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AMERIFLIGHT, LLC

4700 EMPIRE AVENUE
HANGAR #1 BURBANK, CA 91505 (818) 847-0000 PETITION FOR EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR 135.243(c)(2) FOR AMERIFLIGHT, LLC

GENERAL

Ameriflight, LLC (AMF), has a substantial interest in the increased pilot shortage; specifically the ability to find qualified pilots to operate flights that meet the requirements of 14 CFR Part 135.243(c)(2).

The upcoming pilot shortage is exacerbated by the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010, Se ctions 216 and 217, and the FAA proposed NPRM, Docket Number FAA-2010-0100, Pi lot Certificate and Qualification Requirements for Air Ca rrier Operations.

Ameriflight is the largest 14 CFR Part 135 On -Demand Cargo Airline in the United States. Ameriflight employs over 575 people and operates a fleet of 175 aircraft in cargo and passenger configurations. Amer iflight’s fleet consists of PA-31, BE99, BE200, SA227, BE1900, and EMB120 aircraft. Ameriflight operat es primarily as a sm all feeder for UPS, DHL, and FedEx, and has aircraft operating in Alaska, Canada, Contiguous US, Mexico, all of the Caribbean, a nd South America.

Ameriflight feels this petiti on request is a necessary firs t step before a rule change is implemented due to a changing airline environm ent. The increased quality and efficiency of flight training and the advancements in risk management assessments has created a need for an updated regulation.

SUBSTANCE OF RULE FROM WH ICH EXEMPTION IS SOUGHT

The current regulation that applies to P ilot-In-Command requirements for On-Demand IFR operation is 14 CFR 135.243(c)(2), which st ates, “Has at least 1,200 hours of flight time as a pilot, including 500 hours of cross country flight time, 100 hours of night flight time, and 75 hours of actual or simulated in strument time at l east 50 hours of which were in actual flight”.

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AMERIFLIGHT, LLC

4700 EMPIRE AVENUE
HANGAR #1 BURBANK, CA 91505 (818) 847-0000 NATURE AND EXTENT OF RELEIF SOUGHT

Ameriflight seeks an exemption from the above flight time limitations for all cargo ondemand operations conducted in non-type rated aircraft with a maxi mum takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or less, the re lief sought is as follows:

• Minimum flight time of 800 hours total time to include at least 500 hours in airplanes.

• Minimum cross country flight time of 400 hours.

• Minimum of 75 hours of actual or simulat ed instrument time at least 30 of which were in actual flight.

Ameriflight feels certain specific aircraft ty pes that meet the abov e weight limits may be excluded from this petition due to unique handling qualities, co mplexity, or high workload in a single pilot operation that migh t make them unsuitabl e for pilots with less than 1,200 hours total flight ti me. Ameriflight does not curr ently operate any of these

aircraft. All of the aircraft that Amer iflight operates have no adverse handling characteristics or increased complexity.

HISTORY

The FAA set the 1,200 hour time require ment for PIC in 14 CFR Part 135 IFR operations over 40 years ago. T he time requirement has never been an issue due to the fact there has always been qualified pilots to meet this need in the United States. It
should be noted that the 14 CFR Part 135 time requirement to operate IFR is the same time requirement for all sizes and types of aircra ft, regardless of complexi ty or difficulty.

The airline industry and the FAA are now at a place where we need to specifically address time requirements for Part 135 IFR operations due to both the difference in aircraft complexity and to ease the e ffects of an impending pilot shortage.

The FAA commented in 1996 for Single-Engi ne IFR operations “The experience and skill level required for single-engine air transportation under IFR are not equivalent to those required for large trans port category airplanes”. This same comparison can be made for operating non-type rated aircraft in Part 135 IFR operations with less than 1,200 hours total time. The experience and sk ill level required for non-type rated Part 135 IFR operations is not equivalent to t hose required for large transport category operations.

In 2010, a Pilot Source Study was accompli shed by the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) which followed 2156 new- hire pilots. It was evident the best performing group of pilots had accumulated between 500 and 1,000 hours of total flight

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AMERIFLIGHT, LLC

4700 EMPIRE AVENUE
HANGAR #1 BURBANK, CA 91505 (818) 847-0000 time. These pilots had fewest extra training events and a comparatively fewer incompletes as compared to pilots with greater than 1,500 hours total time.

By lowering the flight time requirement to 800 hours, Amerif light will be hiring pilots that statistically are the best performing group.

PILOT SHORTAGE

The FAA and the industry are fu lly aware of the impend ing pilot shortage. It is a fact that there are dramatically fewe r people becoming pilots. According to the FAA, in 1990 there were 41,749 private pilo t certificates issued, in 2010 that number dropped to 14, 977 which is a 64% decrease. Of those 14,977 certificates issued only 29% went on to be a professional pilot.

