243

- A Burgess Road

, Greensboro NC 27409

Office (336) 665

- 7149 www.skylease cargo

. c o m 6 April 2015

VIA E LECTRONIC SUBMISSION

U.S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management System

1200 New Jersey

Aven u e, SE

Washington, DC

20590

Re: Petition of Sky Lease Cargo for an Exemption from 14 C.F.R. §§ 91.9(a),

91.1025(a), 121.135(a)(4 ), 121.135(b)(21), and 121.141

Dear Sir or Madam:

Sky Lease Cargo (“ Sky Lease I, Inc. ”) hereby pe t itions for an exemption from 14

C.F.R. §§91.9(a), 91.1025(a), 121.135(a)(4), 121.135(b ) (21), and 121.141 to a llow Sky

Lease I, Inc. to ope r ate B

- 747 frei ghter airc r aft while tr a nsporting ta l l rigid cargo (freight

that is taller t h an 98 inches a nd will not b reak apart d uring an em e rgency landing)

restra i ned to withstand a 3.0g (“3G”) forward load.

Due to US Department of Defense needs, Sky Lease I, Inc. req uests an

exemption o f 9G tiedown requirement for freight c ategorized as tall ri g id cargo. The tall

rigid cargo 9G requirements has caused a major im p act in the a b ility to move US

Departmen t o f Defens e asse t s back to the United States from vari o us locat i ons a round

the wo r ld. This not only has resulted in inability to move assets but has also caused

ma j o r economic im p act on Sky Lease I, Inc.U.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015 Page Two

Sky Lease I, Inc. submit s that this nar r o wly

- tailored ex emption would have no

adverse impact on safety, would provide an equivalent l evel of safety to the 9.0g ("9G")

forward restraint requirement set forth in 14 C.F.R. § 25

. 561 (b)(3) (which is o utdated

and unsubstant i a ted by freighter aircraft

- specif i c data), and would be in t h e public

i n t e rest. It wou l d enable Sky Lease I, Inc. to carry tall rigid cargo safe l y, efficiently, and

co s t

- ef f e ctively. It would benefit the public interest by making available to shi p pers more

commercially via b le ship p ing options i n m ore markets globally

. And, the request e d

exemption would also allow Sky Lease I, Inc. to realize the full capab i lit i e s of their

i n vestments in the B

- 747 aircraft and stem the loss of millions o f dollars of tall rigid

cargo busin e ss to foreign operators who regularly transport tall rigid cargo without

meeting the 9G forward restraint req u irement.

Sky Lease I, Inc. resp e c t fully request expedited action on th i s request. T h e

demand for transportati o n of tall ri g i d cargo is on the rise, and frangib l e c a rgo

neces s a ry to trigger a 3G forward restraint standa r d is becom i ng much less available.

Th i s is an u r gent situati o n for Sky Lease I, Inc. and for the public i n terest, particularly

the s h ipping publ i c.

Sky Lease I, Inc. submits the followi n g in further support of t h i s request:

I. Backgrou n d And Exemption Request

Sky Lease I, Inc. i s a n FAR Part 121 Supplemental Air Carrier which

operates a cargo fleet c o mpri s ed of B

- 747 and MD

- 11 freigh t er aircraft provid ing c h a rter

air se r vice worldwide

. Its c u s t o mer base inc ludes the U.S. Department of De f ense, other

government agen c ies, a nd multiple commercial entities ne e ding to move unique ca r go

to chall e nging loca ti ons around t he world, helping to keep the U.S. economy on the

mov e

. Sky Lease I, Inc. and it s e x perienced te am of aviation professiona l s deliver hi g hU.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Three

quality se r vices to glo b al customer s

, meeting and exceeding their air cargo needs.

Tall Rigid Cargo : There is substantial demand for transporting tall r igid cargo by air.

There are two principal categories of tall rigid cargo:

1. Industry

- standard 20

- foot containers (ISO 1CC) which are 102 inches tall.

• These containers are widely used around the world throughout the global

supply chain because the y have intermodal compatibility, which is important as

shipments are often transported from door

- to

- door by multimodal transportation.

• Commodities (such as oil and gas related materials), project cargo, relief

goods, and hi

- tech equipment (such as sate llite and communications materials)

are often shipped in 20

- foot sea containers to remote locations where the

container is also used as a field office or secure storage area. Garments and

perishables are often shipped in such containers.

