AFS-14-001-E

Exemption No. 11038

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, DC 20591

 

In the matter of the petition of 

 

HYANNIS AIR SERVICE, INC. Regulatory Docket No. 2013-0874

D.B.A. CAPE AIR/NANTUCKET

AIRLINES

for an exemption from §§ 119.21(a)(4) 

and 135.243(a)(1)

of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations 

DENIAL OF EXEMPTION

By letter dated September 25, 2013, Ms. Linda A. Markham, President, Hyannis Air Service 

Inc. d.b.a Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines (Cape Air), 660 Barnstable Road, Hyannis, 

Massachusetts 02601, petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of 

Cape Air for an exemption from §§119.21(a)(4) and 135.243(a)(1) of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The petition for exemption, if granted, would allow a pilot

flying under the Cape Air part 135 certificate, conducting scheduled commuter operations, to 

act as pilot in command (PIC) with a commercial pilot certificate with multiengine land and 

instrument airplane ratings instead of an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate.

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulations:

Section 119.21(a)(4) prescribes, in pertinent part, that each person who conducts airplane 

operations as a commercial operator engaged in intrastate common carriage of persons or 

property for compensation or hire in air commerce, or as a direct air carrier, shall comply with 

the certification and operations specifications requirements in subpart C of this part, and shall 

conduct its commuter operations in accordance with the applicable requirements of part 135 

of this chapter, and shall be issued operations specifications for those operations in 

accordance with those requirements. 

Section 135.243(a)(1) prescribes, in pertinent part, that no certificate holder may use a person, 

nor may any person serve, as pilot in command in passenger-carrying operations of a 
2

multiengine airplane in a commuter operation as defined in part 119 of this chapter, unless 

that person holds an airline transport pilot certificate with appropriate category and class 

ratings and, if required, an appropriate type rating for that airplane.

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner states that §135.243(a)(1) requires a PIC in part 135 scheduled commuter 

operations to possess an ATP certificate. The petitioner notes that, after July 31, 2014, 

applicants for an ATP certificate must complete an ATP certification training program (CTP) 

under § 61.156 as part of the Pilot Certification and Qualification Requirements for Air 

Carrier Operations final rule issued by the FAA on July 15, 2013 (78 FR 42324,). The 

petitioner characterizes the flight training portion of the ATP CTP as requiring 10 hours of 

simulation experience, including at least 6 hours in a Level C or higher full flight simulator 

(FFS), including a number of high-altitude learning objectives, as well as 4 hours in a flight 

training device (FTD) with a minimum equipage of glass cockpit and flight management 

system (FMS). 

The petitioner further states that while these requirements would be valuable for flightcrew

members assigned to jet and turboprop aircraft certified in accordance with 14 CFR part 25 

Airworthiness Standards: Transport category airplanes, for which applicable FFS and FMS 

simulation is readily available, Cape Air’s aircraft operating under part 135 are certified in 

accordance with part 23 Airworthiness standards: Normal, utility, acrobatic, and commuter 

category airplanes. There are no Level C FFSs that even approximate the performance and 

flight characteristics of aircraft currently used in Cape Air’s part 135 operation. 

The petitioner believes that a Cape Air PIC flying in part 135 scheduled operations can 

operate at an equivalent level of safety, exercising the privileges of a commercial pilot 

certificate with multiengine land and instrument ratings, and offers that a Cape Air pilot 

would meet the following conditions if an exemption is granted:

1. Successfully completes the existing Cape Air training curriculum as approved 

by the FAA;

2. Meets the aeronautical experience required in §§ 61.159(a) and (b);

3. Successfully passes a check ride meeting existing 2013 Airline Transport Pilot 

Standards (FAA-S-8081-5F), including the practical test standard (PTS) criteria 

that is more exacting than current commercial PTS, except that the ATP 

knowledge test requirement will not be completed; 

4. Successfully completes initial operating experience (IOE) with a minimum of 

15 hours and without any reduction permitted in § 135.244(b)(4); and

5. Satisfies requirements of an internal evaluation program (IEP) to evaluate Cape

Air training written test performance and effectiveness of the training program 

and line operations.
3

The petitioner believes the public interest will not be served by requiring simulation training 

in aircraft over 40,000 pounds for Cessna 402 pilots. The petitioner further states the learning 

outcomes will not be applicable to a light multiengine airplane of 7,200 pounds operating at 

altitudes at or below 10,000 feet mean sea level (MSL). The petitioner believes it would 

likely be years before a Cape Air pilot would be able to use the learning outcomes of the ATP 

CTP in a meaningful way by flying another simulator, swept-wing jet, or turboprop aircraft in 

part 121 operations or working with an FMS.

The petitioner asserts that the rule requiring the ATP CTP was meant to be applied to pilots 

gaining ATP certificates immediately prior to or coincident with their employment as first 

officers for part 121 air carriers in transport category aircraft. Cape Air further states that 

applying the new rule early to pilots in part 135 scheduled passenger operations flying 

relatively unsophisticated, non-pressurized, reciprocating twin engine airplanes at low altitude 

places an inapplicable learning burden on its demanding and proven flight training 

curriculum. 

