AFS

- 14

- 265

- E Exemption No. 11904

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of

FEDERAL EXPRESS R egulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2014

- 0275

CORPORATION

for an exemption from § 121.463(c) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations

GRANT OF EXEMPTION

By letter dated April 22, 2014

, Mr. J. Mark Hansen

, Lead Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Federal Express Corporation (FedEx), 3620 Hacks Cross Road

, Building B

, 3 rd Floor, Memphis, TN 38125 petitioned the Federal Aviatio n Administration (FAA) on behalf of

FedEx for an exemption from § 121.463(c) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed exemption, if granted, would allow the aircraft dispatchers of FedEx

the abi lity to use a single L ine O riented F li ght T raining ( LOFT ) event, including pre

- LOFT and post

- LOFT briefing events

, to meet the annual dispatcher operati ng familiarization requirements of § 121.463 (c)

.

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulation:

Section 121.463(c) states,

N o certificate holder conducting domestic or flag operations may use any person, nor may any person serve as an aircraft dispatcher unless within the preceding 12 calendar months the aircraft dispatcher has satisfactorily completed operating familiarization consisting of at least 5 hours observing operations under this part, in one of the types of airplanes in each group to be dispatched. This observation shall be made from the flight deck or, for airplanes without an observer seat on the flight deck, from a f orward passenger seat with headset or speaker

. The requirement of paragraph (a) of this section may be reduced to a minimum of 2 1⁄2 hours by the substitution of one additional takeoff2

and landing for an hour of flight

. The requirement of this paragraph may be satisfied by observation of 5 hours of simulator training for each airplane group in one of the simulators approved under § 121.407 for the group

. However, if the requirement of paragraph (a) is met by the use of a simulator, no reduction in hours is permitted.

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner states that t he relief requested by FedEx is similar to a proposed amendment to

14 CFR part 121 published by the FAA in the “Qualification, Service and Use of Crewmembers and Aircraft Dispatchers ” Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) ( 76 FR 29429 , May 20, 2011 )

. The petitioner explains that , although the provision was not adopted in the final rule, the FAA proposed to allow a dispatcher to meet operating familiarization requirements by observation of simulated flight time during a LOFT session or

a dvanced q ualification p rogram ( AQP ) equivalent training in a f ull f light s imulator (FFS)

. The petitioner points out that the SNPRM proposed to allow the crediting of pre

- LOFT and
post

- LOFT briefing time toward the 5

- hour requirement

. FedEx requests this exemption to permit briefing time to count toward the overall time used to meet the 5

- hour requirement of § 121.463.

The petitioner highlights that t he relief requested is only for dispatchers observing LOFT as part of annual recurrent training

. The petitioner emphasize s that, w ith the exception of those few FedEx dispatchers with documented health issues, its dispatchers will not use LOFT

observati on to meet the annual dispatcher operating fa miliarization requirements of § 121.463(c) in two successive years.

The petitioner states that, u nder the FedEx AQP, LOFT is a 6.5 hour training event, composed

of a 2

- hour briefing before entering the simula tor

, a 4

- hour simulator training event , and a 30

- minute debrief after the simulator ride

. The petition e r describes LOFT as a simulator event

allow ing the flight crew to practice the technical and C rew R esource M anagement (CRM) skills appropriate to fulfill ing job requirements in a full mission scenario environment

. The petitioner expresses its belief that briefing time should count toward the 5

- hour requirement

because of the value of the material covered and because, otherwise, the dispatcher would

have t o observe two LOFT simulator events (totaling 8 hours) to meet the 5

- hour requirement

.

The petitioner states that allow ing aircraft dispatchers to use a single LOFT event, including

pre

- LOFT and post

- LOFT briefing events

, to meet the annual dispatcher op erati ng familiarization requirements of § 121.463 will have no adverse effect on public safety and will provide a higher quality of training

. The petitioner contends that § 121.463 represents a decrease in the quality of training relative to an AQP progra m because the current § 121.463 requires only that the dispatcher sit in a simulator for five hours with no mandatory list of

items that must be observed . The petitioner asserts that observing a complete LOFT evolution

will afford the dispatcher a well

- ro unded observation of all aspects of a successful flight operation

.3

The petitioner states that a grant of exemption is in the public interest because it would enhance the dispatcher’s quality of training

. The petitioner emphasizes that t he current rule

does not define what must be included when the dispatcher’s operating familiarization requirement is met through use of a simulator

. The petitioner asserts that observing a flightcrew on an AQP

- governed simulator ride will expose the dispat cher to “ a myri ad of normal, non

- normal, and emergency situations, some of which are rarely , if ever, seen on the

line

. ”

A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on June 13, 2014,

79 FR 33991 . No comments were received.

The FAA's analysis is a s follows:

The FAA has determined that allowing FedEx dispatchers to use observation of LOFT to meet the operati ng familiarization requirements of § 121.463(c) would not adversely affect safety

and would be in the public interest because it would enhance t he operating familiarization experience by exposing dispatcher s to a wider variety of operational scenarios and interactions they may encounter in ac t ual operations

.

