AFS-11-236-E 

July 15, 2011 

 

 Exemption No. 10314 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2011-0330 

Mr. Thomas H. Miller 

Chief Executive Officer 

Gama Charters, Inc. 

700 Great Meadow Road 

Sikorsky Memorial Airport 

Stratford, CT 06497 

Dear Mr. Miller: 

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 Decision 

By letter dated March 8, 2011, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 

behalf of Gama Charters, Inc. (Gama), for an exemption from § 135.225(f) of Title 14, Code 

of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) to the extent necessary to allow Gama to make instrument 

flight rules (IFR) takeoffs with less than 1 mile visibility and approaches and landings with 

less than 1⁄2 mile visibility at military and foreign airports.

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 Gama. 

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. 10280 (copy enclosed), the FAA 

found it in the public interest to permit Richmor Aviation, Inc., to make IFR takeoffs from 

foreign and military airports when the visibility is less than 1 mile and make instrument 

approaches and landings when the visibility is less than 1⁄2 mile, subject to certain conditions 

and limitations. Additionally, the FAA found that a level of safety equivalent to that provided 
2 

by the current regulations could be maintained. Weather minimums for aircraft operating 

under part 135 are prescribed in §§ 91.175 and 135.225. Section 91.175 is applicable to both 

U.S. and foreign airports, and while it prescribes specific minimums, it allows for operations 

at lower minimums when authorized by the Administrator through operations specifications. 

Section 135.225(f) restricts a pilot operating under part 135 from making a takeoff at any 

foreign civil airport when the visibility is less than 1 mile. Therefore, takeoffs with less than 

1 mile visibility at these foreign civil airports cannot be authorized through operations 

specifications. 

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. 10280; 

 the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 10280 

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 Gama Charters, Inc. an exemption from 

14 CFR § 135.225(f) to the extent necessary to make IFR takeoffs from foreign and military 

airports when the visibility is less than 1 mile and IFR approaches and landings when the 

visibility is less than 1⁄2 mile, subject to the conditions and limitations described below. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. The operator must have and comply with Operations Specification C079. 

2. Airports at which the operator intends to use the provisions of this exemption must 

have approach procedures that were developed in accordance with U.S. Terminal 

Instrument Procedures or International Civil Aviation Organization Procedures for 

Air Navigation Services - Aircraft Operations criteria. 

This exemption terminates on July 31, 2013, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

John W. McGraw 

Acting Director, Flight Standards 

 Serivce 

Enclosure