AFS

- 15

- 291

- E Exemption No. 13995

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of

CHEVRON AIRC RAFT OPERATIONS Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 20 14

- 1111

for an exemption from § 91.9(a) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations

GRA NT OF EXEMPTION

By letter s dated December 11, 2014

, and June 24, 2015, Mr. Kevin Tauzier, Director of Operations

, Chevron Aircraft Operations

, 96 Runway Road, Picayune, MS, 39466, petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Che vron Aircraft Operations (Chevron)

, for an exemption from § 91.9(a) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed exemption, if granted, would allow Chevron to take off and land AgustaWestland 139 (AW139) helicopters on helidecks smalle r than the minimum demonstrated helideck size specified in the limitations section of the AW139 Rotorcraft Flight

M anual (RFM)

.

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulation :

Section 91.9(a) prescribes, in pertinent part, that no person may operate a civil aircraft without complying with the operating limitations specified in the approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM)

. Specifically, the AW139 Rotorcraft Flight Manual S upplement 12,

Part E, Section 1E, Limitations

, specifies a mi nimum demonstrated helideck size of 50 f ee t by

50 f ee t size or 50 foot diameter.

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

Chevron believes that the requested exemption will continue to provide a level of safety equal to that pro vided by the rule that is currently in place for its other offshore operations. Chevron2

states that it operates from land to offshore platform helidecks using several different model

aircraft. The petitioner states that it holds Air Carrier Certificate AC2 A685K for part 135

o perations and Repair Station Certificate AC2R685K. The petitioner explains that it operates the AW139 part 91 and can provide engine data for the AW139. Chevron states that it has operated 10 AW139's for 10 years from land to offshore h elidecks and has accumulated over 40,000 safe AW139 flight hours.

In its initial petition dated December 11, 2014, Chevron requested exemption from § 91.9(a) to allow it to operate AW 139 helicopters “ with limited exposure to engine failure during

takeoff and landing between land

- based and offshore facilities when operating between two offshore facilities, in day, night, visual flight rules, and instrument flight rules. ” As stated above, § 91.9(a) requires the operator to comply with operating limitations specified in the

FAA

- approved RFM. Because Chevron was unclear from it s petition which RFM limitation was at issue, t he FAA requested that Chevron identify the requirement or limitation from

which it seeks an exemption

.

The petitioner supplemented its re quest with additional information on June 24, 2015. Th is

submission clarified that Chevron seeks exemption from § 91.9(a) to operate the AW 139 in Category A operations from a helideck smaller than 50 feet by 50 feet or 50 foot diameter. The petitioner sta tes that t he requested exemption, if granted, would allow Chevron to operate AW139 helicopters with limited exposure from an engine fail ure during takeoff and landing

between land

- based and offshore facilities or when operating between two offshore facili ties, day, night, visual flight rules, and instrume nt flight rules. Specifically, the petitioner states that it is “requesting relief from Supplement s 12 and 50, CAT A Helideck Size of the Rotorcraft Flight Man ual and to operate Performance Class 2 (PC2). Supplement 12 (pg s . S12

- 17) and Supplement 50 (pg. S50

- 4) pr escribes, in part, the heliport/ helideck minimum size limitation

of a 50 feet by 50 feet or 50 foot diameter

. ”

The petitioner states that PC2 (Sec tion 9

, pg. 9

- 129) allows Chevron to operate to a CAT A standard profile and performance at a reduced helideck size and to sea state 5. In addition,

Chevron states that its AW139 s are equipped with aircraft flotation gear and are certified for ditching in up to sea state 5.

The petitioner asserts that European operators, using the same aircraft, operate the AW139 in

accordance with Joint Aviation Requirement

- OPS

- 3 ( S ec tion 9 , Supplemental Performance

- Performance Class)

, which already permits similar operations to smaller helidecks with

limited exposu re to engine failure.