• Emerging marke ts, such as the African market (where U.S. carriers are

losing substantial business to foreign B

- 747 operators due to the 9G restriction),

are particularly reliant on the use of 20

- foot containers for project and oil/gas

cargo. Tall rigid cargo shipments a re often carried on part charter flights to offline

destinations.

2. Other tall items, such as aircraft engines, generators, and large vehicles, which are

taller than 98 inches.

• For example, B

- 747 freighters are needed to carry aircraft engines to

supp ort many of the world's widebody passenger fleets, which use engines that

are classified as tall rigid cargo.U.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Four

The B

- 747 freighter is particularly well

- suited to transport tall rigid cargo efficientl y

and cost

- effectively, and has carried such cargo safely for decades. However, with the

severe decline in "frangible" cargo and ever increasing demand for tall rigid cargo

transportation (both discussed in Section II below), Sky Lease I, Inc. is unable to

efficiently and effectively carry tall rigid cargo because of the outdated 9G forward

restraint requirement which Sky Lease I, Inc. is not aware has been substantiated by data

applicable to any freighter aircraft, much less the B

- 747. As a result, Sky Lea se I, Inc. has

lost millions of dollars of business as shippers have been turning to Sky Lease I, Inc.'

foreign B

- 747 competitors to transport tall rigid shipments. The 9G forward restraint

requirement impairs Sky Lease I, Inc

. ability to realize the full economic and efficiency

benefits of their substantial investment in the B

- 747 aircraft and reduces Sky Lease I, Inc.'

global competitive effectiveness. It also results in the availability of fewer service and

pricing options for tall rigid cargo shippers.

The 9G Requirement : The 9G forward restraint requirement stems from the following

FAR provisions:

14 C.F.R. § 25.561 and§ 25.787 establish aircraft design requirements and

require that cargo stowage restraints handle forward inertia forces of 9G for tall

rigid cargo:

14 C.F.R. § 25.561:

"(a) The airplane, although it may be damaged in emergency landing conditions on

land or water, must be designed as prescribed in this section to protect each

occupant under those conditions.U.S. Department of Transportat ion

6 April 2015

Page Five

(b) The structure must be designed to give each occupant every reasonable

chance of escaping serious injury in a minor crash landing when

-

...

(3) The occupant experiences the following ultimate inertia forces acting

separately re lative to the surrounding structure:

...

(ii) Forward, 9.0g

...

(c) For equipment, cargo in the passenger compartments and any other large

masses, the following apply:

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, these items must

be positioned s o that if they break loose they will be unlikely to:

(i) Cause direct injury to occupants;

(ii) Penetrate fuel tanks or lines or cause fire or explosion hazard by

damage to adjacent systems; or

(iii) Nullify any of the escape facilities provided for use a fter an

emergency landing.

(2) When such positioning is not practical (e.g. fuselage mounted engines

or auxiliary power units) each such item of mass shall be restrained

under all loads up to those specified in paragraph (b)(3) of this

section...

(d) Seats and i t ems of mass (and their s upporting structure) m u st not deform

under any loads up to those specified in paragraph (b)(3) of this section

in a n y manner that would i mpede subsequent rapid evacuation of

occupan t s." ( E mphasis added)U.S. Department of Tr ansportation

6 April 2015

Page Six

14 C.F.R. § 25.787(a):

"Each compartment for the stowage of cargo, b a ggage, carry

- on a rticles, and

equipment (such as l ife rafts), and any other stowage compartment must be

des i gned for its placarded maxim u m we i ght of c ont e n ts and for t he critic a l l o ad

distribu ti on at the appropriate max i mum l o ad factors correspondi n g to the

sp e c ified f l ight a nd ground l o ad conditions, and to the emergen c y landing

conditions of § 25.561(b)

, except that the forces sp e c i fied in the e mergen cy

l a nding condi t ions need n o t be appli e d to compartme n ts located b elow, or

forward, of all occupants i n the airpla n e.

