800 Independence Ave., S.W.

Washington, DC 20591

March 25, 2010

 

Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2008-0959

Mr. Freddy Pearce

Director of Maintenance

Aero Contractors, Ltd.

P.O. Box 1139 

Smithfield, NC 27577

Dear Mr. Pearce:

This is in response to your letter dated November 15, 2008, petitioning the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Aero Contractors, Ltd. (Aero Contractors),

for an exemption from part 125.

Aero Contractors’ current exemption request is based in part on a letter from the FAA 

dated October 15, 2008, that responded to your August 26, 2008, request for exemption 

from the flight recorder requirements of § 125.226. The FAA apologizes that the

October 15 letter contained some conclusions that are incorrect. 

The petitioner’s DC-3 aircraft is a transport category airplane. The designation as 

transport category dates back to 1950 and was confirmed when the supplemental type 

certificate (STC) to Basler was issued. Although the original type certification basis for 

the DC-3 remains Aero Bulletin 7A, Aero Contractors voluntarily modified the airplane, 

and it was properly designated transport category.

Because the petitioner’s aircraft is properly designated as transport category, is turbine 

powered, and is not included in the excepted list of § 125.226(l)(2), Aero Contractors

must meet the applicable flight recorder requirements of § 125.226. The specific 

parameters of flight data to be recorded are based on the age of the airplane. The 

petitioner acknowledged this applicability in its initial request of August 26, 2008, when 

it asked to be “exempted” from § 125.226(l)(2). Later in that request, Aero Contractors

indicated it thought that the DC-3 model should have been included in that paragraph, 

which lists airplanes excepted from § 125.226 that must continue to operate under

§ 125.225. 
2

When the list of excepted airplanes was proposed in 1996 (for §§ 121.344 and 125.226), 

the FAA requested that operators submit aircraft models to be listed as excepted. The list 

of models contained in the current regulations came from operator requests and 

consideration by the FAA for inclusion of individual models. The absence of the DC-3 

from the list indicates that either no one requested its inclusion or that proper support for 

the request was not submitted. 

The petitioner’s current request for exemption from part 125 as a whole was based, in 

part, on incorrect information in the FAA’s October 2008 letter and is denied. The 

designation of the petitioner’s airplane as transport category is not the sole reason for 

denying this exemption request. As a matter of policy, the FAA has determined that 

routinely issuing deviations from all of part 125 for prolonged periods renders part 125 

meaningless and defeats the purpose of the rules. Deviations granted under § 125.3 are 

done for individual sections on a case-by-case basis and require that the operator show 

that it can maintain an equivalent level of safety. The petitioner’s request is considered a 

request for a blanket deviation, which the FAA no longer considers.

More specific to your original request, on December 2, 2008, the FAA issued a regulation 

that prohibits any deviations from the flight recorder requirements of part 125 (73 FR 

73171). Operators are on notice that any current deviations from the flight recorder 

requirements expire on February 12, 2012. Operators need to plan for compliance with 

the flight recorder regulations of part 125. 

If you wish to petition the FAA for rulemaking to have the DC-3 included in the 

paragraph (l)(2) list (and thus remain subject to § 125.225), you may do so. Request for 

inclusion is not automatically granted. Historically, requests must provide information 

concerning whether an aircraft is still in production, how many of the model are 

operational worldwide, a valid estimate of the cost to comply with the applicable flight 

recorder regulations (from someone other than the operator, such as an STC holder or 

modification facility capable of doing the work), the current value of the airplane, its 

general use, and estimated life. Age and production status alone do not determine 

whether aircraft will be added to the list, and simple statements that “it is too expensive 

to comply” are not acceptable. The FAA also considers significant modifications to an 

original model as a factor in deciding whether compliance with the flight recorder 

regulations are appropriate. 

Accordingly, your request for exemption from § 125.226 is denied, and Docket

No. FAA-2008-0959 is being closed.

Sincerely,

/s/

John W. McGraw

Acting Director, Flight Standards

 Service