8111 Lemmon Ave, Hangar 4

Dallas, TX 75209

214.904-9911

www.7bar.com

U.S. Department of Transportation

Docket Operations

West Building Ground Floor

Room W12-140

1200 New Jersey Ave, SE.

Washington, DC 20590

December 23, 2015

RE: Petition for Exemption

Summary of Petition for Publication

SevenBar Aviation seeks an exemption from Section 135.611(b) of Title 14 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, to the extent necessary to allow SevenBar Aviation to resume performing instrument flight 

rules (IFR) departures and to perform IFR instrument approach procedures (IAP), at airports and or 

heliports that do not have an approved weather reporting source, without airborne radar or lightning 

strike detection equipment installed in its helicopters with a passenger seating configuration of 9 seats 

or less (excluding any pilot seat), with limitations consistent with the company’s past operating 

practices.

Description of Requested Relief

This is a petition to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pursuant to 14 CFR Section 11.61 for an 

exemption from 14 CFR Section 135.611(b), as that section has been recently interpreted by the FAA’s 

Flight Standards Service in internal guidance to Principal Operations Inspectors. SevenBar Aviation is 

seeking immediate relief to the extent necessary to allow SevenBar Aviation to resume performing 

instrument flight rules (IFR) departures and approach procedures (IAP) at airports and or heliports that 

do not have an approved weather reporting source without airborne radar or lightning strike detection 

equipment installed in its helicopters with a passenger seating configuration of 9 seats or less (excluding 

any pilot seat). Consistent with SevenBar Aviation Operations Specifications and its operational practice 

for several years before that interpretation, the requested exemption, if granted, will be limited as 

follows:

A. The exemption would apply to operations of SevenBar Aviation helicopters with a passenger seating 

configuration of 9 seats or less (excluding any pilot seat), listed in our Operations Specifications when -

1. Current weather reports or forecasts indicate that there is no reasonable possibility of 

thunderstorms or other severe weather expected to exist at the destination, alternate or along the 

route to be flown for the period of time planned for the flight; and-
2. Additional preflight planning is triggered by the SevenBar Aviation Preflight Risk Assessment 

Program that must be completed before the first leg of each Helicopter Air Ambulance Operation 

(HAAO), conducted under Section 135.611.

B. For a flight to be conducted under Section 135.611, the additional weather briefing, flight monitoring 

and related training actions described below must be taken. These actions are described in the 

SevenBar Aviation General Operations Manual.

1. Additional Weather Briefing Requirements for Flights Under Section 135.611

• The pilot will use information obtained from the National Weather Service to determine that 

there is no reasonable possibility of thunderstorms or other severe weather conditions expected 

to exist at the destination, alternate or along the route to be flown for the period of time 

planned for the flight;

• The following aviation weather products must be reviewed in making that determination; 

AIRMET, SIGMET, CONVECTIVE SIGMET, METAR, REGIONAL NEXRAD, NOTAM, PIREP, and TAF; 

and-

• No IFR operation under Section 135.611 will be released if current weather reports or forecasts 

indicate the potential for thunderstorms or other severe weather to exist at the destination, 

alternate or along the route to be flown for the period of time planned for the flight. If such 

potential exists, the pilot must refuse the flight.

2. Flight monitoring 

Once the flight becomes active, the Communication Center uses specialized software that automatically 

monitors the flight plan, current position and destination of all active flights. The flight following 

software along with sources from the national weather service provide the communication specialist 

with the necessary information to monitor weather along the pilot’s route of flight. The communications 

center continuously monitors all flights for thunderstorms and severe weather and provides that 

information to the pilot by contacting the pilot via radio or satellite phone.

If severe weather is to appear along a flight path during an operation under 135.611, the 

communication specialist will immediately advise the pilot that the flight must be aborted and assist the 

pilot with information regarding a diversion or return to base. 

3. Training for our pilots and operations control specialists will be completed on an annual basis and 

includes:

a. IFR Flight Planning (4.0 hours)

b. Use and interpretation of NWS weather charts (2.0 hours)
c. Interpretation of live radar feeds (2.0 hours)

d. SIGMETS and AIRMETS (2.0 hours)

e. METARS and TAFS’s (2.0 hours)

f. Interpretation and appropriate use of available cockpit weather displays (2.0 hours)

g. The applicability and use of this exemption (1.0 hours)

Granting the Requested Exemption would Enhance Safety and is in the Public Interest

SevenBar Aviation maintains that it is in the public interest to utilize the IFR infrastructure to the fullest 

extent possible. This benefit is two fold, as the IFR infrastructure enhances safety and increases the 

opportunity for additional access to critical care patient flights. Using the IFR system helps mitigate the 

potential for controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents caused by trying to maintain VFR when in 

marginal weather conditions. The public interest also will be served by increasing the opportunity for 

additional access to critical care patient flights.

SevenBar Aviation believes that, by granting this petition, the FAA will permit an alternate means of 

compliance that is an equivalent level of safety as provided by Section 135.611(b). The underlying 

purpose of Section 135.611 is to facilitate IFR operations by helicopter air ambulance operators and 

result in more aircraft operating in a positively controlled environment, thereby increasing safety. The 

recent interpretation of the rule instead has the unintended consequence of encouraging HAA operators 

to fly in marginal weather conditions under VFR because the interpretation requires Airborne Weather 

Radar or Lightning Detection Equipment. Flight under IFR mitigates the potential for controlled flight 

into terrain (CFIT) accidents caused by pilots trying to remain VFR when the weather is marginal. 

Throughout the rule making process the FAA has acknowledged that CFIT accidents in marginal VFR 

weather has frequently been a significant factor in fatal HAA accidents.

SevenBar Aviation believes that the true mitigation of the risk of operations in areas of severe weather 

lies in effective and consistent preflight planning and training for its pilots along with operational control 

oversight by the certificate holder. SevenBar Aviation further believes that the proposed exemption is in 

keeping with the safety purpose of the rule by permitting HAA operators the ability to operate in 

accordance with IFR more frequently. Granting the proposed exemption in regard to Section 135.611(b), 

as interpreted, would not promote flights into severe weather, because SevenBar Aviation does not 

conduct IFR operations in severe weather conditions

Prior to April 22, 2015 Helicopter Air Ambulance Operators safely conducted IFR approaches into and 

out of airports and heliports using FAA approved non-part 97 IAP’s at locations that do not have 

weather reporting. This type of procedure was approved under an authorization in Operations 

Specifications A021 and did not require severe weather detection equipment. During the rewrite of part 

135, the authorization in A021 was correctly removed from the Operations Specifications and placed in 
what became Section 135.611 in the final HAA rule. In Section 135.611 (b) there is a requirement for 

“severe weather detection equipment” with no specific definition of what that term means. 

It is SevenBar’s intention to install this equipment on all IFR aircraft on the certificate, however it is 

necessary to obtain this exemption as a bridge to allow newly acquired aircraft to be operated safely in 

the IFR infrastructure during the time leading up to installation of Airborne Weather radar. If this 

exemption is not granted it will restrict the number of HAA flights available to the public.

Summary.

In summary, immediate granting of the requested relief will enhance aviation safety and be in the best

interest of the public. Each day that passes without relief from the recent interpretation of Section 

135.611(b) prevents safe IFR operations and unnecessarily restricts public access to air medical 

transportation. We appreciate your positive and expeditious consideration of our request for this relief.

Respectfully submitted,

Steve Moody

Director of Operations