NORTHERN AIR CARGO.
Docket Management Facility U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE West Building - Ground Floor, Room W12-140 Washington, DC 20590
VIA FDMS Electronic - regulations.gov
DecembeLl 4, 2020_ ___,, .. ,
Re: Petition for relief from § 121.434(c )(I )(ii) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations
Ladies/Gentlemen:
In accordance with the Code ofFederal Regulations, 14 CFR § 11.61 , § 11.63 and§ 11.81 , Northern Air Cargo, LLC petitions the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for relief from§ 121.434(c)(l)(ii) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). If granted, this exemption would permit Northern Air Cargo (NAC) to substitute a qualified and authorized Check Airman or aircrew program designee in place of an FAA Inspector to observe a qualifying Pilot-In-Command (PIC) while that PIC is performing prescribed duties during at least one flight that includes a takeoff and a landing when completing initial or upgrade training as specified in § 121.434(c )( I )(ii). Northern Air Cargo supports this request with the followinginformation: 1. Numerous PlCs complete training each month, and this completion rate is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. A. There are limited manpower and resources at the Denali CMO to cover our expanding fleet and international and domestic flight schedules, resulting in otherwise qualified PlCs being unable to perform their duties while awaiting FAA observations. 2. The FAA has the authority to observe any pilot at any time, which the FAA routinely does. However, the FAA conducts these routine observations on a schedule that the local office sets without the burden of having to observe a particular pilot on specific flights necessitated by NAC' s training and service schedules. 3. The proposed exemption would be in the public interest by allowing: A. The FAA greater flexibility and better use of its inspection force by focusing on higher priority safety functions; B. NAC to use a qualified pilot immediately after completing operating experience; C. NAC to significantly increase the use of qualified pilots and improve its ability to provide on-time, dependable services to its customers.
A NORTHERN AVIATION SERVICES COMPANY 3900 OLD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ROAD ] ANCHORAGE, AK 99502 PHONE 907-243-3331 jTOLLFREE 800-727-21411FAX 907-249-5190} WWW.NAC.AER O Page 1 of 3 NORTHERN AIR CARGO.
D. NAC to reduce the unnecessary cost of wages and lost productivity for those qualified pilots waiting for FAA observation. E. NAC crew members to complete, in a timely manner, the consolidation of skills requisite of § 121.434(g). This would eliminate the need for costly additional training and make qualification a complete cycle as it is intended by the F ARs. Granting the proposed exemption also would have no adverse effect on safety for the following reasons: 1. The FAA bas th0 authority to observe any pilot at any time during line operations. 2. Not all FAA Inspectors are qualified on NAC's airplane types nor are they all familiar with fleet-specific operating procedures or routes to be flown. A. The authorized NAC Check Airman or aircrew program designee would be highly trained and experienced with the particular airplane type and would be approved by the FAA. B. By allowing a NAC Check Airman or aircrew program designee who is highly qualified in the airplane, route, and NAC procedures to complete the observation, a greater level of scrutiny and objectivity would be provided for the qualifyingPIC. 3. The NAC Check Airman or aircrew program designee would be used only to fulfill the requirements of§ 121.434(c) (1 )(ii) when an FAA inspector is not available. Finally, NAC proposes that the requested exemption be subject to the following conditions and limitations: 1. NAC will submit to its POI a schedule (in writing) that includes the date(s) of each observation to be conducted under§ 121.434. This schedule will be submitted at least ten (10) days before any observation. 2. The FAA pre-approves the substitution for each observation of a qualifying PIC candidate, while reserving the first right-of-refusal. Thus, NAC will subsequently contact the POI for concurrence before substituting a qualified check airman or aircrew program designee in each instance of observation. 3. NAC will nominate qualified Check Airmen or aircrew program designees to perform the JOE observation and the FAA will approve qualified particular Check Airmen or aircrew program designees to conduct the observation through a letter or authorization. 4. The requirement of§ 121.434(c)(l )(ii) will be considered fulfilled if the observation is performed by an FAA-authorized Check Airman or aircrew program designee. The observation requirement will be documented in the qualifying pilot's record. 5. The authorized Check Airman or aircrew program designee will be a Check Airman or aircrew program designee other than the airman who is conducting the operating experience training of the qualifying pilot. 6. NAC will maintain the records necessary to demonstrate compliance with the
A NORTHERN AVIATION SERVICES COMPANY 3900 OLD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ROAD I ANCHORAGE, AK 99502 PHONE 907-243-3331 j TOLL FREE 800-727-2141 I FAX 907-249-5190 IWWW.NAC.AER0 Page 2 of 3 NORTHERN AIR CARGO.
conditions and limitations of this exemption. 7. No observations will be conducted until the qualifying PIC has completed the minimum number of hours specified in§ 121.434(c)(3), where applicable. 8. NAC may perform these observations during international and domestic operations.
Northern Air Cargo specifically requests that the FAA not publish a summary of this petition for exemption and request comments due to: I. Tbj~12etition does set a precedent. 2. The reliefrequested is identical to exemptions granted previously to other airlines (FedEx Exemption 6473, Atlas Air Exemption 10482, and ExpressJet Airlines Exemption7135). 3. Delaying action on this petition would continue to affect operations and the ability of Northern Air Cargo to meet the needs of its customers. 4. Northern Air Cargo is filing this petition in a timely manner, subsequent to dialog with its Principal Operations Inspector at the Denali Certificate Management Office (CMO), Anchorage, Alaska. Please contact me at the address and numbers listed below if you have questions or require additional information.
Respectfully,
Captain David Lopez-Calderon Chief Pilot ___N_ orthern Air Cargo LLC 3900 Old International Airport Road Anchorage, AK 99502 [email protected] + 1 (786) 350-9378 Mobile + 1 (907) 243-3331 Office + 1 (907) 249-5190 FAX
Cc: Captain Conal J. Brady Ill, V.P of Operations Richard Macri, NAC COO and Agent of Service Charles Fitzpatrick, FAA POI - Denali CMO
A NORTHERN AVIATION SERVICES COMPANY 3900 OLD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ROAD IANCHORAGE, AK 99502 PHONE 907-243-3331 ITOLL FREE 800-727-2141 I FAX 907-249-5190 I WWW.NAC.AERO Page 3 of 3