AFS

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Febuary 5, 2015

Exemption No. 11164 Regu latory Docket No. FAA

- 20 14

- 1089

Mr. Eric Martin

Maintenance Inspector Western Airways

, Inc.

200 Jim Davidson Drive Sugar Land, TX 77498

Dear Mr. Martin :

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 December 1 9 , 2014 , you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf

of Western Airways, Inc. ( WAI ) for an exemption from § 135.152, Appe ndix F, parameter No. 5 ( Normal Acceleration, Vertical) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR)

. This exemption, if granted, would allow one CL

- 600

- 2B16 (CL

- 604 Variant), N604FM, S/N 5488 airplane to continue to operate without complying with th e required flight recorder data sampling rates of 14 CFR § 135.152, Appendix F. While the petition requests relief from Appendix F requirements, relief is actu ally required

from § 135.152, which requires compliance with Appendix F. The FAA has considered the petition as

requ esting relief from the 14 CFR § 135.152 requirements.

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 an y delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to WAI

.

The FAA has issued a grant of exemption in circumstances similar in all material respects to those presented in your petition. In G rant of Exemption No. 1 1052 (copy e nclosed), the FAA found that good cause exists to allow time for the airplane manufacturer to complete development of a modification to retrofit the subj ect aircraft with a redesigned Data C oncentrator U nit (DCU) capable of providing the normal acceleration parameter information to the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) system to meet Appendix F requirements, and for the operators to modify their aircraft accordingly. The FAA does not2

agree with any assertion that flight recorder systems are not safety equipment simply because t hey do not affect the operation of a given flight. Flight recorder data are often the only evidence of airplane problems available to investigators following aircraft accidents and incidents. However, because the subject airplanes will still be recording flight data and the limitations are known, the FAA agrees that a limited time to complete the upgrades is appropriate.

The FAA finds that since the problem identified in this petition is a system design issue over which CL604 operators have no control or ability to fix, and that since the deficiency would be known to accident investigators and can be compensated for in any necessary analysis, it is in the public interest to allow continued operation of a limited number of airplanes until the modifications can be incorporated.

The FAA has analyzed the petitioner’s request to operate outside the United States using this exemption to examine any effect on U.S. obligations under international ag reements. The FAA finds that even with the exemption, the DFDR sy stem installation on the subject airplanes meets or exceeds the recorder requirements of both Annex 6 of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the regulations of the European Aviation Safety Agency. Accordingly, the petitioner is permitted to operate the listed airplane outside of the United States under the conditions and limitations listed in this exemption.

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 N o. 11052 ;

 the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 11052 also apply to the situation you present; and

 for the reasons stated i n Grant of Exemption No. 1 1052 a grant of exemption is in the public

interest.

Our Decision

Under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113 and 44701 , which the FAA Administrator has delegated to me, I hereby grant WAI an exemption from 14 CFR § 135.152 to the extent necessary

to allo w the listed airplane to operate without complying with the Normal Acceleration (Vertical) data recording rate requirement listed in Appendix F to 14 CFR p art 135

, subj ect to the conditions and

limitations described below:

Conditions and Limitations

1. This exemption applies only to the following air plane while it remains on the p art 135 Operations Specifications (OpSpecs) of WAI: CL

- 600

- 2B16, N604FM, S/N: 5488.

2. This exemption allows for the continued operation of the affected airplane with a DFDR that

rece ives data from the source sensor for the Normal Acceleration (Vertical) parameter at a rate of 0.2, rather than the 0.125, as re quired by 14 CFR Appendix F to p art 135. No other relief from any other parameter requirement or other flight dat a recorder prov ision of 14 CFR

p art 135 is granted by this exemption.3

3. WAI must establish a firm schedule for accomplishment of the modifications required to bring the subject airplane into compliance and submit the schedule to its oversight office.

The schedule must inc lude the following milestones:

a. Bombardier Service Bulletin (SB) issued no later than September 30, 2015;

b. WAI’s plan for incorporation of the SB on the subject airplane to be submitted to its Principal Avionics Inspector, or other cognizant oversight office, no later than December 1, 2015. The plan must include a modification date within the term of this exemption for the airplane listed in Condition 1 above;

c. Starting December 1, 2015, WAI must provide monthly status reports to its oversig ht office outlining the completion of the aircraft modifications necessary to bring its aircraft into compliance with the requirements of 14 CFR § 135.152.

4. Noncompliance with any term of these conditions and limitations terminates this exemption

without f urther action by the FAA.

5. Use of this exemption is limited to WAI while the s ubject airplane remains on its p art 135 OpSpecs. This exemption may not be transferred to any subsequent operator of the affected airplane. Subsequent operators of the affected a irplane must apply for and be granted an exemption in writing before such airplane may be operated, if the airplane has not been modified to comply with 14 CFR § 135.152.

6. A copy of this exemption must be retained with the operator’s DFDR correlation documentation, as specified in the applicable provisions of 14 CFR § 135.152, until the airplane identified in this exemption has been modified.

7. In the event of an accident or incident after which the DFDR recording media must be removed and retained, sub ject to 14 CFR § 135.152(e), the operator must provide a copy of this exemption together with the recording media when submitted.

8. This exemption may be used for operations outside the United States.

Thi s exemption terminates on the completion of the modification described in this exemption

, that brings the airplane into compliance with 14 CFR § 135.152, or on January 31, 2017 , unless sooner superseded, rescinded or terminated.

Sincerely,

/s/ John Barbagallo Acting Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service4

Enclosure Exemption No. 1 1052