. . .” (Emphasis added)

Although Part 25 establ i shes design requirements, other pr o vis i ons inco r porate

the design requ i rements into air carrier o perating re q uirements. T h us, 14 C.F.R. § 21.5

requires Boeing to i n c orporate t h e design re q uirements into the manufac t urer's Ai r craft

Flight Manual ("AFM"), a n d 14 C.F.R. §§ 91.9, 91

. 1025(a), 121.135(a)(4),

121.135(b)(21), and 121.141 require U.S. air carriers t o comply with the AFM. Boeing's

a n d Sky Lease I, Inc.' wei g ht & balance co n trol and loa d ing manuals for the B

- 747

freighter i n c orporate t h e 9G requirement or, alternatively, permit the use of "fra n gible"

carg o to prevent the tall rig i d cargo from shifting forward. As discussed b elow, those

compliance options are not p ractic a l or economically feasible.

The 9G requirement w a s establ i sh e d in the 19 5 0s based on passe n ger

c ompartme n t seating des i gn analyses. Sky Lease I, Inc. i s not a ware of the 9 G

passenger

- compartment requirement having ever been subs t antiated by any specific

c ar g o trans p o rtation ana l yses. Rather, the 9G passenger compartment requirement

became an ana c hronistic re g ulatory "come along" to a p ply to cargo transportati o n

.U.S. Depart ment of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Seven

Moreover, studies cond u cted by the U.S. Air Force have shown t h at a 3G forward

restraint re q uirement w o uld be appr o p riate and p rovide an equi v alent level of safety.

I ndeed, the U.S. Air Force has ado p ted a pe rmanent reduct i on to a 3G forward restraint

for its o perations as a result of i t s studi e s. In addition, a r eview of B

- 7 47 freigh t er aircraft

acc i dents revealed that no resulting i nj u ry or fatality in such accidents was attributable t o

cargo shif t ing forwar d.

This Petition seeks an e xemption fr o m 14 C.F.R. §§91.9, 91

. 1025(a),

121.135(a)(4), 121.135(b)(21), and 121.141 to all o w Sky Lease, Inc. to operate B

- 747

freight e r aircraft wh i le transport i ng tall rigid c argo restra i ned to withstand a 3.0g ("3G")

forward load. The requested exemption would b e used in air car g o ope r ations withi n

,

to/from, and wholly outside the U nited States. 14 CFR §11.83. Tall r igid cargo shipments

for various shippers of t en involve itineraries wholly outside t he United States, e.g., f r o m

Asia to Africa; Africa to Europe; Europe to Asia; Oceania to Afr i c a, etc., and thus any

l i mitation on the requested e xemption as to its geog r aphic scope would eliminate the

exemption's real

- world utility.

The reques t ed exempti o n would maintain an eq u iva lent level of s afety and would

not adversely affect the saf e ty of upper deck occup a nts on B

- 747 f r eighters during

emergency landing co n ditions. It w o uld benefit t he public i n t erest by al l o wing for more

effective utiliza t ion of the B

- 747 freighter airc r aft and more efficient, competitive

transportation of tall rig i d air cargo to meet the needs of governmental, civilian, NGO,

h umanitarian, a n d military shippers.U.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Eight

II. The Issue

The bottom of the uppe r deck floor b eams on the B

- 747 freighter is at a h eight of

98.1 inches. In t h e highly unl i kely event of a forward cargo shift, cargo that is 98 inches

t a ll or lower will not str i ke the upper deck str u ct u re and occ u pant areas o n the B

- 747

freighter, a n d th erefore the 9G force standard s e t forth in 14 CFR §25.561(b)(3) is not

implica t ed: the stowage compartme n t must be designed to "t h e emergency landing

c o nditi o ns of § 25.561(b), except that the forces specified in t he emergency landing

conditions n e ed n ot be a p plied to co m partments located bel o w, or forward, of all

occupants in t h e airplane.

. . ." 14 CFR §25.787(a). Tall rigid cargo, however, is not

covered by t h e exception contained in t h e last cl a use because tall rigid cargo is l o cated

aft of t h e occupants on the upp e r deck.

Boeing's a n d Sky Lease I, Inc.' curr e nt weight & balance co n tr o l and loa d ing

manuals for the B

- 747 freighter inco r porate the restraint sta n dards of 14 CFR §

25.561(b)(3), and provide that tall ri g i d cargo must be restrain e d either to ( 1) a 9G

fo r ward load by using a cu m bersome and complex arrangement of supp l ementary

straps connec t ed to aircraft tie

- down points, or (2) a 1.5G (B

- 7 47

- 400) forward load

combined with a speci f ic volume of frangible car g o placed in front of the t all rigid ca r g o,

in either case in order to prev e nt the tall rigid cargo from shifting forward and impacting

t h e upper deck and occu p ant areas.