The number of Commercial certificates being issued is also down. In 1979 there were approximately 13,000 new Commercial pilots and in 2009 that number dropped to just over 5,000. Using the accepted percentage of 30%, only 1,500 of these pilots will go on to be professional pilots.

This large decrease in Commercial pilots is startling because t he Department of Labor and the Occupational Employment Statisti cs have predicted that in 2018 there will be a need for pilots to fill 47,000 commercial pilot jobs, which is a 19% increase over today. These jobs do NOT include airline pilots.

Starting in January 2013 the industry will see the first age 65 retirements begin. Between 2011 and 2015 a total of 27,634 pilots will retire. In 2013 the forecast for Major Airline hiring is approximately 4,400 pilots. The peak is reached in 2021 with a total of 5,900 pilots hired. The total forecasted p ilot needs, from 2011 through 2030 is 329,820.

The US aviation industry is facing the real po ssibility of not having enough pilots to fulfill the need. There are many factor s coming together in a very short time period that are creating this inevitable pilot shortage:

• The US and Worldwide economic crisis.

• The high cost of flight training.

• Low pay questions being raised by possi ble new professional pilots and the inability to repay student debt.

• Aviation Improvement Act of 2010, Sections 216 and 217.

• The new 14 CFR Part 117, Flight and Rest rules (which will also affect 14 CFR Part 135 operations in the near future).

• The proposed rule on 14 CFR Part 121, Subpart N training requirements.

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AMERIFLIGHT, LLC

4700 EMPIRE AVENUE
HANGAR #1 BURBANK, CA 91505 (818) 847-0000 • The NPRM for Pilot Certification and Q ualification Requirements for Air Carrier Operations.

• The recognized loss of flying being an a ttractive, secure, enjoyable, and wellcompensated career.

All of these issues come together to cr eate a problem that needs to be dealt with and analyzed by all parties involved. The industr y will continue to grow at a rapid pace, and currently there is a forecast of a 66,222 shor tfall of pilots over the next twenty years. That number accounts for all aspects of Commercial operations.

Ameriflight will be an essential piece of the solution by bridging the gap from the future professional pilots by taking an 800 hour pilo t and placing them in 14 CFR Part 135 IFR operations. Not only have studies been done to prove that having an 800 hour PIC under this petition request is safe, it al so shows they perform better than more experienced pilots.

The approval of this petiti on will increase the candidate pool, and more importantly, it will create a path for the future professional pilots to meet the legally mandated floor of 1,500 hours to become an airline pilot.

EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

Ameriflight recognizes the FAA has to revi ew all requests to verify any proposed exemption or deviation provides an equivalent level of safety.

The approval of this exemption will provide an equivalent level of safety through special FAA-reviewed training, checking, and quality- control programs as set forth below.

The following additional experience, traini ng, and checking requirements (beyond those already required by Part 135 for qualificat ion as a pilot at Ameriflight) would be mandatory for pilots in command to whom the decreased minimum flight times in this petition apply. These provisions would be incorporated into the Ameriflight Flight Operations Training Manual. Sca ling the complexity of the ai rplane to the pilots total flight time, in the context of these additio nal requirements, will result in an equivalent level of proficiency to that ac hieved under the current rule.

• A minimum of 100 flight hours as first offi cers in Ameriflight multiengine aircraft

• Satisfactory completion of Ameriflight ai rcraft-specific pilot in command training for the aircraft in which they are to serve.

• A minimum of 15 hours of Ameriflight airc raft and instrument procedures training in a flight training device or simulator specif ic to the aircraft type in which the pilot is to serve as pilot in command.

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AMERIFLIGHT, LLC

4700 EMPIRE AVENUE
HANGAR #1 BURBANK, CA 91505 (818) 847-0000 • Satisfactory completion of a full Part 135.293-297-299 check with no elements

waived.

• A minimum of ten hours inflight Initia l Operating Experienc e (IOE) in turboprop
aircraft or five hours IOE in other aircraft , during line operations in the aircraft type, under the supervision of an Am eriflight Training Captain.

• Mentoring by an Ameriflight Traini ng Captain during the first 100 hours of operation.

• Pilots operating under the exemption wil l be further subject to unannounced line checks by company Check or Training Captains

• Until the pilot reaches 1,200 hours total flight time, a full Part 135.293-297-299

check will be conducted each six mont hs [grace periods allowed per 14 CFR135.301(a)] with no elements waived in each aircraft type in which the pilot

is to serve.

• Requirements above would apply to transitions to other ai rcraft than the type in which initial pilot in command qualificat ion was accomplished, until the pilot reaches 1,200 hours total time.

