AFS

- 14

- 325

- E Exemption No. 11196

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of

US AVIATION GROUP, LLC d.b.a Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 201 4

- 0 387

U.S. AVIATION ACADEMY

for an exemption from § 61. 35 ( a )( 2 ) and § 61.156(b) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations

DENIAL OF EXEMPTION

By letter s dated June 1 0 , 201 4 and September 19, 2015 , M r

. Ra y Heyde

, Vice President, U.S. Aviation Academy

, 4850 Spar tan Drive, Denton, TX 76207, petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of US Aviation Group , LLC ( US Aviation ) for an exemption

from § § 61. 35 ( a )( 2 ) and 61.156(b) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed exemption , if granted, would enable Chinese national citizens enrolled in the petitioner’s approved part 141 pilot schoo l program to apply for the FAA a irline t ransport

p ilot (ATP) multiengine airplane knowledge test, without completing the flight simulation

traini ng device (FSTD) requirements prescribed in § 61.156(b).

T he petitioner request s relief from the following regulation s :

Section 61.35 (a) (2) states

, in pertinent part

, that, after July 31, 2014, a n applicant who seeks

to take the multiengine airplane ATP knowledge test must have a graduation certificate indicating completion of the ATP certification training program specified in § 61.156.

Section 61.156 (b) states

, in pertinent part

, that t he applicant for the knowledge test must

receive at least 10 hours of training in a FSTD that represents a multiengine turbine airplane. The training must include a t least 6 hours of training in a Level C or higher full flight

simulator in the areas of low energy states/stalls, upset recovery techniques, and a dverse

weath er conditions. The remaining training may be completed in a Level 4 or higher FSTD and must include training in n avigation and a utomation. The petitioner support s its request with the following information:2

US Aviation only seeks an exemption for its Chin ese national students enrolled in its FAA and China approved training courses

. US Aviation operates two main campuses as p art 141 pilot schools (certificates #U9FS750K and #W78S781I )

. B oth locations are also individually approved by the CAAC acting on beha lf of the Chinese government under the Chinese

p art 141 regulations (certificates #VR27R7 and #VR7R7). Operating on individual certificates, one campus is located in Denton, Texas and the second campus is located in Denison, Texas. The Denton campus also o perates a satellite operation with the Tarrant County Community College at the Ft. Worth Alliance Airport.

US Aviation states it has two courses which it believes cover the academic training both in

content and in time required by § 61.156(a) , and theref ore
, it does not need an exemption from these requirements . There is an ATP course and a Crew Resource Management (CRM)/Turb ine Transition course, which are approved part 141 courses in both the U nited

S tates and China

. All Chinese national students comple te both of these courses. The ATP

course is 40 hours of classroom instruction and the CRM/Turbine Transition course is

130 hours of classroom instruction

.

US Aviation estimates it processes approximately 250 Chinese students through its two
facilities ann ually. The Chinese national students are alread y employees of various Chinese

p art 121 air lines and are training in an “ab initio” type program in the U nited S tates. The training begins in a single engine aircraft and ends with 20 hours of flight training in a turbine aircraft such as the Beechcraft King Air. US Aviation’s Chinese p art 121 airline contracts require that each cadet receive an FAA

- issued co mmercial p ilot c ertificate in the airplane category with a m ultiengine class rating and an i nstrument ra ting . The contract also requires the cadet to pass the FAA ATP ( part 121) knowledge test prior to graduation and return ing to
China to continue training with their airline.

Prior to the Pilot Certification and Qualification Requirements for Air Carrier Op erations final rule ( 78 FR 42324 )

, flight training was not a p rer equisite requirement for any FAA knowledge

test. The petitioner states that w ith the publication of this final rule, after July 31, 2014

, “ all flight time and experience requirements ” for the ATP certificate must be met before taking the knowledge test.

US Aviation provided reference to two previous exemptions , only one of which it believes is similar because the grant , issued in 1966, allowed FAA approved courses to enable a pilot to

tak e a practical test prior to meeting the aeronautical experience requirements ( Docket 7182; Exemption No. 568)

. The other was a denial ( FAA

- 2011

- 0494 ) , which it does not believe applies to their situation. The FAA denied a request for two individuals who did n ot meet the minimum age requirements to take the private pilot knowledge test.

To further support the petitioner’s request, US Aviation believes that safety will not be adversely affected and an equivalent level of safety will exist

. T he exemption would n ot affect flight in any way since a knowledge test does not allow any flight in and of itself. The exemption request would establish formal authorization for US Aviation to conduct business3

in a manner that is widely accepted and currently used by both the industry and FAA for all other knowledge tests except the ATP certificate . Allowing the knowledge test to be taken before the flight experience requirements are met is the standard for all other knowledge tests administered by the FAA

. With only the knowl edge test completed, a pilot still c ould not

serve as a crewmember at the ATP level.

A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on September 13, 2013 ( 78 FR 56768)

. The FAA received n o comment s . H owever
, US Aviation did submit

additio nal supporting information on September 19 , 2014

. US Aviation indicated that it will receive a new Level C simulator in the second quarter of 2015. The device will have dual certification as a Beechcraft King Air 350 and Beechcraft King Air C90A. The addit ion of the

Level C full f light s imulator will allow training in a turbine aircraft that replicates the training

a ircraft available in the FAA

- a pproved flight training programs used in the Chinese training

programs . However, even with this added device

, US Aviation states it would still need an

e xemption to the regulations because the simulator does not replicate an aircraft that meets the weight requirement in § 61.156(b)

. 1 US Aviation does not believe that the training value is in the weight of the aircraf t as much as it is in the avionics, systems, and level of training

scenarios that can be conducted in such a device.

