AAM-12-340-E 

May 23, 2012 

 Exemption No. 10539 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2012-0462 

Mr. Ron Overacker 

President 

Blue Sky Aviation, Inc. 

P.O. Box 1495 

Tulare, CA 93275 

Dear Mr. Overacker: 

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 list of conditions and limitations of the 

exemption, including the date it ends. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

By letter dated April 17, 2012, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 

behalf of Blue Sky Aviation, Inc. (BSA) for an exemption from part 121, appendices I and J 

of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) to the extent necessary to allow BSA to 

cover its safety-sensitive employees under one testing program. 

Although you requested relief from part 121, appendices I and J, that section has since been 

redesignated to part 120. The redesignation was included in the “Drug and Alcohol Testing 

Program” final rule published in the Federal Register on May 12, 2009 (74 FR 22649). 

The FAA has determined 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 BSA. 

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

those presented in your petition. In Grant of Exemption No. 9703 (copy enclosed), the FAA 
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found that Solid Edge’s § 91.147 air tour operations were closely connected to its part 135 

operations. The FAA also found that combining the petitioner’s two testing programs into one 

would be in the public interest and would maintain an equivalent level of safety to that 

provided by the current regulations. Thus, the FAA concluded it was unnecessary to burden 

the petitioner by requiring it to conduct two separate testing programs. 

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. 9703; 

 the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 9703 

also apply to the situation you present; and 

 a grant of exemption is 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 grant Blue Sky Aviation, Inc. an exemption from 

14 CFR part 120 to the extent necessary to allow BSA, which is operating under separate 

parts of the regulations, to cover its safety-sensitive employees under one testing program, 

subject to the conditions and limitations described below. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. Employees of BSA are subject to the drug and alcohol regulations at all times 

while conducting operations under part 135 or part 91. 

2. The drug and alcohol testing program must be implemented under the auspices of 

the BSA part 135 operations, not under part 91. 

This exemption terminates on May 31, 2014, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

James R. Fraser, M.D. 

Deputy Federal Air Surgeon 

Enclosure