The FAA has issued new safety guidelines for single pilot Part 135 compliance.
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The FAA has published updated guidance for agency safety inspectors to address policy revisions concerning the initial certification process for certain Part 135 single-pilot applicants. According to the agency, the aim of the revisions are to “reduce overall wait times for initial certification applicants whose proposed operations are of limited scope and complexity.”
Because such operators are not required to have a procedures manual or an approved pilot training program, the FAA said it has determined that for these Part 135 initial certification applicants that the safety assurance system (SAS) and element design (ED) documentation requirements can be reduced without negatively impacting safety.
“This will align the level of documentation required by SAS during the design assessment (DA) phase of initial certification projects with the level of documentation required by the regulations,” said the notice. “The FAA believes that reducing the documentation during the DA phase and placing additional focus during the Performance Assessment phase is more effective to ensure repeatable safety performance for single-pilot operators.”
Once the certificate has been issued, the responsible FSDO will continue to use SAS and other system safety principles to “validate and document ongoing oversight of Part 135 single-pilot operators.” Post-certification, principal inspectors will adjust the certificate holder assessment tool and comprehensive assessment plan to reflect the operator’s state and risk factors. Under the guidance, Part 135 single-pilot approval projects already underway have two options to complete the certification process.
FAA Addresses Wait Times for SP-Part 135 Approvals
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The FAA has published updated guidance for agency safety inspectors to address policy revisions concerning the initial certification process for certain Part 135 single-pilot applicants. According to the agency, the aim of the revisions are to “reduce overall wait times for initial certification applicants whose proposed operations are of limited scope and complexity.”
Because such operators are not required to have a procedures manual or an approved pilot training program, the FAA said it has determined that for these Part 135 initial certification applicants that the safety assurance system (SAS) and element daesign (ED) documentation requirements can be reduced without negatively impacting safety. “This will align the level of documentation required by SAS during the design assessment (DA) phase of initial certification projects with the level of documentation required by the regulations,” said the notice. “
Once the certificate has been issued, the responsible FSDO will continue to use SAS and other system safety principles to “validate and document ongoing oversight of Part 135 single-pilot operators.” Post-certification, principal inspectors will continue to adjust the certificate holder assessment tool and comprehensive assessment plan to reflect the operator’s current state and risk factors. Under the new guidance, Part 135 single-pilot approval projects already underway have two options to complete the certification process.