Cape Air believes a grant of exemption would provide an equivalent or better level of safety 

by meeting all of the current experience requirements for ATP certification with applicable 

learning outcomes scaled to the company’s equipment and operating environment. Cape Air 

also asserts that there would be negative learning from FFS and FTD ATP CTP training on a 

platform with no transferability to its operating environment. The petitioner believes that 

subjecting a pilot to the potential confusion of switching between different aircraft systems, 

aerodynamic concepts, limitations, and procedures for large turbine aircraft while they are 

actually training for a light reciprocating engine aircraft would undermine the intended 

benefits of the ATP CTP.

A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on March 13, 2014 

(79 FR 14327). Three comments were received.

The Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA), John Hazlet and Kent Lovelace

submitted comments supporting Cape Air’s petition and reiterating many points that Cape Air 

made in its petition for exemption. RACCA and John Hazelet specifically stated a grant of 

exemption would be in the public interest because if the petition was denied, Cape Air would 

be unable to employ pilots resulting in a reduction or cancellation of flights, many of which 

are the sole scheduled air service option and are supported by Essential Air Service contracts.

The FAA's analysis is as follows:

The FAA fully considered Cape Air’s petition for exemption, its supporting information, and 

the public comments. However, in reviewing all relevant information provided by the 

petitioner, the FAA finds that under its petition for exemption, Cape Air would not provide a 

level of safety at least equal to that provided by the rule from which Cape Air seeks an 

exemption. Granting this petition would result in the omission of the ATP CTP and, 

therefore, the knowledge a pilot should have prior to entering an air carrier environment will 

not be addressed. Cape Air’s petition for exemption essentially reflects the ATP requirements 
4

in place prior to the Pilot Certification final rule, where no flight or academic training is 

required to obtain the certificate. 

In section 217 of the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 

2010, Congress directed the FAA to modify requirements for the issuance of an airline 

transport pilot certificate. Congress wanted to ensure pilots functioned effectively in an air 

carrier/multipilot environment, in adverse weather conditions including icing conditions and

during high altitude operations while adhering to the highest professional standards. The Act

stated that the FAA could consider academic training, flight training, or operational 

experience as a means of ensuring pilots have the skills identified in the public law. 

The FAA implemented regulations to require the ATP CTP training at the ATP certification 

level to address the gap in knowledge between a commercial pilot certificate and the 

knowledge a pilot should have prior to entering an air carrier environment. The academic 

portion of the ATP CTP focuses on providing pilots with foundational knowledge on the areas 

identified in the Act as well as other topics identified by the First Officer Qualification 

Aviation Rulemaking Committee. The training in the flight simulation training device (FSTD)

portion of the course consolidates the academic concepts with scenario-based training, 

practical applications, demonstrations, and multiengine experience. The course will 

consolidate many broader topics and focus on its applicability to air carrier-like operations. 

Combining the academic training requirements with the FSTD experience is the most 

effective method to consolidate the learning and deliver the training and experience mandated 

by the Act.

The FAA disagrees with Cape Air’s position that the ATP CTP was meant to be applied to 

pilots immediately prior to or coincident with their employment as a pilot in a part 121 

operation. The ATP CTP istraining required at the ATP certification level, not an 

employment requirement. 

The FAA makes the distinction that the ATP CTP teaches high-level concepts and does not 

require students to learn specific aircraft systems, limitations, and procedures or perform 

maneuvers to proficiency. Also, Cape Air’s pilots would not be taking the ATP CTP 

concurrently with Cape Air’s initial pilot training program, since the two courses are required 

to be separate.1 Therefore, Cape Air’s assertions that pilots would be confused by learning 

concepts applicable to large transport category aircraft while they are actually training for a 

light reciprocating engine aircraft are unfounded. The FAA contemplated the differences in 

ATP CTP flight training versus air carrier flight training in the Pilot Certification final rule

preamble and stated, “The FAA reiterates that this framework of academic training and flight 

training is consistent with that of other pilot certificates...The training received in the ATP 

CTP will also be the last basic certification training a pilot receives. It will address topics not 

covered at the commercial pilot certificate level and establish a knowledge base that 

additional aircraft type-specific and air carrier-specific training can build upon when a pilot is 

trained to fly for an air carrier.”

 1 §§ 121.410(a) and 135.336(a).
5

In addition, the FAA disagrees with Cape Air’s assertion that the academic and flight training 

required by the ATP CTP is only applicable to pilots flying large transport category airplanes. 

There are numerous topics required by § 61.156 and are directly applicable to pilots involved 

in part 135 scheduled commuter operations such as meteorology, to include weather detection 

systems and adverse weather conditions, checklist philosophy, operational control, minimum 

equipment list/configuration deviation list, ground operations, navigation, leadership and

professional development, safety culture, low energy states/stalls, and upset recovery 

techniques. While the ATP CTP does include some topics a pilot of a reciprocating engine 

airplane employed at Cape Air may not use in his or her present position, the FAA believes, 

as stated in the final rule preamble, that pilots routinely receive basic certification flight 

training in one type of aircraft and then move on to fly many other types of aircraft without a 

negative transfer of learning. 

The FAA’s Decision:

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption would not be in the public 

interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113 

and 44701 delegated to me by the Administrator, the petition of Hyannis Air Service Inc. 

d.b.a. Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines for an exemption from 14 CFR §§ 119.21(a)(4) and 

135.243(a)(1) is hereby denied. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on July 29, 2014. .

/S/ John Barbagallo

Acting Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service