The FAA’ s analysis is as follows:

The FAA has fully considered the petitioner ’ s supporting information and determined that the

relief re quested is not in the public interest and would adversely affect safety

.

The FAA und erstands that about 250 students are sent to US Aviation for flight training by Chinese airlines annually. The Civil Aviation Administration of China ( CAAC ) requires thes e students acquire the FAA commercial pilot certificate in the airplane category with a multiengine class rating and an instrument rating. The CAAC also requires completion of the ATP knowledge test to meet the requirements of the Chinese airlines, though those students never intend on completing the practical tes t for the FAA ATP certificate.

The new training requirements for the ATP certificate were published in the Pilot Certification and Qualification Requirements for Air Carrier Operation s Final Rule on July 15, 2013. Section 61.156 provides the minimum training requirements for pilots seeking a multiengine airplane ATP certificate. Completion of this training is a prerequisite to taking the multiengine airplane knowledge test and is referred to as th e ATP Certification Training Program (ATP CTP). The training consists of ground and flight simulation training device (FSTD) training

. These requirements were created to address section 217 of the Airline Safety

and Federal Aviation Administration Extensio n Act of 2010 (Public Law 111

- 216), which was signed into law by President Obama on August 1, 2010. Specifically, section 217 of the Act required the FAA to modify the requirements for an ATP certificate to prepare a pilot to function effectively in a mul tipilot (multicrew) environment, in adverse weather conditions,

1 Although the petitioner believes it would need an exemption from the weight requirement, § 61.156(c) provides the FAA with the authority to deviate from the weight requirement. That is the process that would apply.4

during high altitude operations, in an air carrier environment, and to adhere to the highest professional standards. It also added a requirement for sufficient flight time in difficult operati onal conditions that may be encountered by an air carrier to enable a pilot to operate safely in such conditions. Completion of the training is required prior to taking the ATP knowledge test for those applicants seeking an ATP certificate in the airplane category with a multiengine class rating because that is the certificate required to fly for an airline.

Completion of the ATP CTP is now required to be eligible to take the ATP multiengine knowledge test. This requirement was effective August 1, 2014. To the extent that the petitioner suggest its planned full flight simulator (FFS) may substitute for the ATP CTP training, the FAA must note that the FFS would not meet all the training objective of the certification training program. Only approved provider s can deliver this training. A part 121, 135, 141, or 142 certificate holder may provide the training

. However, the certificate holder must submit an ATP CTP to the FAA for approval in order to teach this specific course. The FAA developed Advisory Circula r 61

- 138 to aid training providers in course development.

As described in the final rule (78 FR 42334), t he ATP CTP must be a stand

- alone course and cannot be combined with other courses of training. As a stand

- alone course, the ground training cannot be provided separately from the FSTD training either. Other training that pilots may receive

– ground or flight

– does not count towards any of the requirements of § 61.156. In addition, the FAA established qualification and training requirements for ATP

CTP instructors. The FAA understands that the US Aviation part 141 approved training

program that the Chinese nationals complete contains many of the elements required by § 61.156, but it is not an approved course of training for the ATP CTP.

As a result of the new training requirements fo r the ATP certificate, the FAA has also

modified the ATP knowledge test to incorporate new knowledge areas specific to air carrier operations and difficult operational conditions that will be addressed in the required traini ng. Beginning August 1, 2014, the FAA now offer s two ATP

- airplane knowledge tests

– a multiengine test (test code ATM) and a single

- engine test (test code ATS) . To take the multiengine airplane ATP knowledge test, a pilot will be required to present a gra duation certificate from an approved training provider indicating completion of the training required by § 61.156.

The FAA notes that t here is no prerequisite training required for the single

- engine airplane ATP knowledge test. A list of the reference m aterials used for the development of this test, as well as a description of the subject matter elements contained within the test, can be found in

the Airline Transport Pilot, Aircraft Dispatcher, and Flight Navigator Knowledge Test Guide (FAA

- G

- 8082

- 1) 2

.

2 FAA Airman Knowledge Test Guides can be found at https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/test_guides

. The ‘Airline Transport Pilot, Aircraft Dispatcher, and Flight Navig ator Knowledge Test Guide’ can be downloaded by selecting the appropriate link in the table on the web page. In the current guide, dated October 2014, the references and associated specific subject matter for the ATS test begin on page 39. For comparison, the references and associated specific subject matter for the ATM begin on page 15.5

The FAA has determined that the additional training required for the multiengine airplane ATP certificate will better prepare a pilot for flying in the airline environment and will improve safety. The ATP CTP is the base upon which a pilot must build. As stated in the final rule, “t he concepts in the c ourse will apply to any pilot who flies a large turbine aircraft regardless of operating rule part and therefore has value to pilots flying outside of part 121 ” (78 FR 42335)

. Therefore, e xempting pilots from training that improve s safety is not in the public interest.

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 i n 49 U.S.C. §§ 106( f), 40113 and
44701, 44703 delegated to me by the Administrator, the petition of US Aviation Group, LLC

for an exempt ion from 14 CFR §§ 61.35(a )( 2 ) and 61.1 5 6(b ) is hereby denied.

Issued in Washington, D

. C

. , on March 5, 2015

/s/ John Barbagallo Acting D eputy Director, Flight Standards Service