AFS

- 16

- 106739

- E

November 29 , 2016

Exemption No. 5651 Q Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 20 02

- 11498

Mr. Mike Rhodes

Chief Test Pilot Air Tractor, Inc.

P.O. Box 485 Olney, TX 76374

Dear Mr. Rhodes :

This letter is to inform you that we have granted in part your petition to extend Exemption No.

5651 , as amended. It explains the basis for our decision, describes its effect, and lists the

revised conditions and limitations.

The Basis for Our Decision

B y letter dated March 7, 2016, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Air Tractor, Inc. (Air Tractor) for an extension of, and amendment to, Exemption No. 5651, as amended. That exemption from § 61.31(a)(1) of Title 14, Code o f Federal Regulations (14 CFR) allows Air Tractor and pilots of AT

- 802, AT

- 802A, AT

- 1002, or AT

1002A airplanes to operate those airplanes without holding a type rating, although the maximum gross weight of the airplanes exceeds 12,500 pounds.

In your Mar ch 7, 2016 petition, you also requested an amendment that would include an exemption from § 91.313(a) as described in FAA Notice 8900.295 Pilot Training and/or Certification Events Conducted in Restricted Category Aircraft. The amendment, if granted,

would allow Air Tractor to operate a restricted category civil aircraft for other than the special purpose for which it was certificated, or in an operation other than one necessary to accomplish the work activity directly associated with that special purpose.2

On April 18, 2016, the FAA granted a six

- month extension of the existing relief at that time, while the agency considered the broader issues related to granting the relief requested in Air Tractor’s amendment request.

On October 28, 2016, the FAA granted an extension of the existing relief (Exemption 5651P), with expiration date of October 31, 2018. The extension included a revision to Condition and Limitation No 2 which required Air Tractor to revise its training manuals to include ground training topics consistent with curriculum outlines for type ratings. On November 18, 2016, the FAA received a letter from Air Tractor requesting an amendment to Condition and

Limitation No. 2 to give the company adequate time to develop the new training manual specified. In that letter, Air Tractor committed to submitting the required training manual by March 1, 2017 for agency review and approval. The FAA agrees that exemption 5651P gave the petitioner insufficient time to develop and submit the revised training manual s pecified in Condition and Limitation No. 2. The FAA concurs with the petitioner’s request for an extension, in that it gives Air Tractor a reasonable period to develop the new training manual and then to implement this manual after FAA review and approval. Accordingly, the term of the approval of the Air Tractor AT

- 802/802A Pilot Training Program dated March 1, 2015, is hereby extended to April 30, 2017. The FAA will issue a separate letter to the petitioner to indicate this extension of the term of approva l of the current training manual.

This partial grant of exemption is a result of a closer review of current regulations, policies, historical grants of exemption dating back to 1993 that were issued to Air Tractor, and the grant of exemption currently iss ued to Air Tractor

.

In your petition, you indicated that there has been no change in the conditions and reasons relative to public interest and safety that were the basis for granting the original exemption.

Our Decision

The FAA has determined that goo d cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition in the Federal Register because the requested extension and amendment of the exemption would not set a precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to Air

Tractor.

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 565 1, as amended, remains valid with respect to this exemption and is in the public interest. However,

u pon further review of Exemption No. 5651 P , the FAA finds it necessary to am end the

C onditions and L imitations to allow the petitioner adequate time to develop the enhanced training materials specified in that amended exemption. The FAA has also determined that past exemptions erroneously omitted a condition and limitation which restrict the use of this

exemp tion to the area of the United S tates

, its territories and possession s

. The petitioner has not asked for this exemption to be used in connection with operations outside the United States. Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 11, §11.83 requires that if a petitioner desires to use an exemption outside the United State s , then this must be requested when3

petitioning for this relief, as well as the reason for this use. Specifically , this amendment makes the following modifica tions :

1. Condition and Limitation No. 2 was amended to allow the use of the AT

- 802/802A training manual, dated March 1, 2015, until April 30, 2017.

2. Condition and Limitation No. 10 was added to restrict the use of this exemption to the

area of the United Sta tes, its territories and possessions.

U nder the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. § 106(f), 40113

, and 44701, w hich the FAA Administrator has delegat ed to me, I grant Air Tractor, Inc. and pilots of Air Tractor Models

AT

- 802 and AT

- 802A

, relief from § 61.3 1(a)(1) to the extent necessary to operate these models without holding a type rating for the airplane , subject to the following conditions and

limitations.

Conditions and Limitations

1. This exemption applies to pilots operating AT

- 802 and AT

- 802A airplanes that have a restricted category airworthiness certificate

.

