AFS-16-10001-E

Exemption No. 17159

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, DC 20591

 

In the matter of the petition of 

 

ROTORCRAFT LEASING 

COMPANY, LLC Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2016-5003

 

for an exemption from § 135.160(a)

of Title 14, Code of Federal 

Regulations 

GRANT OF EXEMPTION

By letter dated July 26, 2016, Mr. Dru Milke, Chief Executive Officer, Rotorcraft Leasing 

Company, LLC (RLC), 430 N. Eola Rd, Broussard, LA 70518, petitioned the Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of RLC for an exemption from § 135.160(a) of 

Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). This exemption, if granted, would allow 

RLC to continue to operate its fleet of 39 Bell 206B, 206L1, 206L3, 206L4, and 407 

rotorcraft for two years without the installation of operable FAA-approved radio altimeters.

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulation:

Section 135.160(a) prescribes that after April 24, 2017, no person may operate a rotorcraft 

unless that rotorcraft is equipped with an operable FAA-approved radio altimeter, or an FAAapproved device that incorporates a radio altimeter, unless otherwise authorized in the 

certificate holder's approved minimum equipment list.

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

RLC stated it operates exclusively in the offshore environment supporting exploration and 

production activities in the oil and gas industry. RLC stated that it transports on an average 

20,000 to 25,000 personnel for its customers each month. The petitioner added that the 

burden of complying with 14 CFR 135.160(a) will force them to suspend operations, thus 
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impacting its 300 employees and its customers. If RLC suspends operations or goes out of 

business, the petitioner stated that the impact on its customers could be “catastrophic” because 

most all part 135 operators supporting the oil and gas industry have drastically reduced 

workforce and aircraft. Because of these unique operations being directly tied to the oil and 

gas industry, RLC stated that its customers may not find replacement service providers which 

would interrupt oil and gas production by limiting production oversight and repairs. 

Additionally, the petitioner cited Moody’s Analytics data that states for every job lost in the 

oil and gas industry equates to 3.43 jobs lost in other sectors of the economy. Based on 

Moody’s data, RLC estimated that nearly 1,000 jobs could be lost due to RLC suspending 

operations or going out of business due to compliance costs associated with the radio 

altimeter equipage requirement by April 24, 2017.

RLC requested an exemption from 14 CFR 135.160(a) to give RLC time to acquire and install 

radio altimeters on its 38 rotorcraft by no later than April 24, 2019. RLC stated that an 

equivalent level of safety can be maintained during the two year period because of its use of a 

satellite tracking system for flight following and its enhanced operational control abilities to 

avoid inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) or controlled flight into terrain 

or water. RLC explained that its satellite tracking system supplements voice radio calls by 

providing aircraft position updates every 3 minutes. RLC added that the tracking system 

allows for alerting to flight control personnel if aircraft fall below a certain altitude or 

airspeed. RLC explained that its flight control department continuously monitors weather 

conditions to provide a range of controls from simple flight crew notifications to approving an 

individual flight.

The FAA’s analysis is as follows:

In October 2010 (75 FR 62639) the FAA published notice of proposed rulemaking which 

would require all commercial helicopter operators to equip with an operable FAA-approved 

radio altimeter. In February 2014 (79 FR 9931), the FAA adopted the final rule as proposed 

with compliance due on April 24, 2017, three years from the rule’s effective date. In the 

preamble to the final rule, the FAA determined that radio altimeters are an important safety 

device designed to inform the pilot of the aircraft's actual height above the Earth’s surface. 

FAA agreed with the NPRM commenters and also agrees with the one commenter to this 

petition that a radio altimeter may have minimal impact on daytime visual reference flight. 

However, this device gives pilots an additional tool to maintain situational awareness in an 

inadvertent encounter with IMC where vision is suddenly limited due to brownout or 

whiteout, or other situations where pilots lose their reference to the horizon and the ground. 

Additionally, as stated in the NPRM, a radio altimeter can aid a pilot's awareness of height 

above the ground during hover, when landing in unimproved landing zones, or where a more 

vertical approach is required. All of these scenarios can occur during the day.

Also in the final rule, the FAA agreed with NTSB safety recommendation A-02-35 which 

noted that radio altimeters might aid pilots in recognizing proximity to the ground in flat-light 

and whiteout conditions. Additionally, the FAA cited 29 accidents in the final regulatory 
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evaluation that may have been prevented by a radio altimeter. Of the 29 accidents, 19 were 

classified as controlled flight into terrain by the NTSB. A radio altimeter could have provided 

the pilot with a low altitude warning, enabling the pilot to take corrective action. When 

considering these accidents and in view of the public comments the FAA received on RLC’s 

petition, the FAA strongly urges RLC to promote awareness and understanding of the 

important safety benefits provided by using radio altimeters in its operations.

