AFS-15-2993-E

August 12, 2015

 Exemption No. 11475A

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2015-0348

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 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has amended 

Exemption No. 11475. 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

The FAA issued Exemption No. 11475 on April 29, 2015 to PHI, Inc. (PHI). That exemption 

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

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

crewmembers when those certificates are lost, destroyed, or misplaced. 

In Exemption No. 11475, the FAA cited an earlier grant of exemption regarding operations 

outside the United States. The FAA asserted 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.

In drafting Exemption No. 11475, however, the FAA was not clear in its description of the 

prohibition against international operations. In this amendment, we are clarifying Condition 

and Limitation No. 2 to indicate that the privileges of this exemption may be exercised only 

for flights within the District of Columbia, the 48 contiguous United States, its territories, and 

the states of Alaska and Hawaii. This exemption is not valid for operations in airspace outside 

of the United States, or in an intrastate operation that involves flight through international 

airspace.

All other conditions and limitations issued with Exemption No. 11475 remain the same. 
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Our Decision

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. 

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, the 48 contiguous United States, 

its territories, and the states of Alaska and Hawaii. This exemption 

is not valid for operations in airspace outside of the United States, 

or in an intrastate operation that involves 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 
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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. 

The termination date for this exemption remains April 30, 2017, unless sooner superseded or 

rescinded.

Sincerely,

//s//

John Barbagallo

Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service