2. Air Tractor must use an FAA

- approved pilot training program to c omply with the

terms of this exem ption

a) Until April 30, 2017, Air Tractor may use the AT

- 802/802A Pilot Training Program dated March 1, 2015 , for its required training manual.

b) After April 30, 2017

, Air Tractor must develop and maintain a training manual ( s ) (to include lesson times and courseware) that include s the following ground training topics for the AT

- 802 and AT

- 802 A airplane covered by this partial grant of exemption :

SEGMENT 1

– GENERAL OPERATIONAL SUBJECTS

a. Lesson 1

- Introduction to the aircraft and operating limitations

b. Lesson 2

- Weight and balance

c. Lesson 3

- Adverse weather practices

d. Lesson 4

- Aerodynamics, performance, and minimum equipment list (MEL)

e. Lesson 5

– Segment 1 w ritten e xamination

SEGMENT 2

– AIRPLANE SYSTEMS AND COMPONENTS

f. Lesson 1

– Fuel and oil systems

g. Lesson 2

– Powerplant

h. Lesson 3

- Electrical s ystem
i. Lesson 4

- Hydraulic s ystem4

j. Lesson 5

- Landing g ear and b rakes

k. Lesson 6

– Pneumatic s ystem
l. Lesson 7

- Environmental s ystem

m. Lesson 8

- Flight c ontrols

n. Lesson 9

- Ice and r ain p rotection

o. Lesson 10

- Fire and o verheat p rotection

p. Lesson 11

- Flight i nstruments

q. Lesson 12

- Navigation e qui pment and d isplay s ystems

r. Lesson 13

- Autoflight system

s. Lesson 14

- Communications e quipment

t. Lesson 15

- Segment 2 w ritten e xamination

SEGMENT 3

– AIRPLANE SPECIFIC EMERGENCY TRAINING

u. Lesson 1

- Emergency e quipment

v. Lesson 2

- Abnormal and e mergency p rocedures

w. Lesson 3

- Segment 3 w ritten e xamination

SEGMENT 4

– SYSTEMS INTEGRATION TRAINING

x. Lesson 1

– Cockpit familiarization and use of checklists

y. Lesson 2

– Classroom review of flight maneuvers

z. Lesson 3

– Single pilot resource management

aa. Lesson 4

– Se gment 4 written examination

3. Air Tractor must provide pilots authorized by Air Tractor to provide training in the

AT

- 802 or AT

- 802 airplane (as applicable) a copy of the approved training manual and

courseware described in Condition/Limitation No. 2, along with the applicable approval documentation from AFS

- 800. This copy may be hard copy or electronic.

4. Pilots operating the AT

- 802 and /or AT

- 802A airplanes m ay continue to exercise the privileges of this exemption only if Air Tractor complies with the fol lowing:

5. a) Air Tractor must continue to maintain approval of its train ing manual and

courseware
, and obtain approval for any revisions to the approved training

manual and/or courseware

, from AFS

- 800.

b) The training manual(s) and /or courseware approval docu mentation must be made

available to any representative of the FAA Administrator

, upon request

.

c) Air Tractor must submit a n ew training manual, or request extension to the approval of the currently approved training manual and courseware , provided no change s are required, when requesting an extension to this exemption. Electronic

submissions are desired and can be s ent via email to 9

- AFS

- 800

- Correspondence@faa.gov

. If Air Tractor desires to send a har d copy document, it5

should be mailed to General Aviation and Commercial Division, AFS

- 800, 800 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20591

6. Except as provided in Condition /Limitation No. 6

, before a ny pilot can serve as pilot in command (PIC) in the AT

- 802 or AT

- 802A airplane (as applicable)

, that pilot must have successfully completed the applicable training in accordance with Air Tractor’s approved training manual described in Condition and Limitation No. 2

.

7. Pilots who have logged at least 100 hours of flight time, with at least 1 0 hours in the preceding 12 mon t h s, in an AT

- 8 02 series airplane need not complete the training requi rements of Condition No. 2 . A record of this flight time must be made available by the pilot upon request by a representati ve of the FAA Administrator.

8. Any person (including Air Tractor ) that provides training described by Condition and

Limitation No. 5 must

-
a) Ensure each pilot logs the ground tra ining in his or her logbook, or record such training in the pilot’s training re cord ; and

b) Make this record of training available for review to any representative of the FAA Administrator, upon request.

9. Pilots authorized by Air Tractor to provide training in the AT

- 802 or AT

- 802A airplane (as applicable), to include pilots employed by Air Tractor, must meet the following minimum qualifications :

a) Be authorized by Air Tractor to provide this instruction . This authorization will be given by Air Tractor in writing and will be on Air Tractor letterhead ;

b) Hold a n Advanced Ground Instructor cer tificate or Flight Instructor certificate;

c) Hold at least a commercial pilot certificate; and

d) Meet the following experience requirements:

i. 500 hours of flight time in turbine

- powered agricultural type airplanes;

or

ii. 1 ,000 hours of flight time in agr icultural type airplanes which includes at least 100 hours of flight time in an AT

- 802 series airplane

.
10. A ir Tractor must make a copy of this exemption available to each pilot who serves

as PIC in the AT

- 802 and AT

- 802A aircraft

.

11

. This exemption is n ot valid for operations outside the United States

.6

The Effect of Our Decision

Our decision extends the termination date of Exemption No. 5651, as amended

, to November 30, 2018 , unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/s/ John Barbagallo Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service