April 25, 2012

**VI A**  **ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION**
U. S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System 400 7 th Street, SW , Room PL401 Wa shington, DC 20591

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Ladies and Gentlemen: In accordance with §11.61 of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (1 4 CFR), MN Airlines LLC petitions the Administrator for an exemption from §121.434(c)(1)(ii) to the extent necessary to substitute a qualified and authorized check airman in place of an FAA Inspector to observe a qualifyi ng pilot in command (PIC) while tha t PIC is performing prescribed duties during at least one flight that includes a takeoff and a landing when completing initial or upgrade training as specified in §121.434. The specific section 121.434(c)(1)(ii)

– OPERATING EXPERIENCE, OPERATING CYCLES, A ND CONSOLIDATION OF KNOW LEDGE AND SKILLS reads in pertinent part: “In addition, if a qualifying pilot in command is completing initial or upgrade training specified in FAR 121.424, be observed in the performance of prescribed duties by an FAA Inspector during at least one flight leg which includes a takeoff and a landing.” This petition requests relief from §121.434(c)(1)(ii) in those circumstances when an FAA Inspector is unavailable to observe a qualifying pilot in command during any operating experienc e flights.

- MN Airlines , LLC will nominate qualified check airmen to perform this initial operating experience observation. The FAA will approve the qualified check airmen to conduct the observation through a letter of authorization.

- The requirement of §121.434(c)(1)(ii) will be considered fulfilled if the FAA authorized check airman performs the observation. The observation requirement will be documented in the qualifyi ng pilot’s record.

- The authorized check airman would be a check airman other tha n the one who is conducting the operating experience flights of the qualifying pilot. The original intent of §121.434(c)(1)(ii), issued in 1970, was to validate the training that a pilot received in a visual simulator. Since the adoption of the rule, the airline industry has gathered mo re than 30 ye ars of experience with basic and advanced simulation. The FAA has the authority to observe any pilot any time at the discretion of the Administrator and continues to do so regularly. However, the FAA conducts t hese routine observations on a schedule defined by the local office without the requisite burden of specifying a particular flight or flight series necessitated by the carrier’s training and service schedule. Relieving FAA Inspectors from §121.434(c)(1)(ii ) will allow the FAA to focus the efforts on higher priority safety concerns.1300 Mendota Heights Rd, Mendota Heights, MN 55120

Operational issues related with this request for exemption are listed below:

- The majority of MN Airlines, operations are scheduled domestic and international in nature. Sch eduling of FAA personnel to observe a qualifying pilot in command on an international operation with short notice is difficult to impossible.

- N o locally qualified inspectors are currently capable of this observation in our Certificate Holding District O ffice of the Minneapolis FSDO this greatly impacts the ability to comple our training in a timely manner

. As a result of these issues , many of our PIC candidates will serve in OE status in excess of the hours required for the completion of the qualificati on segment while waiting for FAA participation. This impacts our crew scheduling ability and places unnecessary financial burden on the com pany. Granting of this exemption is in the public interest and would allow the FAA to focus its inspection force on higher priority safety issues. It would also provide for a higher level of PIC ca ndidate scrutiny by using MN Airlines ’ check airman who are more familiar with company operating policies and procedures while eliminating delays in OE completion. Additional benefits are realized in increased productivity and reducing unnecessary additional costs to the company. Granting and using this proposed exemption would have no significant impact upon safety. The authorized check airman will be highly trained, experien ced, and qualified in the specific aircraft type. In addition, any check airman used must be approved by the FAA. MN Airlines check airman will only be used to satisfy the requirements of §121.434(c)(1)(ii) when a qualified FAA Inspector is not available. The FAA has the authority to observe any pilot at any time during line operations. MN Airlines is aware that the FAA has granted several exemptions to individual operators for similar relief sought by this request. Therefore, since granting this exemption is not precedent setting, MN Airlines requests that publication of this petition in the Federal Register be waived in accordance with Section 11.87(b). Any delay in granting this exemption will have an adverse impact upon MN Airlines operations. **SUMM AR** **Y**
MN Airlines LLC Petition for an Exemption to FAR 121.434(c)(1)(ii)
MN Airlines LLC petitions the Administrator for an exemption from §121.434(c)(1)(ii) to the extent necessary to substitute a qualified and authorized check airman in place of an FAA Inspe ctor to observe a qualifying pilot in command (PIC) while that PIC is performing prescribed duties during at least one flight that includes a takeoff and a landing when completing initial or upgrade training as specified in §121.434. Should you have any q uestions or need additional information, please contact me at 651

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- 3983 or ma rk .vogelgesang @suncountry .com. Sincerely,
Mark Vogelgesang Dir, Pilot Training MN Airlines LLC dba Sun Country Airlines