AFS-16-14147-E

November 8, 2016

 Exemption No.12632A

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2001-8870

Mr. John Benkert

Test Flight Manager

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Lincoln Laboratory – Flight Facility

244 Wood Street

Lexington, MA 02420

Dear Mr. Benkert:

This letter is to inform you that we have amended your Exemption No. 12632. It transmits 

our decision, explains its basis, and gives you the conditions and limitations of the exemption, 

including the date it ends.

The Basis for Our Decision

By letter posted to the Docket on September 16, 2016, you petitioned the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) on behalf of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for an 

extension and amendment to Exemption No. 12632. That exemption from § 91.319(c) of 

Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) allows MIT to operate the following aircraft 

certificated in the experimental category, over densely populated areas or in congested 

airways.

N105TB Gulfstream II

N404PA Boeing 707

N448TB Dassault Falcon 20

N20NY Dassault Falcon 20

N359AR DeHavilland Twin Otter DHC-6

N232MT Cessna 206 Stationair

In your letter petitioning to extend and amend Exemption No. 12632, you requested to amend 

the aircraft listed in the exemption. You requested to remove DeHavilland Twin Otter DHC-
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6, Registration Number N63AR, and replace that aircraft with another DeHavilland Twin 

Otter DHC-6, Registration Number N359AR. This extended and amended exemption reflects 

your request.

In your petition, you indicate that there has been no change in the conditions and reasons 

relative to public interest and safety that were the basis for granting the original exemption.

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

in the Federal Register because the requested amendment to the exemption would not set a 

precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to MIT.

Our Decision

The FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 12632 

remains valid with respect to this exemption and is in the public interest. Therefore, under the 

authority provided by 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113 and 44701, which the FAA Administrator 

has delegated to me, I grant Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) an exemption from 

14 CFR § 91.319(c) to operate over densely populated areas or in congested airways using the 

following aircraft certificated in the experimental category: Gulfstream II (N105TB), Boeing 

707 (N404PA), Dassault Falcon 20 (N448TB), Dassault Falcon 20 (N20NY), DeHavilland 

Twin Otter DHC-6 (N359AR), and Cessna 206 Stationair (N232MT), subject to the 

conditions and limitations below.

Conditions and Limitations

1. Operations under this exemption are limited to contracts with agencies of the United 

States Federal Government, such as the Department of Defense.

2. Before all initial operations conducted under each new contract or amendment to an 

existing contract described in Condition and Limitation No. 1, the following 

information must be submitted to the FAA Eastern Region Flight Standards Division 

(AEA-200) –

a. Scope of the operation, that is, a general description of the purpose, duration, 

geographic location, type of aircraft, modification to those aircraft, altitudes, 

and airspeeds anticipated, and why the operation is in the public interest; and

b. Name, address, and telephone number of the contracting agent of the Federal 

Government agency administering the contract.

3. Operations under this exemption are limited to aircraft initially certificated as standard

category.

4. All aircraft must be listed with an approval for use by the FAA Manufacturing 

Inspection Office (ANE-180), New England Region headquarters, 12 New England 
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Executive Park, Burlington, Massachusetts 01803, and the Boston Flight Standards 

District Office (FSDO), One Cranberry Hill, Suite 402, Lexington, Massachusetts 

02421-7394, before the initial flight under this exemption or each time an aircraft is 

added to or deleted from the list. MIT shall mail a copy of this exemption to both 

ANE-180 and the Boston FSDO.

5. Before the operation under this exemption, all proposed modifications to any of the 

aircraft covered by this exemption must be submitted to both ANE-180 and the Boston 

FSDO for FAA approval.

6. MIT must obtain revised operating limitations issued in each airworthiness certificate 

for aircraft listed in this exemption, as amended, to continue conducting operations 

under the exemption.

7. Only personnel and equipment essential to the flight may be on board during 

operations under this exemption.

8. No aircraft may be operated under this exemption until it has been flight tested outside 

congested airways and not over densely populated areas and has shown that –

a. The aircraft is controllable throughout its normal range of speeds and 

throughout all the maneuvers to be executed;

b. The aircraft has no hazardous operating characteristics or design features; and

c. All flight crew personnel have been thoroughly briefed concerning the aircraft 

modification, flight test in detail, and any changes to the aircraft’s flight 

characteristics. 

9. Changes outside the aircraft’s performance envelope specified by the FAA-approved 

flight manual must be placarded.

10. Notwithstanding the experimental nature of the internal and external electronic 

modifications made for the specific purpose of research and development, no aircraft 

may be operated under this exemption unless it is maintained in accordance with the 

appropriate requirements in 14 CFR for standard category aircraft.

11. Pilots must hold at least a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating and, if 

required, the appropriate type rating.

12. To act as pilot in command (PIC) of an aircraft under this exemption, pilots must have 

at least 50 hours in the type of aircraft (if a type rating is required) and at least 10 

hours in the make and model of aircraft.
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13. Aircraft that would require two pilots if certificated in standard category must have a 

PIC and second in command who are current and qualified in accordance with part 61. 

14. Aircraft operated under this exemption must maintain an en route altitude of no lower 

than 7,000 feet above ground level over densely populated areas. Additionally, where 

possible, aircraft operating under visual meteorological conditions must avoid flights 

over congested areas.

15. MIT must request approval from the appropriate FAA air traffic control facility for all 

flights into a congested airway.

16. For all high speed operations that do not meet the provisions of § 91.117, MIT must 

receive approval from the FAA FSDO having jurisdiction over the area where the 

operation will be conducted.

17. For all low-level operations that fail to meet the provisions of §§ 91.119(b) or (c), 

MIT must receive a waiver from the FAA FSDO having jurisdiction over the area 

where the operation will be conducted.

The Effect of Our Decision

This exemption terminates on August 31, 2017, unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Sincerely,

/s/

John Barbagallo

Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service