasis added)

B. The basic elements for flight crewmembers experience as intended by Congress in the FAA Extension Act of 2010 for 14 CFR Part 121 (part 121) Operations 3 consists of:

1. Screen prospective flight crewmembers to assess the skills, aptitudes, airmanship, and suitability of each applicant for a position as a flight crewmember in terms of functioning effectively in the air carrier’s operational environment,

2. Each flight crewmember must obtain an FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certificate (ATP), and

3. Have appropriate multi

- engine aircraft flight experience, as determined by the

Administrator

.

C. The FAA in its final rule stated that it was complying with the FAA Extension Act of 2010 to prepare pilots for the ATP rating by changes to 14 CFR part 61 to modify ATP standards to

include:

1. Have experience in adverse weather conditions,

2. High altitude operations,

3. Experience in an air carrier environment,

4. Experience in multi

- crew environment,

5. Sufficient flight hours in difficult operational conditions that may be encountered in air carrier operations, and

6. Adherence to the highest professional standards

D. Background

1. T he F A A issued f i n al r ule on July 1 5

, 20 1 3 4 crea t i n g n e w r e q ui r eme n t s in 121.436. Before a pilot could become a P I C in p art 12 1 op e r a t ions , that pilot would be required to comply with the following requirements:

a. 1, 00 0 h o u r s o f experie n ce by ser v i n g as a PIC in op e r a t ions under §§ 91

. 1 0 3 (a) ( 2 ) ( i),

135

. 2 4 3 (a) ( 1 ), or as a second

- in

- command ( S I C ) in p art 12 1 op e r a t ions or any combination thereof. For those pilot s who are employed as a pilot in command in part 121 operations on July 31, 2013, compliance with the requirements of this paragraph (a)(3) is not required. 5

b. An SIC must have a type rating for the specific aircraft that he/she is going to fly,

c. A PIC must be at least 23 years old

2 Pilot Certification and Quali fication Requirements for Air Carrier Operations Final Rule

– FAA Docket No. FAA

- 2010

- 0100
Page 42323

3 FAA Extension Act of 2010 ¶a.2.

4 7 8 F R 42324

5 14 CFR 121.436(a)(3)Request for Rule Change to 14 CFR Part 121 §121.436 Page 3 Jan uary 5, 2016

2. I n t he p r e a mble t o 14 CFR part 121 §121 .436, the F A A a dd r ess e d co m men t s on w h at type

of f li g ht t i me sh o u l d co u nt f or the 1

, 00 0 h o u r s of experie n ce.

a . For instructors, the F AA st a t e d :

“... the FAA chose these particular operations in subpart K of part 91 and part 135 because they are air carrier

- like operations that require the PIC to hold an ATP

certificate. The a bil i t y t o fly a t t h e a ir l i n e t r a n sp o r t p il o t (A T P ) c e r t if ic at e l e vel an d

h a v e d em o n st r at ed t his profi c ie n c y d u ri n g e v al u at i o n is a n i m p o r t a n t r egu l a t o ry d if f er ent i a t io n

. Specifically, these pilots will have gained experience as a PIC of a turbojet airplane ...” 6 (Em p hasis a dd ed .)

b. For pilots, the FAA stated:

“The FAA first proposed that certain operations und er part 135 should require an ATP certificate in 1977. In that NPRM, the FAA stated the requirement to hold an ATP certificate to act as PIC in some part 135 operations was ‘[. . .] based in part on operational complexity and the number of persons carried, would provide a level of safety more comparable to that provided by part 121.’ For these same reasons the FAA has determined that flight time acquired as a PIC in operations under §91.1053(a)(2)(i),and §135.243(a)(1) and flight time acquired as an SIC in part 121 operations should count towards the 1,000 hour air carrier experience requirement. Operations under §91.1053(a)(2)(i) or §135.243(a)(1) require an ATP certificate , are multicrew operations , and generally use turbine aircraft and therefore are the most applicable to part 121 operations. The FAA has determined that, while other part 91 and part 135 operations may involve certain elements that are relatable to part 121 operations, the varied nature of operations does not make credit toward the 1,000 hour requirement appropriate. As such, the proposed requirement that the 1,000 hours in air carrier operations may be a combination of time as PIC in operations

conducted under § 91.1053(a)(2)(i) or § 135.243(a)(1) or as SIC in part 121 operations

remains u nchanged from the NPRM ” 7 (emphasis added)

