Subject: Petition for Exemption

Reference: Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations 121.359 and 73 FR 12542

Date: 9 February 2016

Dear Sir or Madam:

In accordance with the provisions of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) §11.63 and §11.81, American Airlines (AAL) petitions for a limited exemption from the flight recorder regulations of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations 121.359 an d 73 FR 12542, March 7, 2008; Docket No. FAA

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- 20245 . Specifically, AAL requests an exemption from the requirement for aircraft manufactured after December 6, 2010 to have datalink recording capability activated following a data communications equipment modification. This exemption will be for a limited period of time to allow AAL to utilize the safety benefits of CPDLC while managing the DLR equipage installation. We request the FAA process this exemption immediately with an effective date of January 1 , 2016 through January 1, 20 18 so as to facilitate AAL compliance with the DLR rule

.

B ackground

In 2008, the FAA promulgated several amendments to the flight recorder regulations of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations 121.359 and 73 FR 12542, Mar ch 7, 2008; Docket No. FAA

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- 20245). Those regulations amended the requirements for cockpit voice recorders (CVR) and digital flight data recorders (DFDR) and affected certain air carriers, operators, and aircraft manufacturers. In amending the regulati ons, the FAA increased the duration of certain CVR recordings; increased the data recording rate for certain DFDR parameters; required the physical separation of the DFDR and CVR; required improved reliability of the power supplies to both the CVR and DFDR ; and required that datalink communications to or from an aircraft be recorded if datalink communication (DLC) equipment is installed. The changes were based on recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following its investi gations of several accidents and incidents, and included other revisions the FAA determined necessary. These changes to CVR and DFDR systems were intended to improve the quality and quantity of information recorded and retained for accident and incident in vestigations.

Since 2010, implementation of the Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) recording requirement has become more complex than anticipated. The FAA has been presented with a greater number of discrete aircraft equipment installations than expected when the rule was promulgated. As such, individual decisions on whether the recording rule applied have become difficult to make consistently within the scope of our original guidance. At issue are aircraft that were manufactured before the e ffective date of the rule (December 6, 2010) that require widely varying levels of additional CPDLC equipment or software to be fully functional.

The Applicable Regulations and Relief Sought

The regulation requires recordation of the data on the CVR, and was added to the CVR sections of various operating rules in 14 CFR. There are two guidance documents that apply to datalink communications. First, Advisory Circular, AC 20

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— Onboard Recording of Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) in Crash S urvivable Memory, identifies CPDLC messagesthat may be approved for inclusion in an approved message set. The second guidance document is an FAA information bulletin, The FAA “Policy Regarding Datalink Communications Recording Requirements”

, published in the Federal Register on March 2, 2015

, updates and clarifies the circumstances that make the recordation requirement applicable to a specific aircraft

.
American Airlines seeks a limited exemption to the DLR rule for aircraft manufactured after December 6, 2010 for the purposes of utilizing domestic CPDLC which is a significant means to enhance safety, efficiency and capacity in the domestic national airspace system (NAS). American Airlines in partnership with FAA has invested in the Data Communi cations Program (Data Comm) which provides a data link between the ground and flight deck avionics for safety

of

- flight air traffic control clearances, instructions, traffic flow management messages, flight crew requests, and reports. Data Comm has also be come a core component of NextGen, as Data Comm provides needed enhancements for communication infrastructure. Data Comm is expected to reduce the impact of ground delays that result from airport reconfigurations, weather, and congestion; reduce communicati on errors; improve controller and pilot efficiency through automated information exchange; enable broader use of NextGen services ( e.g., enhanced re

- routes, trajectory operations); and increase controller productivity, leading to increased NAS capacity. Th is exemption would allow aircraft equipped in support of the Data Comm program through January 1, 20 18 to have the rule implemented.

Without the requested relief AAL will not be able to comply with the rule which will result in approximately 125 737

- 800 ai rcraft being equipped with CPDLC that will need to have this capability deactivated thereby eliminating this safety

- enhancing feature This exemption will give AAL time to complete our engineering synergies with US Airways and give AAL time to equip the se aircraft with the new CVR. AAL has been proactive and added the new CVR to all new B737 deliveries beginning Oct 2015. After evaluation of the benefits of CPDLC, AAL plans to begin retrofit of updated CVRs in Q1 2023, with the fleet to be completed by the end of 2024.

. Granting the Exemption Would be in the Public Interest

FAA has invested significant public funds and time readying their systems for this important step forward in the NextGen effort. Granting this Exemption assures that FAA’s investment has been both timely and usable by operators, and allows it to maintain i ts NextGen schedule. The limited time frame assures FAA that AAL will comply with the rule in a finite time period

. Granting this Exemption would help to ensure that air service safety is enhanced which serve s the public interest.

Granting the Exemption Would Not Adversely Affect Safety

Safety will not be adversely impacted if the FAA grants this petition because FAA would utilize airplane voice communication methods used safely today. The 2012 FAA analysis on the potential safety benefits arising fr om the implementation of CPDLC states, “These preliminary results indicated a significant potential for enhancing safety ... and a reduction in the duration of loss of communication between aircraft and air traffic control (ATC) when transferring ATC contact by using a reviewable message”.The ability to send reviewable messages is expected to significantly reduce several communications errors, such as read

- back and hear

- back errors, lack of read

- back and hear

back, and audio interruptions. These types of com munications errors impact ATC operations. As an example, failure to comply with an assigned altitude may result from not hearing the communication, hearing it incorrectly, or ATC not hearing a reply.

During the period of this exemption, datalink messages w ill be ground recorded and will provide the majority of information that is communicated between the aircraft and ATC. This information is available for post flight review and analysis. As CPDLC messag ing is currently limited there is no risk of essential information not being ground recorded. As the message sets mature, American Airlines will be in a position to record these post our requested exemption date.

Conclusion

American Airlines respectfully request s a limited Exemption from the requirements of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations 121.359 and 73 FR 12542, March 7, 2008; Docket No. FAA

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- 20245 pertaining to the requirements for datalink recording that will commence on January 1, 20 16

. Granting this exe mption will allow American Airlines to utilize the safety

- enhancing feature of CPDLC while managing the complexities of a merger with US Airways and taking advantage of established maintenance scheduling to allow an efficient retrofit program. We expect t hese aircraft to be gin retrofit on or about the first quarter of 2023 and be fully compliant by the end of CY 2024. This timeframe permits installation that will coincide with other planned avionics modifications. We request the FAA process this exemption immediately with an effective date of January 1, 2016 through January 1, 2025 so as to facilitate AAL compliance with the DLR rule.

Sincerely,

Captain Brian Will Director Airspace Optimization and Aircraft Technology American Airlines 817

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