These two current methods for transporting tall r i gid cargo on the B

- 747

freighter are simply not economically feasible or p ractical.

First, restra i ning tall ri gi d cargo to a 9 G forward load stand a r d requires a

c umbersome and complex arrangement of straps connected t o aircraft tie

- do w nU.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Nine

points. There are a limited number of tie

- down positions on the B

- 747 freighter, which

mak e s it virt u ally imposs i ble to restrain tall r igid cargo to 9G and carry other cargo.

There are often an in a dequate number of tie

- downs o n a B

- 747 to restrain he a vy tall

rigid cargo to a 9G forward loa d requirement; and even when it is possible to restrain

a single item o f tall rig i d cargo, there are usually an insufficient n umber of tie

- downs to

restrain addi ti onal items o f tall rigid or o ther cargo. As a result, the f li ght is not ef f icient

or cost

- com petitive for the sh i pper.

Second, it is extreme l y difficult, impractical, and uneconomic to use fran g ible

cargo a s a buffer. The changing n a ture of air c a rgo, customer demands, and aircraft

routings to d a y is such that there is rarely a suff i cient volume of frangib l e cargo av a ilable

to pl a ce in front of t he tall rigid cargo. Non

- commercial frangible "fi ll e r'' cargo is also

impractical for logis t i cal, cost, customs, and dispos a l reasons. M ilitary pallets (typically

88 inches wi d e

, not the st a ndard 96 inches) do not meet the width requirements for

frangible ca r go when tall r igid cargo i s centerli n e

- loaded on the B

- 747 freighter. As a

result, ta l l rigid cargo, o ften critical to meet urgent military, commercial, and humanitarian

requi r ements, cannot be transporte d in a t i me l y and cost

- effective manner. The inability

of Sky Lease I, Inc. to carry tall rigid cargo effic i ently and competitively i s an urgent

issue, a s t h e global d e mand for air transportat i on to carry ta l l rigid car g o has incre a s ed

signif i c antly. For e xamp l e

, industry

- standard 20

- foot sea con t a iners are widely used

a round the world throughout the gl o bal supply chain to ship oil and gas r e lated materials,

proj e ct c argo, relief goods, hi

- tech equ i pment, garments, and perishables bec a use th e y

have intermod al compatibility, offer a buil t

- in secure s t o rage place, and can b e used as

an " o ffice" in r e mote locations. L arge power generators, l arge vehicles, and wid e bodyU.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page 10

aircraft engines re g ularly require lo n g

- haul air tr a n sportation as well. But the 20

- foot sea

containe r s are 102 i n ches tal l , and the lar g e aircraft e n gines, pow e r generators, and

large ve h icles are also taller t h an 98 inches.

III. Granting T he Requested Exemption Would Provide An Equivale nt Level Of

Safety And Is In The Public Interest.

As explained below, Sky Lease I, Inc. is not aware of data substa n tiating t h e

applicat io n of the 9G requirement to freighter airc r aft. Howev e r, more recent studies t h at

were not available when the 9G forward r e straint requi r ement was developed in the

1950s demonstrate that a 3G forward restraint standa r d would have no adverse impact

on saf e ty, would provide an equivalent level of saf e ty, and would be in the p ublic

inter e st.

A. Reports a n d Data Show that a 3 G For w a rd R estraint R e quireme n t Would

Have No Adverse Impact on Safety and Would Provide an Equivalent Le v el

of Safe t y

.

The deficie n cies with the 9G forward restraint re q uirement are numerous.

First, the 9G standard was estab l is h ed in the 1 9 50s, well be f o r e the B

- 747 a ircraft

w a s certificat e d

.

Second, it considered a nalyses of p assenger s e a ts, passe n ger s e at

a tt a chments, and the geometric relationsh i p of the passenger seat to the interi o r of the

passenger compartment. This seat

- b a s ed requir e ment appears t o have become a

regulatory "come along" to a pply to cargo trans p o rt, without any analysis of the valid i ty

or efficacy of applying such a s e a t

- based requirement to the cargo compartm e n t.

