Federal Aviation Administration

Office of the Chief Counsel 800 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20591

Attention: Rules Docket (AGC-10)

Dear Ladies/Gentlemen:

Pursuant to Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 11.25, Hyannis Air Service, Inc., a Part 121 air carrier, petitions the Administrator for an exemption from FAR 121.434 to the extent necessary to permit an appropriately qualified and FAA authorized che ck airman to observe (and, when necessary, substitute for the observation by an FAA inspector) a qualifying pilot in command (“PIC”), who is completing initial tr aining specified in FAR 121.424.

Affected Section of the FAR:

Section 121.434(c)(1)(ii) (Operating Experience, Operating Cycles, and Consolidation of Knowledge and Skills) reads in pertinent part:

“In addition, if a qualifying pilot in command is completing initial or upgrade training specified in 121.424, be observed in the performance of prescribed duties by an FAA inspector during at least one flight leg which includes a takeoff and a landing.”

Requested Relief:

This petition requests relief from 121.434(c)(1)(ii) in those circumstances when an FAA inspector is unavailable to observe a qualifying pilot in command during any of the scheduled operating experience flights. The requested exemption would be subject t o the following conditions and limitations:

1. Hyannis Air Service, Inc. will submit to its POI an estimate of the number of PIC’s completing training and a plan as to how the initial operating experience (“IOE”) observations are to occur. This plan would be 660 Barnstable Rd Barnstable Municipal Airport Hyannis, MA 02601

508-790-3122 ext. 596

508-778-6233 FAX Email:doconnor@flycapeair.comapproved by the POI prior to the initiation of IOE observations by qualified check airman.

2. Hyannis Air Service, Inc. will nominate qualified check airmen to perform this IOE observation. The FAA (“POI”) will approve the qualified check airmen to conduct this observation through a letter of observation.

3. Under the exemption the requirements of FAR 121.434(c)(1)(ii) will be fulfilled if the observation is performed by an FAA qualified check airman. The observation will be documented in the qualifying pilot’s

record.

4. The qualified check airman will always be other than the one who is conducting the operating experience flights of the qualifying pilot.

Discussion:

The original intent of 121.434(c)(1)(ii), issued in 1970, was to validate the training a pilot received in a flight simulator. Since the rule was adopted, the air line industry has had a decade experience with visual simulators followed by nearl y two decades experience with highly advanced simulation. United States airlines ha ve successfully trained thousands of pilots using sophisticated advanced simulators. The combined experience of the airline industry and the FAA, using advanced simulation, ha s made the present rule partially obsolete.

The FAA has the authority to observe any pilot at any time it wishes; and inde ed the FAA does so routinely. However, the FAA conducts these routine observations on a schedule the local office sets without the burden of having to observe a particular pilot on specific flights necessitated by the airline’s training and service sc hedule. Relieving FAA inspectors from 121.434(c)(1)(ii) will allow the FAA to focus its effort s on higher priority safety concerns.

Costly delays in qualifying pilots in command for line operations results when the airline is forced to wait until the FAA can observe the qualifying PIC. In some i nstances, the FAA inspector may not be qualified on the airplane type being flown. By allowin g a company check airman who is highly qualified in the airplane, and approved by the FA for that duty, to complete the observation, a greater level of scrutiny and object iveness would be provided for the qualifying PIC.

Presently at Hyannis Air Service, Inc., all flights conducted under Part 121 occur in Micronesia, in the Northern Pacific. Travel to Micronesia requires more than 24 hour s from the continental U.S. The remote geographical location of this operation means t hat for a single FAA observation to occur, the FAA inspector will be out of his/her office for the better part of a week. Due to the remoteness of our operation and the limited number of qualified FAA inspectors (currently three), the FAA has difficulty arra nging for an inspector to conduct the required observation, even with two month’s lead time. This has resulted in otherwise qualified PIC’s not being able to perform their duties whil e waiting for the FAA to make its inspectors available. The cost to Hyannis Air Service, I nc. ofthese delays is great. While Hyannis Air Service, Inc. has sought inspector s from a

variety of FAA offices, the results have been inconsistent, and this is not a viabl e longterm solution to the issue.

Public Interest:

Granting this exemption would:

a. Be wholly consistent with previous exemptions granted in similar circumstances;

b. Allow the FAA greater flexibility and better use of its inspector force by focusing on higher priority functions;

c. Allow the use of highly qualified pilots immediately after completing operating experience;

d. Allow significantly increased use of qualified pilots and improve Hyannis Air Service, Inc.’s ability to provide dependable, on-time air service to the public;

e. Reduce the unnecessary cost of wages and lost productivity for those qualified pilots awaiting FAA observation;

f. Reduce the unnecessary cost of wages and lost productivity for FAA inspectors;

g. Allow the traveling public access to Hyannis Air Service, Inc.’s service at a pace consistent the qualification of its pilots.

Safety:

Safety will not be adversely affected, because:

a. The authorized check airman will be highly qualified with the particular aircraft type and will be approved by the FAA;

b. The check airman will only be used to fulfill 121.434(c)(1)(ii) when a qualified FAA inspector is not available; and,

c. The FAA maintains the authority to observe any pilot any time during line

observations.

In summary, the requested exemption focuses on the timely and competent completion of the observation flight and better utilization of qualifying pilots in command.

Request for Waiver of 120 Day Period Before the Effective Date and Publicati on in Federal Register:

For good cause shown, Hyannis Air Service, Inc. requests immediate action be taken to grant this exemption. Good cause exists for such action in that the grant of this exemption is consistent with prior exemptions and provides an equivalent level of safet y.Hyannis Air Service, Inc. is operating two ATR 42’s on the far side of the world. The

limited number of flight crews operating this important subfleet means tha t a delay in qualifying even one pilot in command is disproportionately disruptive to the company’s business. The economic viability of the company requires that it must be able to qual ify pilots in command as needed without the delay occasioned by the understandable unavailability of FAA personnel.

In addition, pursuant to FAR 11.27(j) Hyannis Air Service, Inc. requests the publication of this exemption request in the Federal Register to be waived becaus e the grant of this exemption would not be precedent setting; the reason for are simila r and the conditions proposed are identical to exemptions already granted; the delay would fur ther disadvantage the carrier in its attempt to compete in a highly challenging market; and similar petitions have been published in the Federal Register with no comment rec eived.

If publication is required, pursuant to FAR 11.25(d) a summary of this petition is

attached.

SUMMARY

Hyannis Air Service, Inc. Petition for an Exemption to FAR 121.434(c)(1)(ii).

Hyannis Air Service, Inc. petitions for an exemption from Section 121.434(c)(1)(ii) to permit Hyannis Air Service, Inc., at its discretion, when an FAA inspector is not immediately available, to provide observation of a qualifying pilot in command (PIC) when completing initial training as specified in FAR 121.434, and to substitute FAA approved check airman to observe the qualifying PIC in the perform ance of prescribed duties subject to certain condition and limitations.

If you have any questions or require further information, please call me at ( 508)

790-3122 x596.

Sincerely Yours,

David O'Connor Managing Director of Operations Hyannis Air Service, Inc.

Cc: Jonathan Goode, POI