E. Arguments To Modify 14 CFR part 121.436

1. On 14 CFR part 135 air carriers that require t heir PICs to operate both passenger and cargo aircraft, each PIC w ould be required to pass an instrument proficiency check under

14 CFR part 135 § 1 35.297(c)(1)(i) and hold an ATP under § 135.243(a) . This is the same

requirement for those PICs operating aircraft under §91.1069

2. Regardless of the requirement to only hol d a commercial pilot certificate to fly cargo turbojet aircraft under part 135, a pilot that does hold an ATP flying in a n all

- cargo Part 135 turbojet aircraft is held to the responsibility and flight standards of his/her ATP certificate

. Thus, that pilot would meet the 3

- prong requirement set forth in ¶D.2.b. above.

3. An AT P

- ho ld i n g p i l ot f ly i n g PIC in a 2 00

- k not, p is t o n

- e ngine C ess n a 4 0 4 ca r ry i n g

p ass e nge r s at 4

, 00 0 f e e t un d er Part 13 5 can co u nt that t i me towa r d the p art 121 § 1 21

. 43 6 (a) (3 ) r e q ui r eme n ts for car g o o p erat i ons b ut a p ilot w ho h as d emonstrat e d t h e

a bili t y to f l y to A T P p er f o r mance st a n d ar d s

, a n d w ho is f l y i n g PIC in a 4 0 0

- k not, tu r boj e t

F alcon 2 0 ca rry i n g ca r g o at FL 31 0 canno t

, defies the logic enumerated in the FAA’s final

rule

.

6 Ibid., 42337

7 Ibid, 42356 and 42357Request for Rule Change to 14 CFR Part 121 §121.436 Page 4 Jan uary 5, 2016

4. Simila rities between a Part 135 all

- cargo turbojet PIC and a part 135 passenger turbojet

PIC are shown in Table 1 . As can be seen in Table 1 , a Part 135 PIC obtains the same experience in every aspect of a Part 135 operation in a turbojet aircraft whether it is operated with passengers on board or not. As can readily be seen, there is virtually no difference in the overall experience between an all

- cargo Part 135 PIC and a passenger

only Part 135 PIC.

TABLE 1

Part 135 All

- Cargo Turbojet Operations Part 13 5 Passenger Turbojet Operations High Altitude Operations  
Operations in the national airspace system is the same  

Multi

- crew environment  
Management of Aircraft systems

are the same  

Weather knowledge, and weather

minima are the same  

Same instrument approaches

– ILS, VOR, GPS, etc.  

Subject to strict operational

control  

Requires aircraft type rating issued by FAA or FAA designee  

Requires 6 month instrument proficiency Check  

Requires yearly line check  

Aircraft h andling characteristics, including takeoffs, landings, power management, engine out

maneuvers, aircraft limitations,

etc. are the same  

Requires same amount of ground

school hours  

If PIC flies both passenger and cargo on the same aircraft type

, an ATP is required

.  Request for Rule Change to 14 CFR Part 121 §121.436 Page 5 Jan uary 5, 2016

5. Table 2 illustrates some of the differences between Part 121, Part 135 and part 91 subpart K. The purpose of this table shows that cargo and passenger operations conducted pursuant to Part 135 regulations are more closely relat ed to Part 121 operations whether the flights are operated as passenger or cargo to that of Part 121 operations.

6. As can be seen from Table 2

, Part 91 subpart K operations do not have the same overall structure including required management, FAA oversi ght, U.S. Department of Transportation rules and other stringent safety standards of Part 135 or Part 121 operations. These differences show that all Part 135 PICs, regardless of whether the PIC is flying all

- cargo or passenger, are subject to many more l ayers of regulatory burden than that of part 91 subpart K PICs.