Third, since the 9G forward restraint standard p r edated the B

- 7 47 by m ore than a

decade, it d i d not acco u n t for many o f the B

- 747's exceptio n al character i stics. It does notU.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Eleven

properly reflect the act u al loads and behavior of cargo restrained by the cargo restra i n t

sy stem, straps, and nets on a B

- 747. Nor does it take in t o account t h e spatial s e paration

of B

- 747 upper deck occu p ants and the tall rigid ca r go, the cap a bility of the crown barrier

net to rest r ain tall ri g id cargo, or t h e crashworthiness and energy absorbin g capab i lity o f

the B

- 747 upper deck structure.

Fourth, the 9G standard clearly did not account for the infini t esimal probability

that a l l of the events necessary for an occupa n t on the up p er deck of a B

- 7 47 freighter

to be harmed by tall rigid ca r go in an emergency landing would occur. U.S. Air Forc e

s t udie s co n cl u de d tha t a crash event at higher th a n 3G with cargo and passengers is

"ex t reme l y r a re", with a probability of one occu r rence per 4 million hou r s of operati o n.

( Cargo Aircraft and Spacecraft Fo r wa rd Restraint Criteria, Techn i cal Report ASD

- TR

- 76

-

3 0

, at 21 (December 1977) ("1977 USAF Technical R eport"). Put another way,

combining major and minor accide n ts for the p e riod 1962 to July 1976, the probab i lity of

a crash at the "3G to N/S Level with Cargo and Passe n ger" was "extreme l y rare" at

0.00000025 per hours/oper a tion. 1977 USAF T echnical Report, at 38,50. And, in

November 1981, "CSAF/LET approved permanent reduction t o 3G forward restraint

[c]iting 7 y e ars of oper a tions (6.73M flight hours) with no ca r go related a ccidents."

Presentation: Cargo Restraint for Fixed Wing Airc r a ft, 21 May 02, Aeronautic a l Systems

Center, USAF. According to the same USAF presentation, "In c o n cert with 2 G up and

1.5G aft & laterally, 3G forward restraint has pr o ven adequat e and cost e ffective for 30

years of USAF cargo operations involving over 29M flight hours."

Fifth, in co m mercial operations, more than 4 0 0 B

- 747 freight e rs have flown

more than 20 million flight hours and 4 million flight c ycles. The r e has be e n no reportU.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Twelve

of cargo shif t i n g forward and harming an occupa n t on a B

- 747 freighter d u ring

emergency l anding conditions ( see NTSB Accident Aviation Database and 17 hull

loss occurrences on B

- 747 freighters do cumented by the Aviation Safety Network,

www.aviation

- safet y .net; see also FAA Accident/Incident Data System). B a s ed on a

review of the B

- 747 model freighter acc i de n ts, it can be conclu d ed that any resulti n g

injury or fatality related to the acci d ents was n o t attributable to cargo sh i fting forward.

In fact, if a car g o shift was i nvolved in any reported accident, it only involv e d cargo

shifting aft, with no reported accide n ts involving a forward s h ift at all. Si n ce the majority

of cargo is below the tall

- rig id thr e shold, it can be conclu d ed that ty i ng down to fli g ht

loads a 1

. 5 G (loading) h a s been sh o wn to be sufficient in ac t ual incide n ts an d accid e nt s

t o secu r e cargo against for w ard

- shifting, and this Pet i tion for a 3G tie down t herefore is

more than suf f ic ient.

This conclusion is s u pp o rted by the results of the 2008 acci d en t of a Kali t ta

aircraft in Brussels. T h a t accident i nvolved a B

- 747 freight e r which suf f ered severe

damage, breaking into three sections after an aborted takeoff due to a bird strike.

Al t hough the main deck f l o o r beams in the forward cargo sec t ion were s h a ttered in t h e

accident, cargo in the other secti o n s which was restrai n ed to 1.5G was still secured to

the aircraft, and the crew escaped unin j ured. See Final Report, Ref. AAIU

- 2008

- 13

(is sued July 2009), Belgi u m Fe d eral Public Service Mobility and Trans p o rt, Air Acc i dent

and Investigation U nit.

