NBAA's Small Aircraft Exemption Gets Another Year

The FAA gave another 12-month extension to NBAA’s Small Aircraft Exemption, which provides certain operational flexibilities to NBAA members that operate small aircraft. The extension continues an exemption that has been in place since 1972, but in recent years the FAA has shortened the length to one year. The agency typically had provided two-year extensions.

The latest extension (7897H), which runs through March 31, 2017, enables operators of piston, fixed-wing aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or less and rotorcraft to take advantage of benefits such as alternative maintenance programs and limited cost sharing/cost reimbursement for certain flights under Part 91 Subpart F.

Without the exemption, the Part 91 Subpart F cost-sharing benefits are usually limited to aircraft that weigh more than 12,500 pounds, multi-engine jet aircraft or fractional-ownership aircraft.

The exemption remains limited to operations within the U.S., something NBAA hopes the FAA will change in the future. “We continue to work with the FAA to address problematic limitations that prohibit the use of the exemption for operations conducted outside of the U.S.,” said Doug Carr, NBAA v-p of regulatory and international affairs.