TABLE 2

Differences Table for Part 135 and part 91 subpart K 8

Part 121 Part 135 Part 91subpart K

Can hold out to public to conduct Common Carriage Can hold out to public to conduct

Comm on Carriage NO Common Carriage

– Cannot holdout to the public 14 CFR part 91.1005. Can fly only owners in the program . Very

limited.

Certificate holder must be a U.S.

Citizen Certificate holder must be a U.S.

Citizen U.S. Citizenship NOT required

Air carrier is responsible for operational control. Persons exercising operational must be highly

trained Air carrier is responsible for operational Control. Persons exercising operational must be highly trained NO Training required to perform the

functions of operational control See 14 CFR part 91.1009 through 1013. The fractional owner is in operational control of a flight

–

Subject to 14 CFR part 119 Rules Subject to 14 CFR part 119 Rules NO requirements under part 119. No certificate is issued (is NO T defined as an air carrier) Drug and alcohol testing program required. Subject to 14 CFR part 120 Drug and alcohol testing program required. Subject to 14 CFR part 120 NO drug and alcohol testing required

Must have Director of Operations, Chief Pilot, Chief Inspector, Director of Safety and Director of Maintenance

14 CFR part 119 § 119.65 Must have Director of Operations, Chief

Pilot and Director of Maintenance 14

CFR Part 119.69 NO required management personnel or qualifications but must designate point s of

contact.

Line check of Pilot in c ommand required 14 CFR part 121 §121. 440 Line check of Pilot in command required 14 CFR part 135.299 NO line check of pilots in command required

Subject to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) rules Subject to U.S . Department of Transportation rules concerning aircraft size limit and registration NOT subject to any DOT rules

Assigned FAA principal inspectors and inspection program subject to all types of FAA inspections Assigned FAA principal inspectors and inspec tion program subject to all types of FAA inspections NOT subject to FAA inspections for line checks and en route inspections.

Subject to FAA enroute inspections 14 CFR part 121 §121.548 Subject to FAA enroute inspections 14 CFR part 135 §135.75 NOT Subjec t to FAA enroute inspections §91.1019(a) Issued Operations Specifications Issued Operations Specifications Issued management specifications

Issued FAA U.S. Air Carrier

Certificate Issued FAA U.S. Air Carrier Certificate NOT a U.S. air carrier

– no certif icate is

issued

Lower minimums established in 14 CFR part 121 §121.652(a) specifically

allows credit for ALL 135 PICs operating under 14 CFR part 91 operations. May credit PIC experience gained in part 135 operations to meet the experience requirements of 14 CFR part 121 §121.652(a) NO credit is given to any 91 subpart K experience to meet the requirements of 14 CFR part 121 §121.652

Must report potentially hazardous

weather 14 CFR part 121 §121.561 Must report potentially hazardous

weather 14 CFR part 1 35 §135.67 NOT r equired

Certificate holder or PIC must restrict or suspend operations when hazards are known to exist for safe operations §121.553. Certificate holder or PIC must restrict or suspend operations when hazards are known to exist for safe oper ations §135.69 NO language exists that requires restriction of operations when hazards are known for safe operations

8 See AC91

- 84 Appendix 2 , part 91 Subpa rt K, part 119, part 135 and part 121.Request for Rule Change to 14 CFR Part 121 §121.436 Page 6 Jan uary 5, 2016

7. Interestingly, Part 91 subpart K PICs are not able to credit PIC time toward the requirements stated in 14 CFR part 121 §121.652(a) 9

. Yet, there is no restriction on whether a PIC engaging in Part 135 operations is flying all

- cargo or passenger aircraft to be able to credit his/her flight time as a PIC towards the 14 CFR part 121 §121.652(a) requirement. The relevant part of 14 CFR pa rt 121 §121.652(a) states:

“...a Pilot in command employed by a certificate holder conducting operations in large aircraft under part 135 of this chapter, may credit flight time acquired in operations conducted for that operator under part 91 in the same ty pe airplane for up to 50 percent of the 100 hours of pilot in command experience required by this paragraph.”

