Exem ption No. 10370

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of

INTERNATIONAL AIR RESPONSE, INC. Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2011-0505

for an exemption from § 91.313(a)(1), (c), and (d) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations

DENIAL OF EXEMPTION

By letters dated May 9, 2011, and May 12, 2011, Mr. W illiam N. Grantham, Director of Business Development, International Air Response, Inc. (IAR), 3644 South Hangar Drive, P.O. Box 67, Coolidge, Arizona 85128-0067, petiti oned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of IAR for an exemption from § 91.313(a)(1), (c), and (d) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed exemption, if granted, would allow IAR to conduct parachute operations from a restricted category aircraft for compensation or hire while carrying personnel who are not essential for the conduct of the special purpose operation for which the aircraft is certificated.

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulations:

Section 91.313(a)(1) prescribes, in pertinent part, that no person may operate a restricted category civil aircraft for other than the special purpose for which it is

certificated.

Section 91.313(c) states: No person may operate a restricted category civil aircraft carrying persons or property for compensation or hire. For the purposes of this paragraph, a special purpose operation involving the carriage of persons or material necessary to accomplish that operation, such as crop dusting, seeding, spraying, and banner towing (including the carrying of required persons or material to the location of that operation), and operation for the purpose of providing flight crewmember training

AFS-11-305-E2

in a special purpose operation, are not considered to be the carriage of persons or property for compensation or hire.

Section 91.313(d) states: No person may be carried on a restricted category civil aircraft unless that person—

(1) Is a flight crewmember;

(2) Is a flight crewmember trainee;

(3) Performs an essential function in connection with a special purpose operation for which the aircraft is certificated; or

(4) Is necessary to accomplish the work activity directly associated with that special purpose.

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner requests to operate its Lockheed C-130A aircraft (Registration Nos. N121TG, N118TG, and N117TG) for the purpose of conducting parachuting operations on behalf of Warner Brothers Entertainment. The petitioner states that parachuting is not one of the special purposes for which the C-130A aircraft operated by the petitioner are currently certificated. Additionally, the petitioner notes that the parachute operations will be for compensation or hire.

The petitioner states that proposed aerial work will be conducted from altitudes below 10,000 feet mean sea level (MSL) in visual flight rules (VFR) conditions. Fourparachutists would make freefall descents supervised by an additional four parachutequalified personnel acting in a “jumpmaster” capacity onboard the aircraft.

The petitioner contends that granting its request would be in the public interest because it will allow Warner Brothers Entertainment to continue production of an upcoming motion picture while maintaining current levels of employment and generating commensurate taxable revenue. Additionally, the petitioner contends that the proposed operations will result in significant domestic job creation, as both companies intend to employ a substantial number of U.S. citizens for this purpose.

The petitioner states that granting this exemption would not adversely affect safety, as the C-130A airplane is specifically designed and purpose-built for parachute operations. Additionally, the petitioner notes that it currently conducts parachute operations using these aircraft under “public use” on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense. The petitioner states that its C-130 aircraft are subject to FAA surveillance under a part 137 operating certificate and that its flightcrews and parachute operations are subject to regular Department of Defense inspections. The petitioner states that3

parachute operations would be confined to uncongested airspace and that aircraft would be operated from airfields with little to no public transport operations.

The petitioner also notes that if its request is not granted, it will have to use an Antonov aircraft, operated by a Moldovan company, to conduct the proposed operations. The petitioner asserts that such action would expose the participants to a greater level of risk than if its C-130s were used to conduct the proposed operations.

The petitioner requested to exercise the privileges of the exemption outside the United States, specifically within the United Kingdom.

A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2011 (76 FR 29289). No comments were received.

The FAA’s analysis is as follows:

The FAA finds that the petitioner has not provided sufficient reasons to make a determination that the proposed activity would be in the public interest. The petitioner indicates that a grant of exemption would benefit Warner Brothers Entertainment, create jobs, and provide the public with entertainment. Although granting the petition would provide ancillary U.S. employment and taxable revenue, the FAA does not consider such activity to be sufficiently beneficial to the public as a whole to warrant a grant of exemption.

The petitioner states that safety will not be compromised since the Department of Defense has used these C-130 aircraft for parachute operations, and the C-130 was designed for parachute operations. These Department of Defense public aircraft operations are not subject to FAA regulatory oversight. The FAA, therefore, has not been able to evaluate these operations to determine if any safety issues might be present that would affect the use of these aircraft in a civil aircraft parachute operation. Additionally, while the C-130 may have been designed for Department of Defense military parachute operations, the aircraft was not certificated for civil parachute operations. The FAA also notes that there are numerous standard category aircraft that are available for parachute operations that can be used for parachute operations without an exemption, including later models of the C-130 and other

similar aircraft.

The FAA finds that IAR’s proposed operation of these restricted category aircraft for the purpose of conducting parachute operations does not meet the necessary level of public interest and that IAR has not provided evidence that the operation can be conducted with a level of safety equivalent to the regulations from which it seeks

relief.4

The FAA’s Decision:

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exem ption would not be in the public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 40113 and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, the petition of International Air Response, Inc., for an exemption from 14 CFR § 91.313(a)(1), (c), and (d) is hereby denied.

Issued in Washington, D.C., on September 28, 2011.

/s/

John W. McGraw Acting Director, Flight Standards

Service .