AFS-14-401-E

Exemption No. 11052

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, DC 20591

 

In the matter of the petition of 

 

JET SOLUTIONS, L.L.C. Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2014-0542

 

for an exemption from § 135.152 

of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations 

 

GRANT OF EXEMPTION

By letter dated July 31, 2014, Mr. Christopher Page, Vice President, General Manager, and 

Director of Maintenance, Jet Solutions, LLC. (Jet Solutions), 3400 Waterview Parkway Suite 

102, Richardson, TX, 75080 petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for 

exemption from § 135.152, Appendix F, parameter No. 5 (Normal Acceleration, (Vertical)) of 

Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). This exemption, if granted, would allow 

seven of the petitioner’s Bombardier Challenger CL-600 2B16 aircraft to continue to operate 

without complying with the required flight recorder data sampling rates of § 135.152, 

Appendix F. While the petition requests relief from Appendix F requirements, relief is 

actually required from § 135.152, which requires compliance with Appendix F. The FAA has 

considered the petition as requesting relief from § 135.152 requirements. On September 4, 

2014, the petitioner filed additional information regarding why it would be in the public 

interest for the FAA to grant its requested exemption. 

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulations:

Section 135.152 prescribes, in pertinent part, that except as provided in paragraph (k) of that 

section, no person may operate under part 135 a multi-engine, turbine-engine powered 

airplane or rotorcraft having a passenger seating configuration, excluding any required 

crewmember seat, of 10 to 19 seats, that was either brought onto the U.S. register after, or was 

registered outside the United States and added to the operator's U.S. operations specifications 

after, October 11, 1991, unless it is equipped with one or more approved flight recorders that 
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use a digital method of recording and storing data and a method of readily retrieving that data 

from the storage medium.

All of the airplanes identified subject of this exemption were manufactured after August 18, 

2000, making the airplanes subject specifically to §135.152(i)(1), or after August 19, 2002, 

making those airplanes subject to §135.152(j).

Section 135.152(i)(1) prescribes, in pertinent part, that, for all turbine-engine powered 

airplanes with a seating configuration, excluding any required crewmember seat, of 10 to 30 

passenger seats, manufactured after August 18, 2000, the parameters listed in paragraphs 

(h)(1) through (h)(57) of the section must be recorded within the ranges, accuracies, 

resolutions, and recording intervals specified in Appendix F to part 135.

Section 135.152(j) prescribes, in pertinent part, that for all turbine-engine powered airplanes 

with a seating configuration, excluding any required crewmember seat, of 10 to 30 passenger 

seats, manufactured after August 19, 2002 the parameters listed in paragraph (a)(1) through 

(a)(88) of the section must be recorded within the ranges, accuracies, resolutions, and 

recording intervals specified in Appendix F to part 135.

Appendix F to part 135 prescribes that the recorded values must meet the designated range, 

resolution and accuracy requirements provided in the Appendix during static and dynamic 

conditions. Dynamic condition means the parameter is experiencing change at the maximum 

rate attainable, including the maximum rate of reversal. All data recorded must be correlated 

in time to within one second. Parameter 5, Normal Acceleration (Vertical) requires a 

sampling interval of 0.0125, or 8 times per second.

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner states that the manufacturer of the subject airplanes, Bombardier Aerospace 

(Bombardier), notified Jet Solutions of an internal review of the Digital Flight Data Recorder 

(DFDR) system installed on its aircraft that revealed a noncompliance with a single sampling 

rate. Specifically, Bombardier found that although the normal acceleration sampling rate is 

recorded by the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) at the required rate of 0.125 seconds 

(8 times per second), the source data are only provided at a rate of 0.2 seconds per sampling

interval (5 times per second). The petitioner states the data can be “effectively” correlated to 

match the sampling requirement without compromising the information recorded and that it is 

the only parameter found to be affected. Jet Solutions states that since correlation without 

substantive degradation in the information is possible, a grant of exemption until the 

equipment can be modified or replaced will not affect the safe operation of the aircraft or 

hinder potential investigations requiring the DFDR data.

Jet Solutions states that Bombardier has committed to developing an in-service solution 

involving redesign of the Data Concentrator Unit by September, 2015. The petitioner was 

also told by Bombardier that a fleet retrofit would occur “within two years of the grant of the 
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exemption”ibut the petitioner does not request a specific period of exemption. Jet Solutions 

also indicates that many of its affected aircraft operate outside the United States for extended 

periods, and requests the exemption apply to its operations outside the United States.

The petitioner states that “safety would not be jeopardized” by a grant of this exemption, since 

the DFDR is used solely as a recording device in accidents and incidents and the affected 

parameter will continue to provide useful data.

In its additional information, the petitioner states that the DFDR problems described in its 

petition were found by Bombardier, and are a systems design problem that operators of the 

aircraft have no effective means to address other than to wait for a resolution from the aircraft 

and equipment manufacturers. The petitioner further states that granting this exemption 

would be in the public interest because it would allow Part 135 operators to continue to 

provide the unique services that support its U.S. public and business customers while the 

manufacturers develop and certify the fix, and the affected CL604 operators may incorporate 

the modifications necessary to bring these aircraft into compliance.

The petitioner requested that the requirements for Federal Register publication of a summary 

of its petition be waived because of “immediate and future impact” on its operations. The 

petitioner also requests a “waiver of the 120 day filing requirement.” 

