AFS

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- E Exemption No. 10948

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of

MR. ARIEL WEISS Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2003

- 14850

for an exemption from §§ 61.89(a)(5)

and 61.111(b) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations

DENIAL OF EXEMPTION

By correspondence posted to the Federal Docket on September 24 , 2013, Mr. Ariel

Weiss

, P.O. Box 317, Bisbee, AZ 85603 petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for an extension to E xemption No. 8686, as amended

. That exemption, from §§ 61.89(a)(5) and 61.111(b) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) allow s Mr. Weiss’ s s tudent pilots to conduct solo flights between certain Caribbean islands while fulfilling the cross

- country requirements for a n FAA private pilot certificate.

T he petitioner request s relief from the following regulation s :
Section 61.89(a)(5) prescribes, in pertin ent part, that a student pilot may not act as pilot

in command on an international flight, except that a student pilot may make solo training flights from Haines, Gustavus, or Juneau, Alaska, to White Horse, Yukon, Canada, and return, over the province of British Columbia.

Section 61. 111 prescribes, in pertinent part, that for c ross

- country flights for pilots based on small islands, that for an applicant who cannot accomplish required cross

country solo flight without flying over water for more than 10 nau tical miles from the

nearest shoreline

, need not comply with t he requirements of that section ; i f other airports that permit civil operations are available to which a flight may be made without flying over water for more than 10 nautical miles from the nea rest shoreline, the applicant must show completion of two round

- trip solo flights between those two airports that are farthest apart, including a landing at each airport on both flights.2

The petitioner support s the request with the following information:

The petitioner is an FAA

- certificated flight instructor conducting flight training in a United States ( U.S. )

- registered aircraft in the Caribbean

. In his original petition for exemption (March 18, 2003)

, the petitioner stated that he operates out of the P rincess Juliana Airport, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles in the Eastern Caribbean. He uses his own aircraft for flight training and provides flight training mostly to U

. S

. citizens in the region

.

For insurance reasons, the petitioner cannot have his students fly their required

cross

- country flights between the U.S. Virgin Islands and throughout Puerto Rico

, therefore cann ot offer complete p rivate p ilot c ertification courses

. In some cases, he

has to ferry the student and airplane to Puerto Rico, at e xpense to student and

instructor

.

The islands of Sint Maarten/ Saint

- Martin, Anguilla

, Saba

, St. Eustatius, and St. Kitts

and Nevis offer an alternative to Puerto Rico and are in class C airspace

. Students can complete their cross

- country training flying between these islands and be only 14 miles from shore at the furthest point

. The petitioner stated that a ll the airports in this region

are under air traffic control ( ATC ) requiring two

- way radio communication with position reporting and mandatory flight plans. Further, his students are familiarized with the g eneral d eclarations and other documents for immigration and customs of the neighboring countries

, as well as how to file the required domestic and international flight plans.

The petitioner assert ed that his aircraft (a Piper Aircraft ( PA )

- 28) is equipped with redundant communication and navigation radios, along with GPS equipment and flotation gear for all occupants in case of emergencies. T he flights are in controlled airspace, requiring two

- way radio communications at all times with a mandatory written flight plan at all times to ensure that flights are continuously monitored for safety of the flight

. T he additional distance needed to fly from the nearest shore is only

four nautical mile s more than the existing regulat ory limit

. The petitioner stated the

relief is in the public interest because of the costs to him and his students for ferrying

the aircraft to Puerto Rico

.

Mr. Weiss added that he struggles with obtaining insurance for his acti vities because of the location of where his aircraft is based, and he stated in his petition that he has an

unblemished insurance record.

The FAA granted Mr. Weiss’ s petition in 2003 and has granted three extensions, the third having a January 31, 2014 ex piration date

. In his September 24, 2013 petition to extend his exemption, Mr. Weiss stated that all the information about the relief he

needs remains the same

. For the extended exemption, the petitioner asked that the FAA

correct an error in its listing the applicable countries under the exempted relief.3

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition

in the Federal Register because the requested extension of the exemption would not set a precedent, and any dela y in acting on this petition would be detrimental to the petitioner

.

The FAA’ s analysis is as follows:

In reviewing Mr. Weiss’ petition to extend Exemption No. 8686, the FAA conducted a

routine assessment for compliance with the requirements for granting exemptions for operations outside the United States

. We found that 14 CFR § 11.83 requires compliance with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

. ICAO Annex 1, Chapter 2, paragraph 2.2.2.1 states "A student pilot shall n ot fly solo in an aircraft on an international flight unless by special or general arrangement between the Contracting States concerned." Unfortunately, the FAA does not hold special or general arrangements with the jurisdictions included in the relief

gr anted in Exemption No. 8686

.

We conclude that the previous exemptions were issued in error, and the FAA cannot

extend Exemption No. 8686

.

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. §§ 106(f), 40113 and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, the petition of Mr. A riel Weiss for an exemption from 14 CFR from §§ 61.89(a)(5) and 61.111(b) is hereby

denied.

Issue d in Washington, D.C., on February 28, 2014.

/s/

John Barbagallo Acting Deputy Director, Flight Standard Servic e