AFS

- 16

- 1 0 001

- 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

- 201 6

- 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 Federa l Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of RLC for an exemption from § 1 35

. 160 ( a ) of

T itle 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). This exemption, if granted, would allow
RLC t o continue to operate its fleet of 39 B ell 206B, 206L1, 206L3, 206L4, and 407
rotorcraft for two years without the installation of operable FAA

- approved radio altimeter s

.

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulation:

Section 135. 160 ( a ) prescribes that a fter April 24, 2017, no person may operate a rotorcraft unless that rotorcraft is equipped with an operable FAA

- approved radio altimeter, or an FAA

approved 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 wit h 14 CFR 135.160 (a) will force them to suspend operations, thus2

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, t he 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 se ctors 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 bec ause 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 al titude 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 Oc tober 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 propo sed with compliance due on April 24, 2017, three years from the rule’s effective date

. In the preamble to the final rule, t he 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 agree s with the one commenter to this petition that a radio altimeter may have minimal impact on daytime visual reference flight

. H owever , 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 FA A 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 cite d 29 accidents in the final regulatory3

evaluation th at 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 act ion. 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 opera tions.

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 operat ing 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 , t he FAA determines that RLC proposed a temporary, acceptable level of safety when combin ing 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 downtur n 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 i s best served by delaying RLC’s compliance date by no more than one year to April 24, 201 8 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 app roval

, and perform the equipment installation s

. As a condition to this exemption, RLC is required w ithin 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 e ach 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 g ranted an exemption from 14 CFR § 1 35

. 160(a ) to the extent necessary to allow its 3 8 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 OpSp ec A003.

Conditions and Limitations4

1. This exemption only applies to the following Bell 206B, 206L1, 206L3, 206L4, and
407 rotorcraft while registered to and operated by RLC:

Registratio n No

. Seria l No

. Aircraf t 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 Registratio n N o. Seria l No

. Ai rcraf t M/M/S5

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.

I ssued in Washington, DC, on November 23, 2016.

/s/ John Barbagallo Deputy, Director Flight Standards Service