AFS-13-518-E
Exemption No. 10957 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-2013-0758
for an exemption from §§ 61.160(b)(3)(i) and 61.160(b)(3)(ii) of Title 14,
Code of Federal Regulations
GRANT OF EXEMPTION
By letter dated August 22, 2013, Mr. Tim Brady, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL 32114 petitioned the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of ERAU for an exemption from §§ 61.160(b)(3)(i) and 61.160(b)(3)(ii) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The proposed
exemption, if granted, would allow certain students that completed their instrument rating and/or commercial pilot training under part 142 at ERAU to be eligible for the restricted privileges airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate in accordance with § 61.160(b) and (d). The petitioner requests relief from the following regulations:
Section 61.160(b)(3)(i) and (ii) prescribes, that a person may apply for an airline transport pilot certificate with an airplane category multiengine class rating or an airline transport pilot certificate concurrently with an airplane type rating with a minimum of 1,000 hours of total time as a pilot if the person:
(3) Holds a commercial pilot certificate with an airplane category and instrument rating if:
(i) The required ground training was completed as part of an approved part 141 curriculum at the institution of higher education; and
(ii) The required flight training was completed as part of an approved part 141
curriculum at the institution of higher education or at a part 141 pilot school that has a training agreement under § 141.26 of this chapter with the institution of higher
The petitioner supports its request with the following information:
ERAU notes that it is a university specializing in pilot training. It states that the university invested heavily in high fidelity, flight simulation training devices (FSTDs) which represent primary training aircraft. The university utilized these devices to provide training for all certificates and ratings under the university’s part 142 FAA air agency certificate number NX4X404M. Citing the preamble to the final rule which promulgated part 142 (61 FR 34508), ERAU notes that the FAA encouraged part 141 pilot schools to apply for a part 142 air agency certificate if the pilot school intended to employ the use of flight training devices. ERAU offers that the preamble also stated the approval of training programs would be considerably more detailed and that training center instructors would be subject to more demanding qualifications under part 142. ERAU cites specific part 142 regulations in support of this position. Finally, the university attests that the flight simulator and flight training devices described by § 142.59 must be of higher fidelity and maintained to a higher standard than those allowed under part 141.
ERAU states that it provided commercial pilot certificate and instrument rating training under part 142 between 2003 and 2011; this training has since been phased out.
ERAU states that its request for exemption is within the public interest as it has issued over 2,000 certificates under its part 142 training center. According to the petitioner, many of these individuals have a conditional offer from a part 121 air carrier and are waiting on this exemption to be granted so that they may begin their career as an airline pilot.
A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on September 19, 2013 (78 FR 57676). The FAA received comments from 45 individuals; all commenters were supportive for the grant of exemption. The commenters cited that training accomplished in accordance with part 142 is more robust than that conducted under part 141 due to the inclusion of simulator training. Many commenters cited the higher standard for personnel, curriculum, and equipment at a part 142 training center.
One commenter described additional experience they felt should be obtained by an airline pilot; however, these concerns are outside the scope of the exemption request.
The FAA’s Request for Additional Information:
On February 2, 2014, the FAA contacted the petitioner for additional information. The FAA sought more detail on how ERAU's part 142 training center program differs from its part 141 pilot school training course outline. Specifically, the FAA requested a comparison and further explanation of the instrument rating and commercial pilot flight training programs that were conducted in accordance with part 142. The FAA also inquired about the ground training ERAU provided upon amending its program back to part 141.
Additionally, the FAA requested the course names and course numbers that the students would have registered for if they completed their training under part 142 and asked if there
were any significant changes to its part 142 certificate since 2003. These questions are
similar to the information required to be submitted on FAA form 8700-1: Institution of Higher Education's Application for Authority to Certify its Graduates for an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with Reduced Aeronautical Experience. If there was any course information not listed on ERAU’s existing letter of authorization (LOA), ERAU was requested to submit a revised application form so the course descriptions could be reviewed.
Finally, the FAA asked ERAU to provide an estimate on the number of ERAU graduates who have contacted the school to obtain a certifying statement and are subsequently awaiting a decision on ERAU’s petition.
ERAU provided the additional requested information electronically on February 3rd and February 5th.
The FAA’s analysis is as follows:
The FAA has considered the petitioner’s supporting information, the additional information requested, and the comments to the petition. The FAA has determined that the relief
requested meets an equivalent level of safety and is in the public interest.
ERAU currently holds authority from the FAA to certify graduates of several authorized aviation degree programs, listed within its LOA, to be eligible for an ATP certificate with reduced aeronautical experience. ERAU may certify these graduates if they meet all of criteria contained within the LOA, to include completion of training for the commercial pilot certificate and instrument rating under part 141. ERAU’s authorized aviation degree
programs have been found, through the FAA’s approval process, to satisfy the requirements in § 61.160 and are consistent with Advisory Circular 61-139: Institution of Higher Education’s
Application for Authority to Certify its Graduates for an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with Reduced Aeronautical Experience. As such, ERAU provides students within those
authorized aviation degree programs courses designed to improve and enhance the knowledge and skills of a person seeking a career as a professional pilot.
