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December 31, 2014

Exemption No. 11134 Regu latory Docket No. FAA

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- 0828

Martin Farrar

Director of Maintenance

Gama Charters Inc.

700 Great Meadow Road Stratford, CT 06615

Dear Mr. Farrar :

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

B y letter dated October 16 , 2014, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Gama Charters Inc., 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 three CL

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- 2B16 airplanes, N604VG, S/N 5562;

N848 CC, S/N 5660; and N868CC, S/N 55 62 to continue to operate without complying with the required flight recorder data sampling rates of 14 CFR § 135.152, A ppendix F. While the petition requests relief from Appendix F requirements, relief is actually required from 14 CFR § 135.152, which requires compliance with Appendix F. The FAA has considered the petit ion as requesting relief from 14 CFR § 135.152 requir ements.

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 Gama Ch arters Inc.

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 airplan e manufacturer to complete development of a modification to retrofit the subject aircraft with a redesigned data2

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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 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 peti tioner’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 airplanes 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. 1 1052 ;

 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 st ated 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 Gama Charters Inc. exemption from 14 CFR § 135.152 to the extent necessary to allow the listed airplanes to operate witho ut complying with the Normal Acceleration (Vertical) data recording rate requirement listed in Appendix F to part 135, subject to the conditions and limitations listed herein.

Conditions and Limitations3

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- E 1. This exemption applies on ly to the following airplan es while they remain on the p art 135 operations specifications of Gama Charters Inc. N604VG, S/N 5562 ; N848CC, S/N 5660 ; N868CC, S/N 55 62

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2. This exemption allows for the continued operation of the affected airplanes 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 Appendix F to part 135. No other relief from any other parameter requirement or other flight data recorder provision of 14

CFR p art 135 is granted by this exemption.

3. Gama Charters Inc. must establish a firm schedule for accomplishment of the

modifications required to bring the subject airplanes into compliance and submit the schedule to its oversight office. The schedule must include the f ollowing :

a. Bombardier service bulletin issued no later than September 30, 201 5 ;

b. Gama Charters Inc. plan for incorporation of the service bulletin on the subject airplanes , to be submitted to its Principal Avionics Inspector or other cognizant oversight of

fice no later than December 1, 2015. The plan must include a modification date within the term of this exemption for the airplanes listed in condition 1 above;

c. Starting December 1, 2015, Gama Charters Inc. must provide monthly status reports to its overs ight 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 exempti on without further action by the FAA.

5. Use of this exemption is limited to Gama Charters Inc. while the subject airplanes remain on its p art 135 operations specifications. This exemption may not be transferred to any subsequent operator of the affected ai rplanes . Subsequent operators of the affected airplanes must apply for and be granted an exemption in writing before such airplanes may be operated if the airplanes have not been modified to comply with 14 CFR § 1 35.152

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6. A copy of this exe mption must be retained with the operator's DFDR correlation documentation as specified in the applicable provisions of 1 4 CFR § 135.152 until the airplanes identified in this exemption h ave been modified.4

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- E 7. In the event of an accident or incident after wh ich 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

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

This exemption terminates on the sooner of the completion of the modification described in this exemption that brings the airplanes into compliance with § 135.152, or on January 31,

2017 , unless sooner superseded, rescinded or terminated.

Sincerel y
,

/s/

John S. Duncan Director, Flight Standards Service

Enclosure Exemption No. 11052