100LL,
heres an article I just found that answers my original question and maybe yours as well.
The Federal Aviation Administration likely will grant a limited extension for the Part 135/125 Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) to develop a series of draft notices of proposed rulemaking that will provide the framework for a sweeping rewrite of Part 135 requirements, impose new flight and duty time standards and substantially alter Part 125, Kathy Perfetti, the FAA official leading the ARC, said last week during the National Air Transportation Association annual meeting and convention in Las Vegas. The industry-based Part 135/125 ARC completed its deliberations in a final meeting last month and now is tasked with turning what amounts to about three, three-inch volumes of recommendations into draft NPRMs that will be delivered to the FAA (BA, Feb. 28/95).
Perfetti noted that the ARC, which comprised some 250 industry volunteers who worked closely with FAA technical specialists during their deliberations, developed a series of significant recommendations to change, clarify, tighten and retain regulations affecting Part 135 and 125 operations. "Did we cover everything? No, we did not," Perfetti said, adding that the ARC did "cover some very, very major issues."
One of the most significant changes, Perfetti said, will be the rewrite of Part 135 flight and duty time requirements. She said ARC almost reached a consensus - there was just one holdout. Achieving consensus is something that the Part 121 operations community has been unable to accomplish after years of deliberations, she added.
Perfetti provided an overview of some of the recommended changes, including raising the weight limitation for Part 135 all-cargo payload to 18,000 pounds (BA, May 24/233). This will enable cargo carriers to take advantage of some newer-technology regional aircraft - such as ATRs, SAABs and Embraers - that are parked in the desert. It also will enable some cargo carriers to move out of Part 125 and into 135. In some limited cases, the ARC has recommended raising the payload to 30,000 pounds. But that will be on a plane-by-plane basis only.
FAA had envisioned that the group ultimately would recommend the elimination of Part 125, Perfetti said, but added that did not turn out to be the case. The ARC believed that there was a need for Part 125 to support certain private carriage operations, such as companies that carry sports teams. However, the ARC found ways of moving just about everyone else out of Part 125, including the "John Travoltas" who operate large private aircraft. (The actor and flying enthusiast regularly pilots his own VIP-configured Boeing 707). Under the ARC recommendations, such operations will be moved to Part 91, Subpart F, but FAA would probably issue additional guidance to operators of such airline-type aircraft.
Recommendations On Training, Checking
Perfetti also said the ARC drafted a set of "wonderful recommendations" on training and checking. These recommendations will give credit for simulator training and fix some line-check issues, including extending the checking cycle from six and 12 months to nine and 18 months if simulators are involved. The recommendations, which also are designed to accommodate the emerging very-light-jet segment, call for lifting the prohibition against using aircraft with nine or fewer seats in scheduled operations.
As for flight and duty time changes, the ARC is recommending several approaches designed to preserve the flexibility required for Part 135 operators yet ensure adequate rest and reduce chronic fatigue for flightcrews that could result from pilots regularly faced with unpredictable schedules. The recommendations also were designed to clear up widespread confusion over existing regulations, which, if strictly adhered to, limit on-demand flexibility, said Jacqueline Rosser, senior manager of regulatory affairs for the National Air Transportation Association.
The ARC looked at various types of operations and developed specific recommendations for them. ARC members cited emergency medical service as one type of operation that needs specific recommendations.
The ARC did not call for relaxing the F&DT requirements, but provided different options that can be tailored to individual operations. Those options are essentially designed to provide pilots with at least eight hours of guaranteed rest time in a given 24-hour period. The ARC built in exceptions to this and developed a new concept of "mid-duty break," which allows the operator to extend the duty day by two hours if pilots are given at least a guaranteed four-hour break in the middle of the duty period. The ARC, however, placed limitations on the use of the mid-duty break.
Doug Carr, director of regulatory affairs for the National Business Aviation Association, who chaired the flight and duty time subcommittee for the ARC, stressed to operators last week that the changes will take time to absorb, and one of the biggest challenges will be to educate operators about how the proposed changes would affect their operations.
Perfetti could not guarantee that all of the recommendations would survive the rulemaking process. But she expressed confidence that they will have a strong chance of being well accepted by the FAA, since FAA technical specialists were involved in most of the deliberations. One major task before the FAA will be the cost-benefit analysis, and Perfetti stressed that there will be costs associated with the new regulations. The outcome of the analysis could dictate how many NPRMs result from the ARC recommendations. Perfetti expects that Part 125 changes, flight and duty time requirements, a Part 135 rewrite and Part 23 airworthiness certification changes will each be addressed in separate rulemakings.
Perfetti noted that while there already has been significant industry involvement, other industry groups still will have time for input while the ARC puts the finishing touches on writing the recommendations. But she also stressed how important it will be for interested parties to submit comments on the NPRMs when they are finally released. She could not estimate how long it might take to turn the proposals into final rules, saying only that it likely would be at least a couple of years.
However, issues that could be solved through policy guidance or other means would be addressed sooner. She gave as an example the policy guidance that the Department of Transportation released on charter brokers last fall, which stemmed directly from ARC deliberations.
