1 Exemption No. 10031 B

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of

AERO AIR, LLC Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2002

- 11937 dba Erickson Aero Tanker, LLC

for an exemption from § 91.213 (a)(b)

and (d) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations

GRANT OF EXEMPTION

By letter dated November 5, 2012 and posted to the docket on December18, 2012

, Mr. Steve Boyce, Director of Maintenance

, Aero Air, LLC

, ( Aero Air), Portland

– Hillsboro Airport, 2050 NE 25 th Avenue, Hillsboro , OR 97124, petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Aero Air for an amendment to Exemption No. 10031, originally issued to Butler Aircraft (Butler)

. In your petition, you indicate that Aero Air acquired the operating assets of B utler, which includes three DC

- 7 series aircraft for use in firefighting activities. The amendment you request would change the exemption holder from

Butler to Aero Air. You stated t hat exemption from § 91.611 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations wo uld allow Aero Air to conduct ferry flights with one engine inoperative on its

DC

- 7 / DC

- 7B aircraft (re gistration Nos. N401US, N6353C and N838D) to a base for the purpose of repairing that engine without obtaining a special flight permit for each flight

. Since Butler assets were acquired by Aero Air

, the FAA will treat this as a new petition for exemption by Aero Air rather than an extension or transfer of the exemption previously granted to Butler.

The petitioner requests relief from the following regula tions:

Section 91.611 prescribes, in pertinent part, that the holder of an air carrier operating certificate or an operating certificate issued under part 125 may conduct a ferry flight

of a four

- engine airplane or a turbine

- engine

- powered airplane equip ped with three engines, with one engine inoperative to a base for the purpose of repairing that engine.2 The FAA finds that Aero Air does not operate these aircraft under an air carrier operating certificate or an operating certificate issued under part 125 , therefore this regulation does not apply to Aero Air. Section 91.213

, Inoperative instruments and equipment

, would be the more appropriate regulation for this request and an exemption from this regulation would better serve the petitioner.

Section 91 .213 states, in pertinent part, that no person may take off an aircraft with inoperative instruments or equipment installed unless an approved MEL exists for that aircraft and a letter of authorization to operate under that MEL is aboard the aircraft.

T he petitioner supports its request with the following information:

1. T he requirements of test flight found in § 91.611 have already been proven to the FAA

for the DC

- 7 series aircraft and t here should be no need to revalidate this information.

2. Aero Air has a n “aggressive” training program to facilitate th e operation of these

aircraft in firefighting operations. In fact, the petitioner states, several flight crew

members are the same as those covered und er the B utler exemption

.

3. Aero Air supports its abili ty to operate under an equivalent level of safety by stating

that their processes and procedures are patterned after their part 135 operations . The petitioner states that e ach pilot has been provided “ adequate ” training under Aero Air’s training program t o conduct three engine ferry flight operations and an entry will be made in each pilot’s log book to validate the authorization to perform three

- engine ferry.

4. Aero Air states that g ranting this exemption will allow for the most expeditious means

of ferry ing an aircr aft with one engine inoperative to a location where an e ngine change can be performed without the ne ed to wait for an FAA ferry permit. Eliminating a delay, the petitioner argues, will allow the aircraft to re turn to firefighting operations i n a timely manner minimizing impact to the taxpayer and enhancing the ability to protect damage to property and the environment due to fire

.

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for waiving the requirement for Federal Register publication becau se any delay in acting on this pe tition would be detrimental to Aero

Air.

The FAA's analysis is as follows:

The petitioner states that the requirements of test flight found in § 91.611 have already been proven for the DC

- 7 series aircraft. The FAA agre es that the DC

- 7 series aircraft approved Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) contains airplane performance d ata with one engine inoperative per § 91.611 (a)(2) and was test flown and found satisfactory in accordance with § 91.611(b) . O peratio ns in accordance w ith the AFM will provide an equivalent level of safety to the regulation s from which exemption is sought

.3 Aero Air states that it has an “aggressive” training program

. The FAA agrees that Aero Air

has a documented pilot training program for operations under 14 CFR part 135 which

includes ferrying of t hese aircraft with one engine inoperative. The FAA believes that adequate training of each pilot in command in three

- engine ferry flight operation can be controlled and verified by requiring the appropriat e entry be made in his/her logbook by a person so authorized by Aero Air. Al though the FAA cannot transfer E xemption No. 10031, as amended, to Aero Air, we can consider the fact that Aero Air has acquired the operating assets and some flight crewmembers f rom Butler when conducting the safety analysis. The Flight Standards District Office confirmed that three

- engine ferry operations were conducted safely during the period Butler operated the DC

- 7 series aircraft under E xemption No. 10031

.

Public Interest :

Aero Air states that g ranting this exemption will allow for the most expeditious means of

re locating an aircraft with one inoperative engine to a location to perform the engine change

without the ne ed to wait for the FAA to issue a ferry permit. The FA A agrees that granting the exemption with appropriate conditions and limitations will create efficiencies in the use of FAA and taxpayer resources while simultaneously providing a means for the aircraft to be repaired and returned to public service as a fi refighting asset without compromising safety.

The FAA’s Decision

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption provides an equivalent level of safety and is in the public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contain ed

in 49 U.S.C. §§ 40113 and 44701 delegated to me by the Administrator, Aero Air, LLC is granted an exemption from 14 CFR § § 91.213 (a), (b), and (d ) to the extent necessary to allow

Aero Air to conduct ferry flights with one engine inoperative on its DC

- 7 / DC

- 7B aircraft (registration Nos. N401US, N6353C, and N838D) to a base for the purpose of repairing that engine without obtaining a special flight permit for each flight , subject to the conditions and

limitations listed below.

Conditions and Limitations

1. This exemption is limited to ferry flight operations under § 91 .213 with one engine inoperative. No other inoperative instruments or equipment is permitted under this exemption.

2. A copy of this exemption must be carried on board the applicable aircraft at all times.

3. The A FM and operator’s manual must contain performance data and operating and maintenance procedures for the safe operation of the airplane as provided in § 91.611 and approved by the FAA Flight Standards District Office responsible for Aero Air

.

4. All one

- engine

- inoperative ferry flights must be conducted in accordance with the operational requirements of § 91.611 and the provisions contained in the FAA

approved AFM required by Aircraft Specification 4A10.

5. The inoperative engine shall be inspected by an appropriately certificated person to determine that it will not adversely affect the ferry flight.4 6. Flights will be permitted only when visual flight rule conditions exist at points of takeoff and landing or any alternate points of landing.

7. Each crew member must be adequately trained in three

- engine ferry flight operation

, in accordance with the requirements contained in § 91.611 (a)(6), and each pilot in

command must have an appropriate entry made in his/her logbook by a person so authorized by Aero A ir documenting the training

.

8. This exemption is not valid for operations outside of the United States.

This exemption terminates on July 3 1 , 2015 , unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Issued in Washington, DC, on July14, 2013.

/s/

John M. A l len Director, Flight Standards Services

.