Exemption No. 10129 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION 

WASHINGTON, DC 20591 

In the matter of the petition of 

EMBRY-RIDDLE 

AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2010-0262

for an exemption from §§ 61.65(d)(1), 

61.129(a)(2)(ii), and 61.129(b)(3)(ii) 

of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations 

DENIAL OF EXEMPTION 

By letter dated March 9, 2010, Mr. Wayne Ceynowa, Manager, Flight Standards, EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), 600 South Clyde Morris Boulevard, Daytona Beach, 

Florida, 32114 petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of ERAU for 

exemption from §§ 61.65(d)(1), 61.129(a)(2)(ii) and a third regulation of Title 14 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). 

Mr. Ceynowa’s letter variously refers to this third regulation as § 61.129(b)(3)(ii) and 

repetitively as § 61.129(a)(2)(ii). Based upon the content of the letter, the FAA believes the 

third regulation that ERAU intended to petition for exemption from is actually 

§ 61.129(b)(2)(ii). 

These proposed exemptions, if granted, would presumably serve as a basis to request relief 

from the requirement that each trainee enrolled in ERAU’s part 142 curriculums must 

complete 50 hours of cross country flight time as pilot in command as a prerequisite for 

application for a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument airplane rating. 

AFS-10-197-E 
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The petitioner requests relief from the following sections of 14 CFR:

Sections 61.65(d)(1), 61.129(a)(2)(ii) and, the FAA assumes, 61.129(b)(2)(ii). 

Section 61.65(d)(1) prescribes in pertinent part that each person who applies for an 

instrument airplane rating must have logged 50 hours of cross-country flight time as 

pilot in command. 

Section 61.129(a)(2)(ii) prescribes in pertinent part that each person who applies for a 

commercial pilot certificate with an airplane category and single-engine class rating 

must have logged at least 50 hours of cross country flight time. 

Section 61.129(b)(2)(ii) prescribes in pertinent part that each person who applies for a 

commercial pilot certificate with an airplane category and multiengine class rating 

must have logged at least 50 hours of cross country flight time. 

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner asserts that on August 4, 1997, the FAA eliminated the 50-hour cross-country 

requirement for syllabuses approved pursuant to part 141. The petitioner further states that, 

beginning in 1997, ERAU conducted part 141 courses resulting in commercial pilot 

certification of applicants with instrument airplane ratings that did not meet the 50-hour 

cross-country requirement of part 61. 

Relative to its status as a part 142 training center, ERAU asserts that: 

 It received FAA authorization in 2004 to conduct part 142 commercial pilot 

certificate/instrument airplane rating curriculums without its trainees meeting the 

50 hours of pilot in command (PIC) cross country time requirement; 

 It wishes to operate curriculums that lead to commercial pilot certification with 

instrument airplane ratings as part 141 pilot schools do without the requirement of 

50 hours of PIC cross country time; and 

 It is subject to more detailed and structured standards than part 141 pilot schools in 

the areas of training programs, instructor qualifications and FAA oversight. 

The petitioner believes that a grant of exemption in no way compromises the quality of pilot 

training, the integrity of pilot certification, or the level of public safety. ERAU states that this 

is further supported by the fact that the FAA has not taken action to reverse or modify any 

portion of the 1997 [part 141] final rule as it pertains to the 50-hour PIC cross-country 

requirement. 

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for waiving the requirement for publication 

in the Federal Register because any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to 

ERAU. 
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The FAA’s analysis is as follows: 

The FAA has considered the petitioner’s request and supporting materials and finds that a 

grant of exemption is not in the interest of public safety.

In its petition, ERAU stated that in 2004 it received authorization to conduct training for an 

instrument rating and commercial pilot certification without its trainees meeting the 50-hour 

cross-country flight time requirements set forth in §§ 61.65 and 61.129. In 2009, the FAA 

reviewed data supplied by ERAU covering the period from August 2006 to December 2008 

for its Commercial Pilot Certificate curriculum and its authorization to train trainees for 

commercial pilot certification with less than 50 hours of pilot-in-command cross-country 

flight time. The data showed that ERAU’s pass rate at the minimum hours permitted by this 

curriculum was virtually zero. In the period covered by the data, a single trainee completed 

the program with airplane flight time between 90-100 hours, representing a success rate of 

approximately two-tenths of one percent. This is an unacceptable rate by any objective 

standard. 

Pursuant to the Administrator’s authority to require revisions to a training program, ERAU 

was notified by letter dated September 30, 2009 (copy enclosed), that, on or before August 

31, 2010, part 142 curriculums leading to private and commercial pilot certification and/or an 

instrument or other rating must meet all part 61 aeronautical experience requirements for 

those certificates and ratings. See 14 C.F.R. § 142.37(e). For curriculums designed to lead to 

commercial pilot certification, the regulatory minimum aeronautical experience requirement 

under § 61.129(i) is 190 total hours, which must include (among other requirements) 50 hours 

of cross-country flight time as pilot in command. The FAA based the decision to increase the 

curriculum hours on ERAU’s failure to demonstrate that it could operate a successful program 

with reduced hours of training and aeronautical experience. See 14 C.F.R. § 142.39(d). 

In this petition, ERAU seeks a blanket exemption for its trainees from the 50-hour crosscountry flight time requirements that have been incorporated from part 61 into its approved 

part 142 training curriculum. As noted, ERAU has not demonstrated that its trainees are 

capable of accomplishing commercial pilot certification and an instrument rating at a reduced 

number of hours. Accordingly, for those trainees who begin their training during the fall 2010 

semester and later, ERAU must conduct training intended to result in certification events in 

accordance with all part 61 aeronautical experience requirements. 

Finally, to the extent that the petitioner raises the issue of part 141 requirements, those 

provisions are not relevant to part 142 curriculums. 

 
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The FAA’s Decision: 

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption would not be in the 

public interest and would not provide a level of safety equivalent to that provided by the 

current regulations. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in Title 49 of the United 

States Code §§ 40113 and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, the petition of 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for exemption from 14 CFR §§ 61.65(d)(1), 

61.129(a)(2)(ii) and 61.129(b)(2)(ii) is hereby denied. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 25, 2010. 

/s/ 

John W. McGraw 

Acting Director, Flight Standards 

 Service 

Enclosure