Exemption No. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION 

WASHINGTON, DC 20591 

In the matter of the petition of 

NEW ENGLAND AIRLINES, INC. 

for an exemption from § l35.244(a)( l) 

ofTitle 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations 

Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2014-0495 

DENIAL OF EXEMPTION 

By letter dated July 15, 2014, as amended August 1, Mr. William Bendokas, Director of 

Operations, New England Airlines (New England Air), 56 Airport Road, Westerly, Rhode 

Island 02891 , petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of New 

England Air for an exemption from § 135.244(a)( I) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations 

( 14 CFR). The proposed exemption, if granted, would eliminate the 10 hours of initial 

operating experience (JOE) required for New England Air single engine pilot in command 

(PIC) candidates operating under visual flight rules (VFR) on the scheduled (commuter) route 

between Westerly, Rl and Block Island, Rl, if the pilot has completed 20 hours of aeronautical 

experience in another single engine aircraft in unscheduled (on demand) operations. 1 As 

proposed, the exemption would be granted with no expiration date. 

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulation: 

Section l35.244(a)(l) ofTitle 14 CFR prescribes in pertinent part, that no certificate 

holder may use any person, nor may any person serve, as a pilot in command of an 

aircraft operated in a commuter operation, as defined in part 119 of this chapter unless 

that person has completed, prior to designation as pilot in command, on that make and 

basic model aircraft and in that crewmember position, the following operating 

experience in each make and basic model of aircraft to be flown: 

1 Although the petitioner indicates the PA28 and PA32 are the pertinent single engine aircraft included in its 

Operations Specifications, the petitioner did not provide make and model infomtation for the aircraft in which the 

20 hours of general aeronautical experience, as proposed, would be completed. 

AFS-14-379-E 
2 

( 1) Aircraft, single engine-1 0 hours. 

The petitioner supports its request with the following information: 

The petitioner states the weather conditions required for all VFR flight operations are 

enhanced beyond the basic VFR requirements for both on demand and commuter 

operations. Secondly, all PICs are trained to exactly the same requirements and 

maintain the same proficiency for either type of operation, disregarding IOE. Therefore, 

the same level of safety required for flight conducted under scheduled operations would 

be on par for flights conducted under on demand operations. Thirdly, the requirement 

of completing 20 flight hours in the aircraft is 200% greater than § 135.255(a)( 1) 

requires even before any allowed reduction as per the same regulation; therefore, safety 

is enhanced by the additional pilot experience. The 20 hours would be 400% greater 

when considering that IOE is reducible to 5 hours total as per § 135.244. In this case, 

the 20 hours of PIC experience greatly enhances safety. 

The petitioner asserts this exemption is in the public interest because more pilots would 

be eligible to provide transportation to Block Island Airport, which is designated as a 

rural airport by the FAA. In turn, this would be an economic boost to the Block Island 

community by allowing more visitors and workers convenient air transportation to the 

island. 

A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on July 17, 2014 

(79 FR 53249). No comments were received. 

The FAA's analysis is as follows: 

Section 135.244 to part 135 of Subchapter G was added by direct final rule, effective 

March 1, 1980.2 In the year previous to the rule being published, 13 fatal accidents had 

occurred in commuter air carrier operations, several of which involved multiple 

fatalities. FAA analysis ofthese accidents, many of which occurred in single pilot 

operations, revealed that the pilot had a low experience level in the specific aircraft 

make or model being operated at the time of the accident., despite possessing 

significant aeronautical experience in similar aircraft.3 

The FAA determined that low levels of pilot operating experience in the particular 

make and model of aircraft flown presented an unacceptable safety risk in commuter air 

carrier passenger operations. Accordingly, the minimum operating experience 

requirements in § 135.244 were established to ensure the completion of minimum 

supervised night time in the particular aircraft make and model before a pilot may be 

designated to serve as PIC of the respective aircraft in commuter operations. In 

2 45 FR 7540, 7541 , Feburary 4, 1980. 

J /d. 
3 

addition, the agency noted that although the accidents supporting the JOE requirement 

for commuter operations occurred in VFR conditions, which posed serious implications 

for operations conducted under IFR conditions.4 

New England Air proposes an exemption that would eliminate the 1 0-hour IOE 

requirement in§ 135.244(a)(l) for a single engine aircraft flown in certain commuter 

operations,provided the pilot has completed 20 hours of aeronautical experience as PIC 

in another single engine aircraft in on demand operations. As noted in the direct final 

rule above, low experience level in the specific make or model being operated was a 

factor in the accident analysis leading to the final rule implementing the IOE 

requirement. Allowing 20 hours of unsupervised aeronautical experience in any single 

engine aircraft5 to substitute for the JOE requirement in another make and model would 

be contrary to the safety basis on which the rule was enacted. 

The petitioner has failed to show that its circumstances are different from the general 

class of regulated persons so as to justify relief by exemption. Moreover, the petitioner 

has not established how it would provide a level of safety equivalent to the 

regulation from which exemption is sought. 

The FAA's Decision: 

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

public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ I 06(f), 40113, 

and 44701 , delegated to me by the Administrator, the petition ofNcw England Airlines for an 

exemption from 14 CFR 135.244(a)(l) is hereby denied. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on FEB 0 5 2015 

John S. Duncan 

Director, Flight Standards Service 

4 45 FR 7541. 5 As previously indicated, the petitioner failed to provide make and model infonnation for the aircraft it proposes 

to usc for this exemption.