AFS-11-448-E January 6, 2012

Exemption No. 10426 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2011-0981

Mr. Michael C. Hurst

Chief Pilot
PHI, Inc.

P.O. Box 90808 Lafayette, LA 70509

Dear Mr. Hurst:

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 September 1, 2011, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of PHI, Inc. (PHI) for an exempti on from § 61.3(a)(1) and (c)(1) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). That exem ption, if granted, would allow PHI to issue company-provided facsimiles of pilot and medical certificates to its pilot crewmembers when those certificates are lost, destroyed, or misplaced.

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. 5560, as amended (copy enclosed), the FAA found that although the FAA issues telegraphic replacement certificates on a 24-hour emergency basis, some operators are not equipped to receive such certificates in a timely manner at various locations during non-business hours. The FAA finds that the2

inability of an operator to receive telegraphic replacement certificates in a short time could result in substantial flight delays or even flight cancellations.

The FAA notes that in Amendment 61-102, Pilot, Flight Instructor, Ground Instructor, and Pilot School Certification Rules; Final Rule; Request for Comments (62 FR 16220, April 4, 1997), effective August 4, 1997, § 61.29 was revised to permit airmen who have lost an airman or medical certificate to obtain confirmation by facsimile rather than by telegram

that the certificate was issued.

The FAA found that permitting the air carrier to issue written confirmation of an FAA-issued flight crewmember certificate could preclude de lays 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, granting the exemption with certain conditions and limitations would provide a level of safety equivalent to that provided by the aff ected 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. 5560;

 the reasons stated by the FAA for granting the enclosed Grant of Exemption No. 5560 also apply to the situation you present; and

 a grant of exemption is in the public interest.

Our Decision

Under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. 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 company-provided 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. A copy of this exemption must be carried onboard the aircraft whenever a PHI pilot flight crewmember operates a flight under this exemption.

2. Before conducting operations under this exemption, PHI must develop, submit to, and have approved by its FAA principal operations inspector (POI) a plan outlining the procedures it expects to employ in issuing a temporary confirmation document to pilot flight crewmembers who do not have in their personal3

possession the airman or medical certificate required under the regulations for a particular flight.

3. PHI’s procedures, as specified in Condition No. 2, must include a method to ensure positive identification of the pilot flight crewmember when the pilot flight crewmember no longer has any identification.

4. Each pilot flight crewmember who operates a flight under this exemption must comply with § 61.29(c) and ensure a request for a facsimile from the FAA confirming the applicable certificate 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 p ilot flight crewmember. The pilot flight crewmember must provide a copy of the facsimile to PHI within 24 hours of the receipt of that facsimile.

5. PHI confirmation document must include the written words “Issued under the authority of Exemption No. [insert the number of this exemption].”

6. The privileges of this exemption may be exercised only when the affected pilot flight crewmember operates totally within the District of Columbia and the contiguous United States. The privileges of this exemption may not be exercised

in Alaska or Hawaii.

7. The privileges of this exemption may only be exercised for scheduled air carrier flights operated under part 135. The privileges of this exemption may not be exercised for operations under part 91, part 91 subpart K, or for unscheduled flights operated under part 135.

This exemption terminates on January 31, 2014, unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/s/ Raymond Towles Acting Director, Flight Standards

Service

Enclosure