Exem ption No. 10137

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, DC 20591

In the matter of the petition of

CHARTER FLEET Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2009-0460

INTERNATIONAL

for an exemption from § 43.3(g) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations

DENIAL OF EXEMPTION

By letter dated May 12, 2009, Mr. Peter K. Sorensen, Director of Maintenance, Charter Fleet International, d.b.a. CharterOps (Charter Fleet), 1021 W estbrook St, Portland ME 04102, petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of Charter Fleet for an exemption from § 43.3(g) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed exemption, if granted, would allow Charter Fleet pilots conducting part 135 operations to perform preventive maintenance, specifically to verify the tire pressure using a calibrated tire pressure gauge.

The petitioner requires relief from the following regulation:

Section 43.3(g) prescribes that, except for holders of a sport pilot certificate, the holder of a pilot certificate issued under part 61 may perform preventive maintenance on any aircraft owned or operated by that pilot which is not used under part 121, 129, or 135 of this chapter. The holder of a sport pilot certificate may perform preventive maintenance on an aircraft owned or operated by that pilot and issued a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category.

Section 135.435(a) states, in relevant part, except for maintenance, preventive maintenance, alterations, and required inspections performed by a certificated repair station that is located outside the United States, each person who is directly in charge of maintenance, preventive maintenance, or alterations, and each person performing required inspections must hold an appropriate airman certificate.

AFS-09-259-E2

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

In anticipation of an upcoming FAA Airworthin ess Directive, Bombardier filed a Temporary Flight Manual (TFM) Change request for the Learjet 60/60XR, which the FAA approved on March 9, 2009. This TFM specifically reflects that the Airplane Flight Manual will be changed as follows: “The nose and main tire pressure must be checked within 96 hours (not flight hours) prior to takeoff using the procedures listed in Chapter 12 of the Learjet

Maintenance Manual.”

On February 26, 2009, the FAA Office of the Chief Counsel stated in a legal opinion that “checking tire pressure on a Learjet Model 60 aircraft is preventive maintenance and not a simple preflight inspection task.”

Charter Fleet then petitioned for an exemption to uphold its operational commitments enable its pilots to perform the tire pressure checks required by the FAA.

To provide an equivalent level of safety, Charte r Fleet states that it would provide training for its pilots on reading tire pressure, as well as using a properly calibrated tire pressure gages. Trained pilots would then be able to check the tire pressure and preserve the same level of safety as could a certificated mechanic.

Charter Fleet states that allowing its pilots to check tire pressure would not adversely affect safety. In fact, it has experienced several incidents where its aircraft were positioned at remote strips, with no maintenance facility, for a week.

A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2009 (74 FR 31793). No comments were received.

The FAA's analysis is as follows:

The FAA has considered Charter Fleet’s petition for an exemption from 14 CFR § 43.3(g) and determined that a grant of exemption would not provide a level of safety equivalent to that under the regulation.

First, Charter Fleet’s petition affects more than § 43.3(g). If granted, an exemption would allow a pilot certificated under part 61 to perform preventive maintenance, which is governed by part 43, and, except as provided in 14 CFR § 43.3(g), must be performed by a mechanic certificated under part 65. Under 14 CFR § 43.3(g), a pilot certificated under part 61 may perform preventative maintenance of an aircraft, which is not operated under part 135. According to § 135.435, all preventative maintenance performed on or for a part 135 aircraft type certificated for 10 passengers, must be done by a certificated airframe and powerplant mechanic licensed under part 65. The Learjet 60 is type certificated for 8-10 passengers and is therefore governed by § 135.435. Charter Fleet did not request relief from this regulation, nor describe how it would provide for a level of safety equivalent to that provided by §

135.435.3

Further, the Office of the Chief Counsel’s February 26, 2009 legal opinion stated the FAA’s position on this issue as follows:

The FAA may agree that the pilot of a small general aviation airplane may change and repair its landing gear tire, but the agency would not consider the changing and repair of a landing gear tire on a large transport category airplane to be preventive maintenance that a pilot could permissibly do.

Your [the requester’s] letter stated that Learjet Model 60’s engineering and pilot specialists believe ample precedent exists for “qualified pilots to safely perform tasks that require mechanical, physical interaction with the airframe under the umbrella of preflight checks.” You [the requestor] followed with a long list of examples of preflight actions performed daily by professional pilots, including many actions that require use of a calibrated device. Our response to your request takes no position on the propriety of any of the cited examples as preflight tasks.

We discussed this issue with officials in th e FAA’s Flight Standards Service, Aircraft Maintenance Division (AFS-300), and concur with their determination that checking tire pressure on a Learjet Model 60 aircraft is preventive maintenance and not a simple preflight inspection task. We believe their determination is a reasonable one based on the relevant facts and circumstances. These include the high tire air pressure (up to 219 psig), the need for a proper and calibrated gauge, and the possibility of an incorrect reading if the check is not performed properly. Accordingly, a pilot operating that aircraft under the operating rules of 14 C.F.R. part 91 may, in accordance with the provisions of 14 C.F.R. § 43.3(g), perform daily landing gear tire pressure checks. Under the same regulation, however, a pilot of that aircraft operating under 14 C.F.R. parts 135 may not perform that task.

Finally, in response to this petition, the FAA reviewed Temporary Revision 12-16 to the maintenance manual. We concluded that this change, as written, is intended to be performed by a trained airframe and powerplant mechanic.

We also reviewed the Learjet pilot training outline. Although merely an outline, it does not address any of the topics stated in Temporar y Revision 12-16. These topics are found in the maintenance manual, which aircraft pilots do not normally read. This highlights that Bombardier does not intend for pilots to perform maintenance. In contrast, an airframe and powerplant mechanic is trained to pay particular attention to tire wear, brake wear, and brake over-heating while performing a tire pressure check. Therefore, having a pilot perform this task would not provide an equivalent level of safety.

The FAA’s Decision:

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exem ption would not be in the public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 401134

and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, the petition of Charter Fleet International d.b.a. CharterOps for an exemption from 14 CFR § 43.3(g) is hereby denied.

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2010.

/s/ Raymond Towles Acting Director, Flight Standards

Service