AFS-15-587-E

April 29, 2015

 Exemption No. 11475

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2015-0348

Mr. Paul A. Perkins, Jr.

Chief Pilot

PHI, Inc.

P.O. Box 90808

Lafayette, LA 70509

Dear Mr. Perkins:

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

By letter dated January 19, 2015, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

on behalf of PHI, Inc. (PHI) for an extension of Exemption No. 10426, as amended. That 

exemption from §§ 61.3(a)(1) and (c)(1) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 

allowed PHI to issue company-provided facsimiles of pilot and medical certificates to its pilot 

crewmembers when those certificates are lost, destroyed, or misplaced. PHI requests that the 

relief be available for domestic flights and flights outside the contiguous United States.

The FAA notes that Exemption No. 10426, as amended, expired on February 28, 2015. 

Therefore, we will treat your request as a new petition.

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 PHI.

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. 10426 (copy enclosed), the FAA 

found that permitting the air carrier to issue written confirmation of an FAA-issued flight 

crewmember certificate could preclude delays and cancellations and, therefore, would be in 

the public interest. The FAA also found that although there may be minor differences between 

the content of the records maintained by the FAA and those maintained by the carrier, 
2

granting the exemption with certain conditions and limitations would provide a level of safety 

equivalent to that provided by the affected regulations. Finally, the FAA stated that under 

section 1, chapter 1, annex 1, to the International Civil Aviation Organization International 

Standards and Recommended Practices, a license must be issued or rendered valid by a 

contracting State, and therefore, operations under the exemption would be limited to flights 

conducted within the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia.

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.10426, as amended;

• the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 10426, as 

amended also apply to the situation you present; and 

• a grant of exemption is in the public interest.

Our Decision

The petitioner requests relief for operations outside the United States. The FAA has 

determined that under Chapter 5, Article 29 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation 

every aircraft of a contracting State engaged in international navigation shall carry the 

appropriate licenses for each member of the crew. Therefore, operations under this exemption 

are limited to flights conducted solely within the United States and its territories.

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 PHI, Inc., an exemption from 

14 CFR §§ 61.3(a)(1) and (c)(1) to the extent necessary to allow PHI to issue companyprovided facsimiles of pilot and medical certificates to its pilot crewmembers when those 

certificates are lost, destroyed, or misplaced, subject to the conditions and limitations

described below.

Conditions and Limitations 

1. The privileges of this exemption are intended for situations where pilots have no 

access to airman services at the faa.gov website to receive via fax or internet 

download FAA-issued documents that contain temporary authority to exercise 

certificate privileges.

2. This exemption allows PHI to develop and issue to a pilot flight crewmember a 

document confirming his/her FAA-issued pilot and medical certification. The 

document issued by PHI must be in the pilot flight crewmember’s physical 

possession when exercising the privileges of the exemption and must contain the 

following information: 

a. The pilot flight crewmember’s certification information from his/her pilot 

and medical certificates. 

b. The exact text or a photocopy of this exemption. 
3

c. The PHI confirmation document must include the following statements: 

i. “Issued under the authority of Exemption No. 11475;” 

ii. “Expires [insert date/time 72 hours after issuance];” 

iii. “The privileges of this exemption may be exercised only for flights 

within the District of Columbia and the 48 contiguous United 

States, or is an intrastate operation that does not involve flight 

through international airspace;” and 

iv. “The privileges of this exemption may only be exercised for 

scheduled or unscheduled air carrier flights. The privileges of this 

exemption may not be exercised for operations under part 91, or 

part 91 subpart K”. 

3. Before conducting operations under this exemption, PHI must receive approval 

from its FAA principal operations inspector (POI) for the procedures PHI intends 

to employ in issuing a confirmation document to pilot flight crewmembers that do 

not have in their personal possession the required pilot and medical certificates and

photo identification. These procedures must include a method to ensure positive 

identification of the pilot flight crewmember when the pilot no longer has photo 

identification. 

4. Each pilot flight crewmember who operates a flight under this exemption must:

a. As soon as practicable, obtain from airman services at the faa.gov website a 

document containing temporary authority to exercise certificate privileges; 

b. If the pilot flight crewmember’s FAA pilot and medical certificate are 

permanently lost or destroyed, the pilot flight crewmember must comply 

with the requirements of § 61.29(c) and ensure that a request for a 

replacement certificate from the FAA is made within 72 hours of the 

initiation of any flight conducted under this exemption. PHI is authorized 

to make this application to the FAA on behalf of the pilot flight 

crewmember; and 

c. The pilot flight crewmember must provide a copy of an FAA–issued 

document that contains temporary authority to exercise certificate 

privileges to PHI within 24 hours of the receipt of that document. 
4

This exemption terminates on April 30, 2017, unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

//s//

John Barbagallo

Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service

Enclosure[s]
5