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 require 

relief from § 141.27(b)(3). If 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 requirements 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 CFR § 141.7.
2

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

certificate must have 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 have 

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. The 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 provisional 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. 10155). 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. Senator and Representative as well as an 

airport manager.

 The FAA has determined that good 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 follows:

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 must 

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 the FAA found 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 history 
3

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

balloon school.

After reviewing exemptions of this type, the FAA 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, the 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. There 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, NEHA 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