8. Part 91 subpart K, as can be seen from the Table 2 above, demonstrates the layers of requirements for a Part 135 air carrier vs. the requireme nts for a Part 91 subpart K operator. These layers translate into more management oversight of pilots in the Part 135 certificate holders vs. the Part 91 subpart K operators. These distinctions are what elevate every pilot working for a Part 135 air carr ier to more closely resemble the requirements for

Part 121 air carriers.

a. Ameristar is not discounting the experience allowed by Part 91 subpart K PICs, but rather demonstrating that the entire environment must be considered if the FAA is going to equat e a Part 91 subpart K operation to a Part 135 operation.

b. Since there is a large contingent of all

- cargo Part 121 air carriers, the FAA can simply modify the regulation to include the requirement for Part 135 PICs flying all

- cargo operations to have a n ATP to count the time toward the experience requirements of

121.436.

9. In the denial of exemption from 14 CFR part 121 §121.436 of Title 14 to Gulf & Caribbean Cargo, Inc. 10

, the FAA stated that:

“..it determined that the ability to fly at the airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate level and have demonstrated this proficiency during evaluation is an import ant regulatory differentiation.”

The FAA goes on to state in this denial of exemption from 14 CFR part 121 §121.436:

“The FAA determined that, w hile other part 91 and part 135 operations may involve certain elements that are relatable to part 121 operations, the varied nature of operations does not make credit toward the 1,000 hour requirement appropriate. Because turbojet pilots in part 135 cargo operations are not required to hold an ATP certificate, the time accrued in such operations does not count toward the requirements of § 121.436(a)(3) ” (emphasis added)

.

a. While it is true that a Part 135 PIC is not required to hold an ATP to be a PIC i n Part 135 operations. However, if a PIC does hold an ATP and is flying in Part 135 operations as a turbojet PIC in cargo operations, the quality of his/her flight time clearly overcomes both of the FAA’s objections in denying Gulf & Caribbean Cargo,

Inc. ’ s exemption request

.

b. If the FAA continues that same argument without considering that a Part 135 pilot may have an ATP while flying an all

- cargo aircraft, then it would invalidate a Part 121 second in command (SIC) flying exclusively all

- cargo aircra ft from upgrading to fly passengers in a Part 121 operation as a PIC even though that pilot has 1000 hours of Part 121 flight time as a second in command.

9 §121.652(a) sets forth landing ceiling and visibility requirements for PICs with less than 100 flight hours in Part 121 operations.

10 Denial Of Exemption Docket FAA

- 2014

- 0361 dated May 30, 2014Request for Rule Change to 14 CFR Part 121 §121.436 Page 7 Jan uary 5, 2016

c. It is highly unlikely that a pilot flying a turbojet aircraft as a PIC in Part 135 all

- cargo does not have an ATP. The FAA does not provide any data to contradict this supposition. For this reason alone, the FAA should count Part 135 all

- cargo turbojet PIC flight time towa rds the requirements of 121.436 since most, if not all, turbojet

Part 135 PICs have an ATP.

10. A pilot that has a type rating on the type of turbojet aircraft that Ameristar operates, has an ATP, has over 5000 hours of turbojet time and 10 years’ experience as a PIC in Part 135 all

- cargo operations is a well

- qualified candidate to become an immediate PIC under Part 121 operations. In fact, that pilot may fly as a PIC on ferry flights with aircraft that are on Ameristar’s Operations Specifications without any restrictions. Contrast this pilot with a Part 135 pilot that has total o f
1700 hours, 1000 hours in a turbo

- propeller aircraft that has flown only passenger operations and is now qualified to fly in an all

- cargo on

- demand environment in Part 121 operations. This doesn’t square with common sense and clearly demonstrates a miss ing link in the current §121.436 rule. This can be easily corrected in the proposed rule change shown below in ¶F.