The FAA finds RLC’s equivalent level of safety proposal is in fact only a temporary, 

acceptable level of safety until radio altimeters are installed in its fleet of helicopters. The 

FAA finds that RLC’s proposed level of safety must include operating limitations to avoid 

entering inadvertent IMC or other situations in VFR flight where a pilot could lose reference 

to the horizon and the ground. Therefore, the FAA determines that RLC proposed a 

temporary, acceptable level of safety when combining its flight following capabilities with 

altitude and airspeed alerts to flight control personnel with its enhanced operational controls 

to avoid instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) controlled flight into terrain or water. .

The FAA reviewed all of the petitioners’ information and public comments and finds this is a 

unique operation because all of RLC’s business is directly tied to one sector of the U.S. 

economy. The FAA is aware of the business decisions RLC made in response to the 

economic downturn associated with the oil and gas industry by recently reducing its 

workforce in March, 2016, along with giving customers concessions in service charges and 

reducing capital expenditures to remain in business. The FAA determines that the public 

interest is best served by delaying RLC’s compliance date by no more than one year to April 

24, 2018 to allow continued operations supporting the oil and gas industry. This extra time 

will allow for RLC to acquire the equipment needed, get any required FAA data approval, and 

perform the equipment installations. As a condition to this exemption, RLC is required within 

90 days of receipt of this letter, RLC must provide to its Principal Avionics Inspector (PAI) a 

schedule for the completion of the installations for each affected helicopter. RLC must meet 

this equipment installation schedule by completing radio altimeter installations on at least 3 

helicopters for each month during the exemption period of 12 months. 

The FAA’s Decision:

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption would be in the public 

interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 40113 and 44701, 

delegated to me by the Administrator, Rotorcraft Leasing Company, LLC is granted an 

exemption from 14 CFR § 135.160(a) to the extent necessary to allow its 38 Bell 206B, 

206L1, 206L3, 206L4, and 407 rotorcraft to operate subject to the conditions and limitations 

listed below. The FAA notes that RLC requested an exemption for 39 aircraft. However 

upon further investigation, RLC has 38 Bell 206B, 206L1, 206L3, 206L4, and 407 aircraft 

listed on its OpSpec A003 – Aircraft/Airplane Authorization. Therefore, this exemption is 

applicable only to those 38 aircraft listed on RLC’s OpSpec A003.

Conditions and Limitations 
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1. This exemption only applies to the following Bell 206B, 206L1, 206L3, 206L4, and 

407 rotorcraft while registered to and operated by RLC:

Registration No. Serial No. Aircraft M/M/S

N915RL 3854 BHT-206-B3

N2611 45417 BHT-206-L1

N570RL 45517 BHT-206-L1

N351RL 51431 BHT-206-L3

N510RT 51078 BHT-206-L3

N157RL 52320 BHT-206-L4

N169RL 52063 BHT-206-L4

N171RL 52064 BHT-206-L4

N173RL 52066 BHT-206-L4

N174AL 52067 BHT-206-L4

N178RL 52117 BHT-206-L4

N179RL 52102 BHT-206-L4

N192RL 52192 BHT-206-L4

N207RL 52207 BHT-206-L4

N318RL 52318 BHT-206-L4

N322RL 52322 BHT-206-L4

N354RL 52354 BHT-206-L4

N389RL 52398 BHT-206-L4

N410RL 52310 BHT-206-L4

N414RL 52006 BHT-206-L4

N520RL 52052 BHT-206-L4

N523RL 52321 BHT-206-L4

N852RL 52081 BHT-206-L4

N1612 53044 BHT-407-407

N163RL 53163 BHT-407-407

N164RL 53140 BHT-407-407

N167RL 53167 BHT-407-407

N309RL 53092 BHT-407-407

N373RL 53373 BHT-407-407

N3914R 53914 BHT-407-407

N4916R 53916 BHT-407-407

N522RL 53231 BHT-407-407

N594RL 53594 BHT-407-407

N595RL 53595 BHT-407-407

N660RL 53248 BHT-407-407

N661RL 53284 BHT-407-407

Registration No. Serial No. Aircraft M/M/S
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N662RL 53203 BHT-407-407

N663RL 53479 BHT-407-407

2. A copy of this exemption must be retained in each helicopter’s rotorcraft flight manual 

until all helicopters identified in this exemption have an operable FAA-approved radio 

altimeter.3. Within 90 days of receipt of this letter, RLC must provide to its PAI a 

schedule for the completion of the installations of at least three helicopters per month 

during this 12-month exemption period.

3. RLC must provide a copy of this exemption and the modification schedule to its 

Certificate Management Office.

4. RLC must conduct only VFR operations with helicopters subject to this 

exemption.

5. RLC must provide its PAI a monthly status of the modification schedule provided 

in 3) above.

This exemption terminates on November 30, 2018, unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Issued in Washington, DC, on November 23, 2016.

/s/

John Barbagallo

Deputy, Director Flight Standards Service