AFS

- 15

- 3561

- E Exemption No. 14579

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of

ROBERT J. PONTI Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2015

- 3493

for an exemption from § 61

. 73(g) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations

DENIAL OF EXEMPTION

By letter dated June 27, 2015 , Mr. Robert J. Ponti ( Mr. Ponti ), 16843 Village Lane, Dallas

TX

, 75248 petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for an exemption from § 61

. 73(g) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulation s (14 CFR). The proposed exemption, if granted, would allow the petitioner to obtain a flight instructor certificate based on his U.S.

m ilitary documentation as a U.S. m ilitary co

- pilot instructor

.

The petitioner requests relief from the following regula tion:

Section 61

. 73(g) prescribes , in pertinent part, that a person who can show official U.S. military documentation of being a U.S. military instructor pilot or U.S. military pilot examiner, or a former instructor pilot or pilot examiner may apply for an d be issued a flight instructor certificate with the appropriate ratings

.

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner states d uring the 1960’s, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) was rapidly building a fleet of flight s imulators for training and checking programs to offset the deployment of many resources that were required for the operations in South East Asia. SAC was the only Major Command that launched a program to select certain high time copilots to

be trained to USAF instructor pilot standards and assigned to instructor duties, i.e. Instructor Copilots

. As required by USAF standards and as outlined in AF Manual 50

- 9, these selected copilots were trained and certified as pilot instructors, certified as First Pilot s in the KC

- 1352

flight simulators, and put on orders as pilot Instructors to perform the training and evaluations for fellow pilots.

The petitioner believes his instructor qualifications in both first pilot and copilot positions in

the KC

- 135 flight simul ator and aircraft meet the necessary requirements to obtain the flight instructor certificate under part 61.73(g) on the basis of his military pilot experience. The petitioner provided documents including USAF Form 8s showing check rides he performed;

USA F Form 5 showing instructor co

- pilot time logged; and, USAF Special Orders, M

- 37, designating co

- pilot instructor status after completion of training

.

Mr. Ponti states that his personal need for an exemption is based on his intent to train and

mentor in dividuals with various levels of pilot experience, and help them reach their goals as professional pilots.

The petitioner believes that granting his request would be in the public interest because the training would encourage providing the highest level o f safety and professionalism.

The petitioner contends that granting his request would not adversely affect safety because his goal would be to enhance flight safety philosophies that he learned in his 50 years of accident free flying. His background as a pilot and instructor provided him a path to American Airlines where he experienced a 33 year career of line flying and many years of check airman and FAA designee status on several aircraft types. After retirement he continued with

instructional duties f or Bo e ing, Flight Safety International, and the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, N ew Jersey, where he was involved with training development projects for the

FAA.

A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on October 1, 2015 in

80 FR 59223 . No comments were received.

The FAA’ s analysis is as follows:

Section 61.73 contains special pilot certification rules whereby military pilots or former military pilots may apply for pilot certificates or ratings on the basis of their milit ary flight training and pilot status rather than on a showing that they meet the specific certification requirements of p art 61.

Sectio n 61.73(g ) in part requires that a rated military pilot or former military pilot who can

show official U.S. military doc umentation o f being a U.S. military instructor pilot or U.S. military pilot examiner, or a former instructor pilot or pilot examiner may apply for and be issued a flight instructor certificate with the appropriate ratings

. T hat person can present

official U.S. Armed Forces records or orders that shows the person is or was qualified as a U.S. Armed Forces military instructor pilot or pilot examiner and completed a U.S. Armed Forces' instructor pilot or pilot examiner training course and received an aircraf t rating3

qualification as a military instructor pilot or pilot examiner that is appropriate to the flight instructor rating sought.

The FAA understands that each military command is responsible for the selection and assignment of qualified individuals fo r instr uctor pilot duties within the command

. The FAA has established general eligibility criteria or a pathway whereby military pilots may apply for pilot certifications based on military flight training and experience if he/she presents proper

documenta tion as listed in § 61.73(g)(3). None of the documentation submitted by the petitioner meets established criteria for granting a flight instructor certificate based on military competency under § 61.73(g)(3).

T he FAA does not recognize the “instructor co pilot rating” as a n FAA certificate nor has established any practical test standards for proficiency checks in an aircraft or flight simulator

. Additionally

, the petitioner has no documentation that shows he logged any instructor pilot hours in any milita ry aircraft.

The FAA does not agree that a grant of the petitioner's request would provide a level of safety equal to that provided by the rule. The special pilot certification rules whereby military pilots or former military pilots may apply for pilot certificates or ratings is based on their military flight training experience and aeronautical skill requirements for that rating.

The FAA does not agree with the petitioner that the public interest would be served by granting his request. While there may be merit to his argument, the FAA considers it to be of greater public interest to ensure that the level of sa fety provided by Section 61.73(g ) is

maintained

.

The FAA’s Decision:

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption wou ld not be in the public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113

and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, the petition of Mr. Robert J. Ponti for an exemption from 14 CFR § 61

. 73(g) is hereby denied.

Issued in Washington, D

. C

. , on January 19, 2016.

John S. Duncan Director Flight Standards Service

.