11. The FAA makes assumptions that are not backed up by any data regarding pilots flying turbojet

aircraft in Part 135 and 14 CFR Part 125 (Part 125) operations. These assumptions are that pilots in Part 135 all

- cargo and part 125 operations do not have ATPs. Ameristar challenges these assumptions as being incorrect in a very high percentage of cases if not in all cases. This is primarily due to an air carrier’s insurance requirements

. Ameristar is not aware of any pilot flying PIC in Part 125 or Part 135 turbojet aircraft that do not have an ATP.

12. In the FAA final rule document to 121.436 the FAA makes a case against the part 125 P IC because Part 125 operations cannot engage in common carriage. 14 CFR Part 91 subpart K also cannot engage in common carriage, yet part 91 subpart K PICs can credit their flight time to the requirements of 121.436. See the following from the final rule document :

“ The FAA determined that flight time in part 125 should not count because, although these operations share certain characteristics with part 121 operations, they are not sufficiently similar to count toward the 1,000 hours of air carrier exper ience. Part 125 does not involve common carriage , a pilot is only required to have a commercial pilot certificate, and the operating rules in part 125 differ significantly from the operating rules in part 121. ” (emphasis add) 11

1 3

. The FAA completely igno res previous experience of a Part 121 PIC that may have flown thousands of hours of PIC in Part 121 operations, but was not employed on a specific date with a Part 121 air carrier. This means a PIC whose Part 121 air carrier went out of business on July

3 0, 2013 after 20 years as a PIC for that air carrier, that PIC would be required to meet the requirements of 121.436. At the time the PIC upgraded to PIC, that pilot may have had less than

500 hours as an SIC and would not mee t the hourly requirements of §121.436(a)(3) , even though that PIC may have thousands of hours as a Part 121 PIC

. It is clearly discernable that this restriction in the rule contradicts the very essence of the rule itself

– that being that the FAA is foregoing possible years of experi ence for no apparent reason. This has to be an oversight. The rule currently states:

“ For those pilots who are employed as pilot in command in part 121 operations on July
31, 2013 , compliance with the requirements of this paragraph (a)(3) is not require d. ” (emphasis added)

By placing a specific date in the rule, it excludes experience prior to that date. This can be easily corrected to include a PIC’s experience prior to July 31, 2013. Interestingly, the SIC has

no such time limitation on when his/her time was accumulated.

11 Ibid, 42357 ¶G.4

.Request for Rule Change to 14 CFR Part 121 §121.436 Page 8 Jan uary 5, 2016

F. Proposal to amend §121.436 Pilot Qualification: Certificates and Experience Requirements.

Changes are indicated in **bold italics**

. (a) No certificate holder may use nor may any pilot act as pilot in command of an aircraft (or as second in command of an aircraft in a flag or supplemental operation that requires three or more pilots) unless the pilot:

(1) Holds an airline transport pilot certificate not subject to the limitations in Sec. 61.167 of this chapter; (2) Holds an appropriate aircraft type rating for the aircraft being flown; and (3) If serving as pilot in command in part 121 operations, has 1,000 hours as second in

command **or Pi lot in Command**  in operations under this part, pilot in command in operations under § 91.1053(a)(2)(i) of this chapter, pilot in command in 14 CFR part 135 operations where that pilot **meets the requirements stated in** §135.243(a)(1) of this chapter, or any c ombination thereof. (4) For those pilots who **were** employed as pilot in command in 14 CFR part 121 operations **on or** before July 31, 2013, compliance with the requirements of this paragraph (a)(3) is not required.

Paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) would remain t he same under this proposal.

Alternatively, the following restrictions c ould also be made part of the rule:

a. ¶(a)(3) above can be further delineated to require the PIC time accumulated in Part 135 all

cargo operations must be in turbojet aircraft to be counted toward the 1000 hours required by §121.436 and/or

b. Pilots that have 1000 hours of PIC all

- cargo experience in Part 135 operations are

restricted to PIC in Part 121 all

- cargo operations until reaching 1000 hours of Part 121 PIC or SIC experience or any combination thereof.

