Upgraded FDR Final Deadline Passes

Part 135 operators of turbine airplanes configured with 10 to 30 passenger seats and manufactured after August 19 must have  upgraded flight data recorders installed (FAR 135.152). Because the initial requirement was issued five years ago, the FAA has turned down most petitions for temporary exemptions or permanent exceptions, including requests by NetJets to exempt a new Gulfstream V from the requirement for the 88-parameter FDR. The agency said, “Given the considerable notice of these requirements provided by the final rule [issued in 1997], the FAA does not intend to issue exemptions from that date except in the most limited, temporary circumstances where fully justified.”