The FAA finds that the training previously accomplished under ERAU’s part 142 training center is equivalent to the training currently offered under ERAU’s part 141 pilot school. A review of ERAU’s ground training curriculum for the commercial pilot and instrument rating courses that were transitioned from part 142 to training under part 141 indicates little change. This review consisted of a comparison of the commercial pilot and instrument rating flight training accomplished under part 141 versus part 142. The comparison included the amount of flight time, time in a flight training device (FTD), and briefing time. Under part 142 there was a reduction in total flight time for the courses and an increase of FTD hours. For
example, in the part 142 instrument rating course, the total flight time was reduced by approximately 4 hours and the FTD time increased by 11 hours when compared to the part 141 instrument rating course. Similarly, in the part 142 commercial pilot course, the total flight time was reduced by approximately 7 hours and the FTD time was increased by 8 hours. The FAA also reviewed ERAU’s descriptions of how the training philosophy evolved over the course of the part 142 training. In the part 142 commercial pilot course FTD time was
added to focus on scenario-based training to further enhance aeronautical decision making skills. In the part 142 instrument rating course, the use of FTDs was expanded from only using the devices for basic attitude instrument instruction to integration throughout the course with scenario-based training and emergencies that otherwise could not have been trained in the aircraft. The FAA found that ERAU’s program under part 142 was continuously modified to improve the training results and those flight training philosophies continue today under part 141 with the only difference being a nominal amount of flight time.
ERAU indicated that the course numbers that ERAU students registered for were not changed when they transitioned from part 142 ground training to part 141 ground training. Given ERAU’s previous applications for authority to certify its graduates for an ATP certificate with reduced aeronautical experience and the FAA’s subsequent issuance of an LOA, the FAA finds that the ground training a graduate received under part 142 is no different than the ground training an ERAU student would be taking under part 141.
Given the regulatory requirements and the FAA’s ability to oversee the training that students receive under ERAU’s part 142 training program, the FAA finds that ERAU’s students were continuously evaluated through academic testing and flight observations as is accomplished under part 141. This training and testing, which may have led to an FAA commercial pilot certificate and instrument rating, would have been integrated into the broader academic curriculum within the aviation degree program offered by ERAU. This integration is consistent with the rationale articulated in the Pilot Certification and Qualification
Requirements for Air Carrier Operations final rule preamble (78 FR 42324) for the
requirements under § 61.160.
The FAA agrees with ERAU that a grant of this petition is in the public interest and would enable graduates to enter the airline industry sooner. ERAU has indicated it has more than 100 graduates who completed their commercial pilot and instrument rating flight training under ERAU’s part 142 certificate and have requested the certifying statement so they may seek airline employment.
The FAA has determined that ERAU may certify a graduate for an ATP certificate with reduced aeronautical experience only after that graduate has been found to meet the criteria noted in ERAU’s LOA. which the FAA notes in Condition/Limitation #1.
The FAA will consider ERAU’s request for exemption as a request to revise its LOA. Concurrent with issuing this grant of exemption, the FAA has amended the LOA to permit ERAU to certify graduates that have completed the requisite ground and flight training under its part 142 training center certificate. ERAU must revise its certifying statement for these graduates to indicate they are eligible for an ATP certificate with reduced aeronautical experience as a result of the relief provided by this exemption. This requirement is reflected in Condition/Limitation #2.
ERAU must also provide a copy of this exemption to each student for whom the relief is necessary and direct that student to provide a copy of the exemption along with the official
transcript and certifying statement at the time of application for the practical test for the ATP certificate under § 61.160. This is reflected in Condition/Limitation #3.
According to ERAU, it ceased to provide commercial pilot certificate and instrument rating training under its part 142 training center certificate to students who enrolled in the
Aeronautical Science degree program after 2011. As such, the relief provided in this exemption is limited to only those students who enrolled in ERAU’s Aeronautical Science degree program between 2003 and 2011. This limitation is reflected in Condition/Limitation #4. Any students who enrolled into the Aeronautical Science degree program after
December 31, 2011, must have accomplished their commercial certificate and instrument rating flight and ground training under ERAU’s approved part 141 pilot school certificate to meet the requirements of § 61.160(b)(3).
The FAA’s Decision:
In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption meets an equivalent level of safety and is in the public interest. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113, 44701, and 44703, delegated to me by the Administrator, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is granted an exemption from 14 CFR §§ 61.160(b)(3)(i) and (ii) to the extent necessary to allow students who matriculated into the university's Aeronautical Science degree program before the start of the 2012 academic year, and who subsequently completed their instrument rating and/or commercial pilot training under part 142 at ERAU, to be eligible for the restricted privileges ATP certificate in accordance with § 61.160(b) or (d), subject to the conditions and limitations listed below:
Conditions and Limitations
1) ERAU must adhere to all the conditions and limitations listed within its letter of authorization (LOA) granting authorization for ERAU to certify its graduates for an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate with reduced aeronautical experience.
2) In exercising the relief provided in this exemption, ERAU must include the following certifying statement on the graduate’s transcript:
“Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University certifies that, in conjunction with the relief provided in Exemption No. 10957, the requirements of § 61.160[(b) or (d)] for an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with Reduced Aeronautical Experience have been met.” 3) ERAU must provide a copy of this exemption to each student for whom the relief is
necessary and direct that student to provide a copy of the exemption along with the official transcript and certifying statement at the time of application for the practical test for the ATP certificate under § 61.160.
4) ERAU can only exercise this exemption for its students who initially enrolled in the Aeronautical Science degree program between 2003 and 2011 and subsequently
completed the commercial certificate and instrument rating ground and flight training under ERAU’s part 142 training center certificate.
5) The authority (in the LOA) to certify students who received training under ERAU’s part 142 training center certificate terminates upon expiration of this exemption. This exemption terminates on March 31, 2016, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. Issued in Washington, D.C., on March 14, 2014.
/s/
John Barbagallo