G. Publ i c Ben e f i t : Since this proposal is a technical amendment consistent with the stated objectives of the Final Rule and the intent of Congress that includes pilots that have at least the equivalent level of experience as t he current 14 CFR part 121 §121.436 rule as shown herein, the public interest will be served. The public interest is also served by correcting an inadvertent exclusion of highly qualified pilots to count their turbojet experience when transferring to Part 121 operations. In addition Part 121 air carriers would benefit by being able to upgrade highly qualified pilots to PIC and utilizing there expertise sooner.

H. Costs There would be no increased costs for this proposed technical amendment to §121.436 to the public in general. Ameristar, in particular would benefit from these highly skilled Part 135 all

cargo PICs in their all

- cargo operations rather than waiting at least 3 years for them to acquire the time currently required in §121.436 12

12 An Ameristar pilot averages about 300 flight hours per year.Request for Rule Change to 14 CFR Part 121 §121.436 Page 9 Jan uary 5, 2016

I. The Reg ulatory Burden on Ameristar There is a burden on Ameristar and similar operators such as Ameristar. These burdens

include:

1

. The ability to determine a Part 135 or Part 91 subpart K pilot’s flight time as a cargo pilot vs. a passenger pilot is burdensom e and will be difficult to verify for a small business entity

such as Ameristar.

2. Due to the low volume of flying at Ameristar (300

- 350 hours per year per pilot), a pilot would be required to wait at least 3 years before being able to transition to PIC i n Part 121 operation even though that pilot may have an ATP and a significant amount of PIC turbojet flight experience in all

- cargo Part 135 operations. A pilot that has no all

- cargo experience

and has 1000 hours in all

- passenger operations flying PIC on a multi

- engine turbo

- propeller aircraft would be immediately be eligible to fly PIC in Part 121 operations. This situation is real at Ameristar and has caused some social consternation as one could imagine among its pilot group.

3. Preventing an otherwise qualified pilot from flying PIC in Part 121 operations requires Ameristar to hire PICs that may not have the equivalent experience as existing SICs. Ameristar’s experience is that moving an existing SIC to PIC is less of a burden than bringing a new hire PIC that has exclusively passenger operational experience on line in

the all

- cargo arena.

H. Summary It is clear that the FAA will not grant exemptions from 14 CFR part 121 §121.436 as can be seen from the denial of exemption reques t from Gulf and Caribbean 13 where a solid argument was made for exemption. The FAA is steadfast in applying the strict wording of the regulation to a request for exemption regardless of the experience of a pilot. The only way to ensure the integrity of th e rule and to include pilots that are substantially qualified to fly PIC in Part 121 is to adopt the amendment being proposed in this petition.

It is believed that the final rule may have inadvertently referenced a 14 CFR part 135 §135.243(a)(1) assuming that all PICs engaged in Part 135 all

- cargo operations did not have ATPs. This major unintended oversight was not inclusive of the FAA’s or Congress’ intent to provide experienced PICs in Part 121 operations.

Since the changes proposed in this petitio n are consistent with the FAA’s final rule document 14
and congressional intent with no substantive changes, 14 CFR part 121.436 should be amended as requested in this petition without the need for the public notice procedures under 5 U.S.C. 553(b) for the s olid common sense reasoning stated herein. It is the right course of action to amend 14 CFR part 121 §121.436 as requested.

Thank you in advance for your careful consideration.

Sincerely,

Pat Hulsey Director of Operations Ameristar Air Cargo, Inc.

4 400 Glenn Curtiss Drive
Addison, Texas 75001

972

- 725

- 9000 Ext 9601

13 Denial Of Exemption Docket FAA

- 2014

- 0361 dated May 30, 2014

14 Docket No. FAA

- 2010

- 0100