The petitioner states that

, if granted an exemption, it will operate in accordance with the profiles and procedures of The Chevron Vol ume II, AW139 Standardization Manual:

1. Onshore departures will operate CAT A profiles and procedure s ;3

2. Offshore d epartures will operate CAT A profiles and procedures ;

3. Offshore take

- off decision point ( TDP ) is 20 feet above the helideck with a rotate point ( RP ) of 30 feet (This height will maintain helideck in view until reaching TDP) ;

4. Onshore landings w ill operate CAT A profiles and procedures ;

5. Offshore landings will operate CAT A profiles and procedures ;

6. Offshore landing decision point ( LDP ) is 50 feet above landing surface ( ALS ), 15

k nots ground speed ( GS ) , and 45' from center of helideck

. (This posit ion allows the crew to fly away or land one engine inoperative ( OEI ) and have a continuous view of the helideck starting 50 feet ALS) ;

7. All flight crews will evaluate helicopter performance, payload, temperature, pressure altitude and winds before every fl ight and then to fly disciplined CAT A takeoff and landing profiles that minimize the potential consequences of engine failure.

Chevron states they concur with and will incorporate into their manuals a minimum size

helideck limitation of 35 feet by 35 fee t or 35 foot diameter size along with other stated operating limitations.

In addition Chevron states that it will further mitigate exposure by:

1. Conducting flight operations to and from helidecks and shore based heliports that meet size and weight requi rements appropriate to the aircraft configuration;

2. Training its crews in a Level D, Full Flight Simulator ( FFS ) initially and annually, ensuring the highest levels of proficiency and competency for CAT A profiles and procedures for onshore and offshore se ttings in all engines operative ( AEO ) and OEI operations;

3. Conducting route checks to confirm that its crews remain procedurally compliant and use crew resource management principles during all flight operations; and

4. Using Chevron Aircraft Operations Helic opter Flight Data Monitoring program to ensure flight profiles are in accordance with Chevron VOL II, AW139

Standardization Manual

.

The petitioner claims that granting of this petition would be in the public interest because the

AW139 aircraft has replace d older designs which do not offer the same safety enhancements and are not required to meet the stringent performance requirements imposed on the AW139.

The FAA found the petition, if granted, would set a precedent. Therefore, to allow for the publi c to comment on the petition, a summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on August 28, 2015 (80 FR 52357). No comments were received.4

The FAA’ s analysis is as follows:

The FAA has considered the petitioner’s request and supporting m aterials and finds that, subject to the conditions and limitations below, a grant of exemption would be in the public interest and would provide a level of safety equivalent to that provided by the current regulations.

The FAA finds that that the petition er operates the AW139 aircraft when operating between

land

- based and offshore facilities or when operating between two offshore facilities. The petitioner has been issued and maintains other aircraft as part of a part 135 certificate

, but

does not current ly operate the AW139 aircraft on this certificate. If granted, the petitioner

intends to add the AW139 aircraft to its part 135 certificate.

The FAA recognizes that there may be instances in which a safe forced landing may not be possible due to environ mental or other factors. The FAA notes that regulatory agencies worldwide have already applied risk management and permitted variations to specific operations, such as operations to helidecks where exposure to an engine failure is present

without a safe f orced landing area. Risk assessment is used to determine whether to permit these variations. When operations without suitable areas for safe forced landings are being considered, all relevant factors should be evaluated. These factors include the likeli hood of the event, the possible consequences, and any mitigating measures weighed against the potential benefits of the operation. Accident history and other relevant safety data and analysis are crucial to making the operational determination.

The FAA c oncurs with the petitioner that permitting the use of the AW139 provides those passengers with efficient transportation, while maintaining a safe transportation system operating between land

- based and offshore facilities or when operating between two offsh ore facilities. The prescribed flight profiles provide adequate safety margins to return to the point of departure in the event of a single engine failure in conjunction with the 35 foot limitation

on the helideck size

. Additionally

, the survival equipme nt provided and worn by all passengers and the close proximity of rescuer capability mitigates the associated risk. These procedures

, along with the training and checking of flight crews

, supports the FAA’s

determination that a grant of exemption would pr ovide a level of safety equal to that provided by the rule

.

The proposed flight profiles are consistent with International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO ) standard profile for these type s of operations and are safely utilized in other parts of

the wor ld. The FAA Aircraft Certification Organization, Rotorcraft Directorate established

the 50 by 50 foot helideck limitation based on the demonstration flights ; flights to smaller

helideck sizes were not demonstrated. The Rotorcraft Directorate concurs with the granting of this exemption based on the utilization of the proposed flight profiles.5

The FAA concurs that the public interest is served by the utilization of the AW139 aircraft as a replace ment for older designs

, which do not offer the same safety e nhancements

. The FAA

finds that the granting of this exemption will provide an equivalent level of safety that is currently in place for offshore operations.

