AFS

- 1 3

- 348

- E August 26, 2013

Exemption No. 6175I Regulatory Docket No. FAA

- 2001

- 9195

Mr. Matthew Zuccaro

President Helicopter Association International

1635 Prince Street Alexandria, VA 2 2314

Dear Mr. Zuccaro :

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your petition to extend Exemption

No. 6175, as amended

. It explains the basis for our decision, describes its effect, and lists the

conditions and limitations

.

The Basis for Our Decision

By letter dated April 25, 201 3 , you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on

behalf of Helicopter Association International (HAI) and Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) for an extension of Exemption No. 6175, as amended . Th at exemption from § 135.213(a) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) permits part 135 certificate

holders that conduct helicopter air ambulance (HAA) operations

, and are members of both the

HAI and AAMS

, to conduct HAA departures under instrume nt flight rules (IFR)

. These departures occur in weather that is at or above visual flight rules (VFR) minimums

, from airports or heliports at which a weather report is not available from the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS), a source approved by the NW S, or a source approved by the Administrator.

In your petition, you indicate that there has been no change in the conditions and reasons relative to public interest and safety that were the basis for granting the original exemption

.

The FAA has determine d that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition

in the Federal Register because the requested extension of the exemption would not set a precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to HAI.2

Our Decision

T he FAA has determined that the justification for the issuance of Exemption No. 6175 , as amended, remains valid with respect to this exemption and is in the public interest. Therefore, under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. 40113 and 44701, which the FA A Administrator has delegat ed to me, I grant your petition, subject to the conditions and limitations listed

below.

Conditions and Limitations

1. Only departures are author ized under this exemption. Instrument approach p rocedures (IAP) are not authorized un der this exemption.

2. Use of this exemption is authorized only at airports or heliports at which a weather report is not available from the NWS, a source approved by the NWS, or a source approved by the Administrator. IFR departures at such airports or hel iports are authorized only after the pilot in command (PIC) of the affected flight determines that the weather conditions at the departure airport or heliport are at or above VFR minimums. This may be determined by the PIC’s own observation or that of ano ther
person competent under Condition No. 6 below to supply appropriate observations

.

At any airport or heliport at which there is a weather report from the NWS, a source approved by the NWS, or a source approved by the Administrator, that weather report will be the controlling weather report. Thus, this exemption does not give the PIC

, or anyone else

, the authority to substitute his or her opinion as to the weather conditions if the airport or heliport has a weather report from the NWS, a source approved by the NWS, or a source approved by the Administrator.

3. Departures under this exemption are authorized only for flights on which there is a patient who has a medical condition that requires, and is appropriate for, transportation by HAA . This medical det ermination will be made by the medical provide r who has evaluated the patient . Departures are not authorized under this exemption for the transport of patients who do not require transportation by HAA , for the routine transport of patients, or for any oth er type of transportation or operation.

4. Each pilot who conducts operations under this exemption must be:

a. C ertificated to condu ct the IFR operations permitted;

b. T rained in accordance with the certificate holder ’ s approved training program;

c. Q ualified in acco rdance with qualification requirements of part 135; and

d. C urrent in all requirements to perform operations under IFR in the model of helicopter that is being utilized.3

5. Each helicopter operated under this exemption must be fully equipped and certified to

co nduct IFR operations under part 135. Each helicopter operated under this exemption must be equipped with an approv ed and operable radar altimeter and either an approved and operable weather radar or approved and operable light ning detection equipment.

6. Be fore conducting any operation under this exemption, each certificate holder must

submit to , and have approved by the FAA principal operations i nspector assigned to

the certificate holder , an amendment to the certificate holder ’ s approved training

program. The amendment must include the ground s chool course c urriculum proposed by HAI and AAMS in the original exemption. Authorization is limited to pilots who

annuall y complete an approved course on weather observation and instrument operating procedure s for locations without weather reporting. The ground school course curriculum must include, as a minimum, the following:

a. 14 CFR Review

— review of parts 1, 61, 91, and 135 as they apply to flight

under IFR (1.5 hours) ;

b. Airmen I nformation Manual (AIM) Review

— a review of AIM with special emphasis placed o n IFR operations as covered in C hapter 5 of the AIM Glossary (1 hour) ;

c. Interpreting Weather and Weather Reports/Forecasts

— review of weather phenomenon and systems, as well as weather services available to the pilot such as sequence reports, area and terminal forecasts, pilot reports, and

in

- flight advisories (2.0 hours) ;

d. Instrument Chart Review

— covers instrument flight planning, instrument procedures at both controlled an d uncontrolled airports, and a review of

instrument charts (2.0 hours) ;

e. Cockpit Resource Management (CRM)

— review of key CRM concepts such

as decision

- making and judgment, situat ional awareness, and management of flight resources (1.5 hours) ; and4

f. Methods for Determining Wea ther Observations by the Pilot

— covers methods for determining present visibility (measured or estimated), methods for determining estimated ceilings, and the methods for weather observation used by the NWS (2.0 hours)

.

The Eff ect of Our Decision

Our decision extends the termination date of Exemption No. 6175 , as amended, to September 30, 2015

, unless sooner superseded or rescinded

.

Sincerely,

/s/

Michael J. Zenkovich Deputy Director , Flight Standards

Service