AFS-15-254-E

Febuary 5, 2015

 Exemption No. 11164

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2014-1089

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 19, 2014, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf 

of Western Airways, Inc. (WAI) for an exemption from § 135.152, Appendix 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 the required flight recorder data sampling rates of 14 CFR § 135.152, 

Appendix F. While the petition requests relief from Appendix F requirements, relief is actually required 

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

requesting 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 any 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 Grant of Exemption No. 11052 (copy enclosed), the FAA found that good 

cause exists to allow time for the airplane manufacturer to complete development of a modification to 

retrofit the subject aircraft with a redesigned Data Concentrator Unit (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 not 
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agree with any assertion that flight recorder systems are not safety equipment simply because they 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 agreements. The FAA finds that even with 

the exemption, the DFDR system 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 No. 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 in Grant of Exemption No. 11052 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 allow the listed airplane to operate without complying with the Normal Acceleration (Vertical) data 

recording rate requirement listed in Appendix F to 14 CFR part 135, subject to the conditions and 

limitations described below:

Conditions and Limitations 

1. This exemption applies only to the following airplane while it remains on the part 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 

receives data from the source sensor for the Normal Acceleration (Vertical) parameter at a 

rate of 0.2, rather than the 0.125, as required by 14 CFR Appendix F to part 135. No other 

relief from any other parameter requirement or other flight data recorder provision of 14 CFR 

part 135 is granted by this exemption.
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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 include 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 oversight 

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 further action by the FAA.

5. Use of this exemption is limited to WAI while the subject airplane remains on its part 135 

OpSpecs. This exemption may not be transferred to any subsequent operator of the affected 

airplane. Subsequent operators of the affected airplane 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, subject 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. 

This 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 Service
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Enclosure

Exemption No. 11052