The FAA’s Decision

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption is i n the public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113 and 44701

, delegated to me by the Administrator, Chevron Aviation GOMBU is granted an exemption

from 14 CFR § 91.9(a) to the extent necessary to allow Chev ron Aircraft Operations to conduct arrivals and departures to and from offshore facilities of a size less than 50 feet by

50 feet or 50 foot diameter using approach and departure profiles similar to Performance

Class 2 with limited exposure to engine failu re operations within the United States , subject to

the conditions and limitations listed below.

Conditions and Limitations

1. This exemption is limited to operations conducted in Chevron’s AW139 helicopters.

2. This exemption is limited to a minimum helideck/ helipad size of 35 feet by 35

feet or 35 foot diameter for all AW139 landings and takeoffs on offshore

helidecks

.

3. This exemption is limited to operations conducted between land

- based airports and offshore heliports, or operations conducted between two of fshore heliports.

4. This exemption is not valid for operations in foreign airspace without the prior authorization of the Civil Aviation Authority with jurisdiction over that airspace.

5. Occupants of flights conducted under this exemption must wear personal flotation equipment whenever the aircraft is over water and the aircraft must be equipped with floats, accessible rafts, and a 406 MHz beacon.

6. Chevron must make available and provide access, upon request by the FAA, to its engine reliability historical da ta for the AW139 in its fleet in order to provide on

going surveillance of engine reliability.

7. Computations regarding the determination of the approach and departure profiles

must not exceed the International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO ) standard

fo r Performance Class 2 with limited exposure to engine failure of 9 seconds.6

8. Operations will not be conducted unless the current aircraft weight, altitude and temperature, as provided in the AW139 Rotorcraft Flight Manual, ensure the ability to climb 1 50 feet per minute at 1,000 feet above the takeoff surface with one engine inoperative and the remaining engine at maximum continuous one engine inoperative ( OEI ) power.

9. Chevron must comply with, in addition to other routine preflight computations,

the procedures cited in the AW139 Rotorcraft Flight Manual, p art 2, Section IX Supplemental Performance Information and Supplement 12 CAT A Operations part E and I contained in the paragraphs titled "Offshore Helideck Take

- Off and Landing Procedures", Suppleme nt 12

, part A contained in the paragraphs titled "Ground Level and Elevated Heliport/Helideck Vertical Take

- Off Procedures, ” and Supplement 50 Increased Gross Weight 6800kg.

10. Chevron will operate in accordance with the profiles and procedures of the
accept ed Chevron Standardization Manual Vol ulme II, AW139

—

a) Onshore departures will operate CAT A profiles and procedures

b) Offshore departures will operate CAT A profiles and procedures

c) Offshore take

- off decision point (TDP) is 20 feet above

the helideck with a r otate point (RP) of 30 feet (This height will maintain helideck in view until reaching TDP)

d) Onshore landings will operate CAT A profiles and procedures

e) Offshore landing decision point ( LDP ) is 50 feet ALS, 15 k no ts ground speed (GS), and 45 feet from cente r of helideck

. (This position allows the crew to fly away or land OEI and have a continuous view of the helideck starting 50 feet ALS

. )

All flight crews will evaluate helicopter performance, payload, temperature, pressure altitude and winds before every f light and then fly disciplined CAT A takeoff and landing profiles that minimize the potential consequences of engine failure.

11. Operations under the provisions of this exemption must be flown by two pilot crews that are qualified and current in the operatio n of the AW139.

12. Chevron’s approved training program must include provisions for training of appropriate crews on the profiles associated with a Performance Class 2 with limited exposure takeoff and arrival, including performance planning. Chevron

must do cument the conduct and completion of that training for appropriate flight

crewmembers.7

13. Proficiency in the use of the profiles described in Condition No. 10 must be demonstrated satisfactorily during recurrent evaluations required by §§ 135.293

and 135.299

.

14. Chevron will utilize a L evel C or D flight simulator for the AW

- 139 as part of its

FAA

- approved training program to train to proficiency the takeoff and landing profiles described above.

15. Chevron must establish parameters for takeoff and arrival at heli decks for its flight data monitoring program and provide ongoing surveillance of those operations.

16. Chevron must advise all AW139 flight crewmembers of the provisions of this exemption, and document that notification.

17. A copy of this exemption must be carried onboard each AW139 utilizing this exemption

.

This exemption terminates on December 31, 2017 , unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Issued in Washington, D

. C

. , on December 16, 2015

.

/s/ John Barbagallo Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service