Sixth, at forward load forces betwe e n 3G (the standard request e d in th i s Petition

and the standard a d opted by the USAF) and 9G (the current standar d ), it is h i ghly likely

that t h e B

- 747 would not s t a y intact. At such high G

- force loads, whether the tall rigidU.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Thirteen

ca r go was shift i ng forward wo u ld be the le a st of the occupants' and crew's worri es

because the aircraft would likely not remain intact. As a 1 977 USAF T echnical R e port

pointed out: "The maxim u m landing loads that the C

- 130, C

- 141, and C

- 5 can generate

are 0.94, 1.05, and 1.20G, respectively. This is assuming f u ll reverse thrust, full br a king,

and a l o ose dirt r u n way. For a n y load above these, the aircraft is in a crash co n dition as

de f ined by this report." 1977 USAF Technical Rep o rt, at 21. And, accord i ng to Boeing,

during h a rd braking t h e forward flig h t load fac t ors are 1.5G for the B

- 747

- 400 and 1.2G

for the B

- 747

- 8. Indeed, loa d s in the 9G range would not involve an "emergency landing

co n dition", but r ather a crash. The airc r aft and the a ttachment points would fail well

bef o re 9G.

Seventh, the U.S. Dep a rtment of D e fense, which the FA A conside r s to b e a

competent authority, implemented the reduced 3G forward restraint req u ir e ment, and

there has b een no report of an accident w h e re occupa n ts have been harmed by cargo

shif ti ng forward during emergency l anding con d itions. The 1 977 USAF T ec hnical

R e port, w hich was issued after the developme n t of the passenger

- bas e d 9G forward

restraint s t andard, co n cluded that r educing the requir e ment to 3G f o r cargo o p erations

w o uld maintain safety and result in sign i ficant c o s t savings and simplifica t i o n. In

pertin e nt part, the Report summ a rized:

"Th e civ i lia n flee t ca n a l

s o us e th e d

at a i n dete rm inin g wha t desig n cr i t e r i a to

utilize. For e

x a m ple, either a 3G positive locking r ail system o r a 3G net in

conjuncti o n with current 11⁄2G rail syst e m would provid

e an adequate

system rather than the 9G system in use today. " 1977 USAF Technical

Repor t

, at 50

- 51.”U.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Fourteen

Accordingly, Sky Lease I, Inc. submi t s that a 3G forward restr a int r equir e ment

would provid e an equivalent level of safety t o the outda t ed 9G standard.

B. The Exemption Would Be in the Public Interest.

Granting this exemption would be in the public i nterest bec a u se it would enable Sky

Lease I , Inc. B

- 747 freighter aircra f t to safely a nd eff icien t ly carry tall ri g id cargo,

i n cluding multiple 20

- foot sea con t ainers, airc r aft engines, large oil/g a s equipment,

and large vehicles, f or humanitarian, commercial, and U.S. military shippers around

the world. It would also enable Sky Lease I , Inc. to more efficiently uti li z e and to r e alize

the f u ll capabili t ies o f our B

- 747 aircraft. Shippers n e ed access t o reasonab l e, safe,

and timely air transportation f o r their shi p ments of tall rigid ca r go. Absent t his

exemption, shippers will have fe w er choices o f carriers a nd fewer B

- 747 aircraft t o

handle cri t ical miss i o n s, because, a s explain e d above, the 9G forward restraint

requirement effectively precludes Sky Lease I, Inc. from competing for tall rigid cargo

shipments, witho u t any improvement in safety. This

, in t u rn, leads t o delays for the

delivery of critical cargo and/or subs t antially incr e ases c o s ts f or shippers t o get their

cargo delivered. For example, U.S. export e rs and importers are det r i m entally affected

as th e i r costs are being dr i ven up, and there fore their competit i veness is r ed uced. The

U.S. military and NGOs with urgent humanitarian missions involving tall rigid ca r go

also encounter d elays and substanti a lly increased costs in havi n g their vital shipments

d elivered.

Even in cases where a single item o f tall rigid cargo could b e carried, o t her

tall rigid items could not be transported bec a u se the req u isite tie

- do w n a ttachmentsU.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Fifteen

needed to restrain to 9G would not be available for addit i onal items. Sky Lease I,

Inc. estima t es that the n eed to provide frangible freight o r restrain t all rigid car g o to

the 9 G standard r e duces the cargo

- carrying capability by a minimum of 30% and, in

some c a s es, up to 5 0% of the al l owable volume and weight al lowed by the Boeing

747 weight and b a lance load in g and contr o l manual. The public interest wo u ld be

much better served with a 3G restraint re q uirement because it wo u ld allow more

pieces of tall rig i d cargo to be carried on a single f l ig h t without any reduc tion in

safety. Adherence to the 9G standard resul t s in more fl i ghts requir e d t o transport

the same amount of tall rigid ca r go, making U.S. operators uncompetitive in the

m arketplace.