U nder the FedEx AQP, a LOFT event is a 4

- hour simulator training session with a 2

- hour

b riefing before entering the simulator and a 30

- minute debrief after the simulator ride

. LOFT is a type of line operational simulation that should contain scen a rios of real

- world line operational situations which progress in real time without instructor in terruption or

instruction

. The FAA highlights that LOFT gives flight crew members the opportunity to practice line operations (e.g., maneuvers, operating skills, systems operations, and the operator's procedures) with a full flight crew in a realistic envir onment

. In LOFT, flight c rew members learn to handle a variety of real

- time scenarios that include routine, abnormal, and emergency situations. Additionally, flight crew members learn and practice CRM skills, including crew coordination, judgment, decision making , and communication skills.

In consideration of the information above, t he FAA agrees with the petitioner that observing LOFT will afford the dispatcher a well

- rounded observation of the aspects of flight operation s

. The FAA finds that observation of LOFT would expose FedEx dispatchers to events and

discussion that may otherwise not be observed on the flight deck of an aircraft used during

actual operations or during simulated training that can be used to satisfy the requirements of § 121.463(c)

. The FAA finds the situations and scenarios provided in LOFT allow the aircraft dispatcher to observe simulated, non

- routine events under conditions that are representative of actual line operations

. In addition, the aircraft dispatcher can observe the im portance of

interaction with and between the pilots during irregular operations that may not be observed through a standard 5

- hour familiarization observation

. Based on these benefits, the FAA finds that a grant of exemption would not adversely impact saf ety.4

Section 121.463(c) requires that each aircraft dispatche r complete recurrent operating familiarization every 12 calendar

- months in one type of aircraft from each aircraft group in which the aircraft dispatcher is qualified to dispatch. In addition , § 121.463(d) requires that each aircraft dispatcher be “...familiar with all essential operating procedures for that segment of the operation over which he exercises dispatch jurisdiction.” The FAA finds that recording

the details outlined in subparagraph s 4(a) through 4(i) of this exemption will provide a

mechanism for the FAA inspector as well as the operator to verify the dura tion of the LOFT

and associated briefings and to ensure the dispatcher achieves well

- rounded operating

fami liarization in reg ard to aircraft group and routes for which he or she exercises operational

control.

The FAA finds that observation of LOFT (including the pre

- LOFT briefing and post

- LOFT debrief) would expose aircraft dispatchers to events and discussion that may not be obs erved on the flight deck of an aircraft during normal operations or during other simulator training that can be used to satisfy the requirements of § 121.463(c). Accordingly, it is in the public interest to allow FedEx aircraft dispatchers to satisfy the requirements of § 121.463(c) through

LOFT.

The FAA’s Decision

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption is in the public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 1 06 (f), 40113

, and 44701,

del egated to me by the Administrator, FedEx is granted an exemption from

14 CFR § 121

. 463(c) to the extent necessary to allow FedEx to use a single LOFT event, including pre

- LOFT and post

- LOFT briefing events to meet the annual dispatcher operati ng familiariz ation requirements of § 121.463

, subject to the conditions and limitations listed

below.

Conditions and Limitations

1. The LOFT must be part of either a FedEx AQP approved in accordance with § 121.909 or must meet the requirements of § 121.409(b)(2)(ii ) and be part of a FedEx training program approved in accordance with § 121.401

.

2. The observed LOFT must take place in an FFS approved for use in a FedEx training program in accordance with § 121.407.

3. When LOFT is substituted for the recurrent operating famil iarization requirements,

it must t ake place in one of the aircraft types for each group to be dispatched by the aircraft dispatcher . T he aircraft dispatcher must observe all of the following:

a. T he entire pre

- LOFT brief ing

. The pre

- LOFT briefing must be o ne hour

minimum in duration.5

b. At least four hours of training time in the FFS that includes flight deck preparation, preflight activities, crew briefings, and interactions with flight dispatch and other ground agencies

.

c. The entire post

- LOFT briefing.

4. Fed Ex must record the information required by subparagraphs 4(a) through 4( i ) of this exemption for each aircraft dispatcher who completes operating familiarization in accordance with this exemption . This information must be complete and retained as part of the aircraft dispatcher ’ s training records as required by § 121.683

. The information must include at least the following :

a. A ircraft dispatcher ’ s full name b. A ircraft dispatcher ’ s certificate number

c. LOFT instructor ’ s name d. Date of LOFT

e. Pre

- LOFT briefing time start and end

f. LOFT time start and end

g. Type of a ircraft used in LOFT

h. Airports used in LOFT

i. Signature block for instructor

5. Observation of LOFT in lieu of observation from the observer seat on the flight deck or from a forward passenger seat during flight m ay only be used to satisfy the requirements of § 121.463(c) in accordance with this exemption once within the preceding 24 calendar months, unless otherwise authorized by the Air Transportation Division for physical or other limitations

.

This exemption t erminates on 31 July, 2017 , unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Issued in Washington, DC, on

.

/s/

John S. Duncan Director, Flight Standards Service