The FAA's analysis is as follows:

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for waiving the requirement for Federal 

Register publication because the exemption, if granted, would not set a precedent, and delay 

in acting on this petition could be detrimental to Jet Solutions.

The FAA recognizes that operators of affected Bombardier aircraft, including Jet Solutions, 

would have some difficulty in discovering the noncompliant condition on their own, as the 

Normal Acceleration (Vertical) parameter records at the correct rate. The FAA is also aware 

that the aircraft and equipment manufacturers have yet to provide modified equipment or 

other means for the operators to comply.

The FAA finds that good cause exists to allow time for the airplane manufacturer to complete 

development of a modification to retrofit the subject aircraft with a redesigned data 

concentrator unit (DCU) capable of providing the normal acceleration parameter information 

to the DFDR system to meet Appendix F requirements, and for the operators to modify their

aircraft accordingly. The FAA does not agree with any assertion that flight recorder systems 

are not safety equipment simply because they do not affect the operation of a given flight. 

Flight recorder data are often the only evidence of airplane problems available to investigators 

following aircraft accidents and incidents. However, because the subject airplanes will still be 

recording flight data and the limitations are known, the FAA agrees that a limited time to 

complete the upgrades is appropriate.
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The FAA finds that since the problem identified in this petition is a system design issue over 

which CL604 operators have no control or ability to fix, and that since the deficiency would 

be known to accident investigators and can be compensated for in any necessary analysis, it is 

in the public interest to allow continued operation of a limited number of airplanes until the 

modifications can be incorporated.

This grant of exemption is subject to the conditions and limitations below, and applies only to 

the aircraft listed therein. The incorporation of the redesigned DCU and any related DFDR 

system modifications necessary to ensure compliance with the flight recorder data sampling 

rate regulations of 14 CFR Part 135 must be completed as soon as possible, and no later than 

24 months from the date of this exemption.

The FAA has analyzed the petitioner’s request to operate outside the United States using this 

exemption to examine any effect on U.S. obligations under international agreements. The 

FAA finds that even with the exemption, the DFDR system installation on the subject 

airplanes meets or exceeds the recorder requirements of both Annex 6 of the International 

Civil Aviation Organization and the regulations of the European Aviation Safety Agency. 

Accordingly, the petitioner is permitted to operate the listed airplanes outside of the United 

States in under the conditions and limitations listed in this exemption. 

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. §§ 106(f), 40113 and 44701 

delegated to me by the Administrator, Jet Solutions is granted exemption from 14 CFR § 

135.152 to the extent necessary to allow the listed aircraft to operate, without complying with 

the Normal Acceleration (Vertical) data recording rate requirement listed in Appendix F to 

part 135, subject to the conditions and limitations listed herein.

Conditions and Limitations

1. This exemption applies only to the following Jet Solutions aircraft operated in 14 CFR 

part 135 service: 

N327FX

N332FX

N334FX

N335FX

N336FX

N337FX

N338FX
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2. This exemption allows for the continued operation of the affected aircraft with a DFDR 

that receives data from the source sensor for the Normal Acceleration (Vertical) parameter 

at a rate of 0.2 rather than the required 0.125. No other relief from any other parameter or 

other flight data recorder provision of Part 135 is granted by this exemption.

3. Jet Solutions must establish a firm schedule for accomplishment of the modifications and

submit the schedule to its oversight office. The schedule must include the following 

milestones

a. Bombardier service bulletin issued no later than September 30, 2015;

b. Jet Solutions’ plan for incorporation of the service bulletin on the subject 

aircraft, to be submitted to its Principal Avionics Inspector or other cognizant 

oversight office no later than November 1, 2015. The plan must include 

modification dates within the term of this exemption for each aircraft listed in 

condition 1 above;

c. Starting December 1, 2015, Jet Solutions must provide monthly status reports 

to its oversight office outlining the completion of the aircraft modifications 

necessary to bring its aircraft into compliance with the requirements of Section 

135.152.

4. Noncompliance with the terms of these conditions and limitations terminates this 

exemption without further action by the FAA. 

5. Use of this exemption is limited to Jet Solutions, L.L.C. while the subject aircraft remain 

on its Part 135 operations specifications. This exemption may not be transferred to any 

subsequent operator of an affected airplane. Subsequent operators of any of the affected

airplanes must apply for and be granted an exemption in writing before such airplane may 

be operated. 

6. A copy of this exemption must be retained with the operator's DFDR correlation 

documentation as specified in the applicable provisions of 14 CFR Section 135.152 until 

each airplane identified in this exemption has been modified.

7. In the event of an accident or incident after which the DFDR data must be sent to the FAA 

or the National Transportation Safety Board, the operator must provide a copy of this 

exemption with the DFDR data.

8. This exemption may be used for operations outside the United States.

This exemption terminates on the sooner of the completion of the modification correcting the 

deficiency described herein, or on September 30, 2016, unless sooner superseded, rescinded or 

terminated by action of Jet Solutions, L.L.C. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2014 .

/s/

John S. Duncan

Director, Flight Standards Service

__________________________________________________________________________

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 The FAA notes that this characterization presumes that the request will be granted, and implies that efforts 

toward resolution will not begin until the exemption is granted. 
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