AFS

- 12

- 269

- E Exemption No. 10427A

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of

NEW ENGLAND HELICOPTER Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2011

- 1234

ACADEMY

for an exemption from § 141.5(d)(e) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations

DENIAL OF PETITION FOR RECONSIDERATION

By letter dated March 9, 2012, Mr. Richard D. Smith Jr., President of New England Helicopter Academy (NEHA), 246 South Meadow Road, Plymouth, MA 02360

, petitioned

the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of NEHA for reconsideration of the FAA’s January 6, 2012 denial of NEHA’s petition for exemption from § § 141.5(d) and (e) of

Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed exemption would also req uire relief from § 141.27(b)( 3). I f granted, that exemption would allow NEHA to renew its Provisional Pilot School Certificate without meeting any of the quality of training requirements of § 141.5(d), the training activity requirements of § 141.5(e), or the waiting period requirement s of § 141.27(b)(3).

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulations:

Section 141.5(d) prescribes, in pertinent part, that the applicant for a pilot school

certificate must have established a pass rate of 80% or higher on the first attempt for all knowledge tests leading to a certificate or rating, practical tests leading to a certificate or rating, or end of course tests for an approved training course specified in appendix K of this part. 1

1 An applicant who fails to meet the requirement in § 141.5(d) may be issued a provisional pilot school

certificate. 14 C FR § 141.7.2

Section 141.5(e) prescribes

, in pertinent part

, that the applicant for a pilot school

certificate must ha ve graduated at least 10 different people from the school’s approved training courses.

Section 141.27(b)(3) prescribes, in pertinent part, that a former provisional pilot school may apply for another provisional pilot school certificate, provided 180 days ha ve elapsed since its last provisional pilot school certificate expired.

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner restated the original reasons from their initial petition and failed to provide additional supporting documentation. T he petitioner stated their request differed materially from a previous denial of Diamond Flight Center (Exemption No. 5875) by the fact that NEHA is the only Veterans Administration (VA) approved helicopter company in Massachusetts . In addition, the petitioner further stated that the

service men and women in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire areas would suffer greatly from the loss of NEHA’s p rovisional pilot school

certification.

The petitioner requested to be given the same consideration as the pilot school

referenced in Jim Bilbrey dba Adventure Flights (Exemption No. 101 55). Also, the petitioner stated that a grant of exemption is in the public interest because of the increased FAA supervision of certificated pilot schools. In addition, he referred to

letters submitted on his behalf from his U.S. S enator and R epresentative a s well as an airport manager.

The FAA has determined that go od cause exists for waiving the requirement for Federal Register publication because the petition for reconsideration, if granted, would not set a precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to NEHA

The FAA's analysis is as fo llows:

The FAA has reviewed its rationale in Denial of Exemption No. 10427 issued to NEHA on January 6, 2012. In that denial, the FAA found that NEHA had not provided any information to show it was unique from the general class of regulated entities that m ust comply with the requirements for graduating students under part 141. We found a grant of exemption would defeat the purpose of the student graduation requirements § 141.5, which are intended to maintain a level of quality instruction and activity that justifies

FAA resources.

Although t he FAA f ound that Adventure Flights ’ petition (Exemption No. 10155) substantially differed from NEHA’s petition

, NEHA requested to be given the same

consideration

. The FAA granted an exemption to Adventure Flights based, in part, on the generally low enrollment numbers for balloon training courses, the operating history3

of the petitioner’s certificated pilot school, and the continuing need for a certificated

balloon school.

A fter reviewing exemptions of this type, the FA A has found that schools offering courses leading to certification with a balloon rating traditionally have lower enrollment numbers when compared to schools offering courses for powered aircraft. Additionally, schools that offer balloon certification are not as prevalent as those that offer training in powered aircraft.

In reconsidering your petition for exemption, t he FAA has found that training in the

rotorcraft and helicopter category and class of aircraft can be obtained from other

facilities in the same geographic area. T here are other approved part 141 pilot schools in the nearby geographic area that are approved to offer helicopter instruction, that have approval or are seeking approval from the VA . The FAA has also considered the fact

that at the time of petition, NEH A had neither enrolled nor graduated any students under their approved part 141 courses.

The FAA’s Decision:

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

and 44701, the petition for reconsideration of New England Helicopter Academy for an exemption from 14 CFR § 145.5(d)(e) and § 141.27(b)(3) is hereby denied.

Issued in Washington, D.C., on May 10, 2013

.

/s/

Michael P. Huerta

Administrator