Sky Lease I, Inc. is losi n g substanti a l business d ue to their i n ability to of f er

competitive bids to carry tall rigid lo a ds as a res u lt of the 9G forward load requirement.

Many fore i gn competitors routinely carry 20

- foot containers and other tall ri g id cargo

wi t hout restrai n ing them to withstand a forward 9G force.

Sky Lease I , Inc. estima t es that it i s l o sing millio n s of doll a r s o f air cargo business

because it i s unable to e f fectively compete for tall rigid car g o shipments i n light of the 9G

forward restraint requir e ment. Sky Lease I, Inc. operates many of its flig h ts as

unsc h eduled "ad hoc" charte r s

, and there f ore frangible freight is m o st often n o t available.

As the abse n ce of the frangible ca r go requires t he use of 9 G tie downs, Sky Lease I, Inc.

often l o ses charte r s to foreign competitors as the tie

- d o wn requirements resul t i n the

inabi l i t y to carry all of the cargo required for the char t e r. As such, Sky Lease I, Inc. has

no t ed a signi f i cant reducti o n in busin e ss and the loss of mil l i o ns of dolla r s in revenue due

to the 9 G requirem e n t. Sky Lease I, Inc. add i tionally notes t hat o n flights wh e re

nonrevenue frangible freight can b e used, it h a s done so at the airline's (not theU.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Sixteen

shipper ' s ) expense, resulting in additional cost to the ai r line for the b uildup and dispos al

o f t his cargo. T his has a lso caused su b s tantial l o sses due to t h ese additio n al un

recoupe d costs.

In the cont e xt of economic regulat i on, Congress directed t h e S e cretary to

strength e n the competitive position of U .S. air carri e rs to at least ensure e q u al ity with

foreign air carr i ers, including th e attainment of the opp o rtunity for U.S. air carri e r s to

mainta i n and incre a s e their profitability i n foreign air transportati o n

. 49 U.S.C. §§40101

(a)(15) and (e)(1). We bel i eve that the FAA can act in the p ublic inter e st and level the

playing f i eld without any diminution of safety by granting this exemption to provide for a

3G forward restrai n t requirement.

IV. Petitioner Requests Expedited Consideration And Approval.

Sky Lease I , Inc. is aware tha t the FAA has granted exemptions to other air carriers for

similar relief sought by this request. Therefor e, since granting this exemption is not

precedent setting, Sky Lease I requests that publication of this petition in the Federal

Register be waived in accordance wi th Section 11.87(b).

V. Conclusion.

The B

- 747 freighter airc r aft has now flown for s e veral million cycles and more

than 20 million hou r s, and Sky Lease I, Inc. i s not aware of any report showing t h at tall

rigid cargo has moved forward and eit h e r caused f r angible frei g ht to compress o r

ca u s e d injury or death to any crew mem b e r on board the aircraft. Given this substantial

safety track record, the e xtreme l y low probability of an accide n t in the 3G to N/S range,

the impract i cality and e c onomic in f easibi l ity o f securing t a ll rigid cargo t o a 9G forward

restrain t

, and the U S AF's concl u sion that a 3 G forward restraint re q uirement w o uldU.S. Department of Transportation

6 April 2015

Page Seventeen

provide an equivalent level of saf e ty and would not adversely aff ect safety, Sky Lease I,

Inc. r equests that the FAA grant the exem p tion requested herein expeditious l y.

SUMMARY

Sky Lease I, Inc. Petition for Exemption from 14 CFR §§ 91.9(a), 91.1025(a),

121.135(a)(4), 121.135(b)(21), 121.141

Sky Lease I, Inc. petiti ons then Administrator for an exempt i on from the requirements

of 14 C.F.R. §§ 91.9(a), 91.1025(a), 121.135(a)(4), 121.135(b)(21), and 121.141 to

a llow the op e ration of B

- 747 freighter aircraft whi l e tran s porti n g tall rigid cargo

restra i ned to withstand a 3 .0g f o rward load.

Should you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me at

336

- 668

- 7505.

Sincerely,

Herman F. Gillis, III

Director of Operations

hgillis@skylease.aero