AFS-13-152-E 

February 14, 2013 

 Exemption No. 10426B 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2011-0981 

Mr. Michael C. Hurst 

Chief Pilot 

PHI, Inc. 

P.O. Box 90808 

Lafayette, LA 70509 

Dear Mr. Hurst: 

This letter is to inform you that we have amended and extended Exemption No. 10426, as 

amended. It explains the basis for our decision, describes its effect, and lists the revised 

conditions and limitations. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

On January 6, 2012, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued Exemption 

No. 10426, as amended, to PHI, Inc. (PHI) for relief from § 61.3(a)(1) and (c)(1) of Title 14, 

Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). That exemption allows PHI to issue companyprovided facsimiles of pilot and medical certificates to its pilot crewmembers when those 

certificates are lost, destroyed, or misplaced. 

The FAA has issued several grants of exemption with relief similar to that in Exemption 

No. 10426. In those exemptions (beginning with Exemption No. 8700, issued on March 23, 

2006) we decided that the public interest was served only when the relief was limited to 

scheduled air carrier operations. For that reason, in the conditions and limitations sections of 

those exemptions, we limited the relief to scheduled air carrier flights. 

The FAA has reconsidered the public interest position for this relief. We have concluded that 

the public interest is served, albeit to a lesser extent, for nonscheduled air carrier flights. We 

find it is no longer practical or appropriate to prohibit this relief for air carriers engaged in 
2 

nonscheduled operations. We have therefore amended the conditions and limitations section 

of this exemption to allow relief for scheduled and nonscheduled operations. The relief is still 

restricted for operations conducted under part 91 (including part 91, Subpart K). 

In this amendment, we have made minor format changes to the conditions and limitations and 

extended the relief for an additional two years. 

Our Decision 

Under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. 40113 and 44701, which the FAA Administrator 

has delegated to me, I hereby grant PHI, Inc. an exemption from 14 CFR § 61.3(a)(1) and 

(c)(1) to the extent necessary to allow PHI to issue company-provided facsimiles of pilot and 

medical certificates to its pilot crewmembers when those certificates are lost, destroyed, or 

misplaced, subject to the conditions and limitations described below. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. A copy of this exemption must be carried onboard the aircraft whenever a PHI 

pilot flight crewmember operates a flight under this exemption. 

2. Before conducting operations under this exemption, PHI must develop, submit to, 

and have approved by its FAA principal operations inspector (POI) a plan 

outlining the procedures it expects to employ in issuing a temporary confirmation 

document to pilot flight crewmembers who do not have in their personal 

possession the airman or medical certificate required under the regulations for a 

particular flight. 

3. PHI’s procedures, as specified in Condition No. 2, must include a method to 

ensure positive identification of the pilot flight crewmember when the pilot flight 

crewmember no longer has any identification. 

4. Each pilot flight crewmember who operates a flight under this exemption must 

comply with § 61.29(e) and ensure a request for a facsimile from the FAA 

confirming the applicable certificate is made within 72 hours of the initiation of 

any flight conducted under this exemption. PHI is authorized to make this 

application to the FAA on behalf of the pilot flight crewmember. The pilot flight 

crewmember must provide a copy of the facsimile to PHI within 24 hours of the 

receipt of that facsimile. 

5. The PHI confirmation document must include the written words “Issued under the 

authority of Exemption No. 10426.” 

6. The privileges of this exemption may be exercised only when the affected pilot 

flight crewmember operates totally within the District of Columbia and the 

contiguous United States. The privileges of this exemption may not be exercised in 

Alaska or Hawaii. 
3 

7. The privileges of this exemption may be exercised for scheduled or nonscheduled 

air carrier flights operated under part 135. The privileges of this exemption may 

not be exercised for operations under part 91 (including part 91 Subpart K). 

This exemption terminates on February 28, 2015, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

John M. Allen 

Director, Flight Standards Service 

Enclosure