Unsatisfactory performance by a pilot subject to this exemption on any of the checkrides or line checks above would be reviewed by t he Chief Pilot and Direc tor of Operations and, at their discretion, result in the pilot bei ng given additional training followed by a full Part 135.293-297-299 check, or removed from assignment as Pilot in Command.

All of Ameriflight’s flight training is FAA approved through t he Flight Operations Training

Manual.

PUBLIC INTEREST

Public interest would be served at several levels:

• The 800 hour pilot reaching the 1,200 hour threshold is better prepared to transition into larger, more comp lex and demanding, faster aircraft

• The pilot reaching 1,500 hours is alr eady experienced in real-world scheduled airline operations, load planning, weather flying, dealing with maintenance and flight/duty/rest issues, and the re venue flying environment – and consequently much better prepared to succeed in Part 121 passenger service as a safe and competent pilot.

• Air feeder operations conducted by Amer iflight provide next day express package delivery and other expedited air cargo service to hundreds of communities throughout the U.S., Canada, Alaska, Mexi co, the Caribbean, Central, and South America. Manufacturers, health care organizations, manufacturers, and other businesses have grown to depend upon their reliability. These services affects

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AMERIFLIGHT, LLC

4700 EMPIRE AVENUE
HANGAR #1 BURBANK, CA 91505 (818) 847-0000 millions of people. A short age of pilots means a decrease in current service levels – specifically, later (or in some ma rkets) no, delivery of this freight.

• Granting this petition indirectly serves pub lic interest in assisting to prevent the disruption of commerce which will certainl y befall U.S. commercial aviation at all levels if nothing is done to ameliorate the pending shortage of pilots.

• The U.S. cargo industry relies on small feeder aircraft to extend their networks to

smaller communities. It would not be in the public interest to deny service to rural areas due to lack of pilots to operate the flights.

PRECEDENT

There are several precedents applic able to the flexibility this exemption would grant:

• Decision by the FAA many years ago to lower the minimum time limit for certification of pilots with instrument ratings – a decision which improved the integration of IFR traini ng with other flying and ultimately improved safety

• Long-standing provisions in Part 141 that allow certific ation of pilots with lower total flight times than those specified in Part 61, based upon the quid pro quo of specific, carefully regulated training – mu ch like Ameriflight proposes in this petition.

• Flexibility granted to the airlines on t he basis of specialized training and checking programs such as AQP.

• Various provisions in Part 135 that grant additional flexibility to cargo-only operations based upon the inher ently reduced public risk of that type of flying.

• Provisions in the current “Pilot Cert ification and Qualific ation Requirements”

NPRM related to reduction of minimum flight time requirements in exchange for specific training requirements

A number of exemptions and devi ations currently in effect at Ameriflight, which have been utilized for years with no adverse effect upon the safety of our operations. These demonstrate the Company’s commitment to effectively manage such privileges.

EXPEDITED HANDLING

Since the requested petition only addresse s On-Demand Cargo operations and not passenger carrying, Ameriflight does not r egard it as precedent-setting. Therefore, Ameriflight request that the processing of this petition be expedited to the extent deemed feasible by the FAA, including waiver of Federal Register publication and public comment periods normally required in 11.85 and 11.87.

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AMERIFLIGHT, LLC

4700 EMPIRE AVENUE
HANGAR #1 BURBANK, CA 91505 (818) 847-0000 COMMUNICATIONS

Within the limits of FAA policy, Ameriflight is available a nd open to discuss, clarify, or amend this petition, and particularly to cons ider any adjustments that might better address agency requirements while m eeting Ameriflight’s objective.

CONCLUSION

Granting this petition is the first step to the FAA proposed “U.S. Aviation Academy”. This is a needed step that w ould also work for already est ablished college programs. Also, the increased quality of flight training in the modern airlin e environment as compared to
when 14 CFR 135.243 was written.

This process will produce a cadre of pilots who, upon reaching the current 14 CFR Part 135.243(c)(2) 1,200 hour flight time limit w ould have obtained much more valuable and well-rounded experience in the real world of enroute ATC operations, weather flying, disciplined airline ty pe operations in accordance wit h airline Standa rd Operating Procedures, cockpit resource management, pay load control, and other elements of revenue flight management that are simply not available in common “flight time builders” such as flight instruction, pipeline patrol, traffic watch flying, and other various means for time building.

These pilots would then continue into larger and type-rated equipment from a foundation of experience which would make t hem much easier to train and qualify in those more-demanding aircraft. This would in turn generate a supply of safer, more seasoned, operationally experienced pilots well prepared to enter the world of Part 121 passenger flying under the current pub lic law-mandated 1,500 hour experience minimum for entry-level First Officers.