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Following the FAA’s sudden decision to rescind all single-pilot exemptions for certain legacy Cessna Citation twinjets, AOPA, NBAA, and the Citation Jet Pilots Association are asking the agency to pause the decision. The exemptions allowed operation of Part 25-certified CE-500s with a single pilot instead of the two pilots normally required in Part 25 jets.
The exemptions applied to Model 500—Citation and Citation I; Model 550—Citation II; Model S550—Citation S/II; Model 552—Navy T-47A; Model 560—Citation V and Citation Ultra; Model 550—Bravo; Model 560—Encore; and Model 560—Encore+.
“While AOPA supports the agency’s authority to take appropriate action as required by the FAA’s safety management system and its aviation safety mandate, AOPA recommends the agency pause its decision to rescind Citation jet single-pilot exemptions in an all-or-nothing manner,” AOPA v-p for regulatory affairs David Boulter wrote to the FAA. “It makes no sense to punish compliant and safe operators with this order.”
The three associations are asking the FAA to reverse its blanket denial of all single-pilot exemptions and focus on those where operators aren’t complying with the minimum standards in their exemptions.
“The goal of modern safety systems is to monitor operations and use the data collected to continuously improve safety,” Boulter wrote. “Any deficiencies in operations under this exemption should have been identified and corrected long before such drastic action, without industry collaboration, was taken.”
The affected jets are becoming less popular, according to Denise Wilson, founder, president, and sales director of The Jet Agent. While CE-500s were in high demand during the pandemic, OEMs are delivering more new light jets into the market, and preowned 525-series CitationJets have more options for upgrades, so sales of those legacy airplanes have dwindled. At the same time, the engines on the CE-500s are more expensive to maintain, and their avionics offer fewer upgrade paths. “This has just accelerated the inevitable,” she said, with the current owners of these airplanes likely the last.
However, there are avionics upgrades available for these jets, such as JetTech’s Garmin TXi touchscreen displays and GTN GPS navigators.
While much of the conversation online about the FAA’s exemption action is about the cost to hire a qualified second-in-command (SIC) pilot, this isn’t the problem, Wilson explained. “It’s about the freedom to go to the airport and go flying when you want to go flying. It’s just another layer of interruption of the freedom that all of these pilots have had at this point.” She feels that many of these owners are likely to upgrade to a certified single-pilot jet, such as one of the 525 series.
Wilson is hearing from customers trying to decide what to do with their CE-500s. Some are looking at replacing them with a CJ4; one mentioned the possibility of downgrading to a turboprop that doesn’t require a type rating; and another is trying to figure out where to find an SIC to fulfill some urgent trips.
With multiple type ratings and 9,000 hours in airline and business aviation flying, Wilson understands the benefits of a well-trained SIC. However, she said, “I’ve flown with SICs in the past when I was a full-time professional pilot, where the SIC can cause you more problems than flying single-pilot. I’m not a safety expert, but if you read the [accident] reports, these appear to be judgment issues, not pilot skill issues. And how is an SIC who doesn’t know the airplane as well as a PIC [pilot in command] going to help with the judgment issue with the PIC?”
AIN asked the FAA, “If there is such a concern with safety of the relatively few pilots operating Part 25 jets under single-pilot exemptions, why hasn’t the FAA required type ratings for Part 23 turboprops that are far more complex to operate and that have worse safety records?”
The FAA responded: “Part 23 turboprops are certified for single-pilot operations by design, whereas operating a CE-500 with one pilot required an exemption because it was certified for a two-pilot crew. The FAA rescinded the CE-500 exemptions due to widespread noncompliance with exemption conditions and clear safety risks. Changing Part 23 standards would require formal rulemaking.”
One of the accidents cited by the FAA in making its decision to rescind the exemptions took place on Dec. 18, 2025. A Citation II crashed in Statesville, North Carolina, killing all seven aboard, including Nascar driver Greg Biffle, his wife, and two children. While the PIC was type-rated in the CE-500, his type rating included a limitation: “CE-500 second in command required.” The pilot in the right seat of the accident airplane, who did not hold a multi-engine rating or a CE-500 SIC type rating, “was not qualified to perform second-in-command duties per Title 14 CFR part 61.55,” according to the NTSB preliminary report.
AIN asked the FAA whether the PIC held an exemption to operate the Citation II by himself, but the FAA explained that the accident is still under investigation. “We cannot comment on any aspect of an open NTSB-led investigation.”
Following the FAA’s sudden decision to rescind all single-pilot exemptions for certain legacy Cessna Citation twinjets, AOPA, NBAA, and the Citation Jet Pilots Association (CJP) are asking the agency to pause the decision. The exemptions allowed operation of Part 25-certified CE-500s with a single pilot instead of the two pilots normally required in Part 25 jets.
The ruling, effective on September 29, applies to exemptions covering the Model 500—Citation and Citation I; Model 550—Citation II; Model S550—Citation S/II; Model 552—Navy T-47A; Model 560—Citation V and Citation Ultra; Model 550—Bravo; Model 560—Encore; and Model 560—Encore+.
The three associations are asking the FAA to reverse its blanket denial of all single-pilot exemptions and focus on those where operators aren’t complying with the minimum standards in their exemptions.
“NBAA supports the FAA’s responsibility to examine safety concerns and to take appropriate action as supported by the evidence,” said NBAA senior v-p of operations Heidi Williams. “At the same time, the FAA’s decision to rescind these exemptions in full, effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register and without direct notice to affected operators, raises serious questions.”
According to the FAA, in the notice about the exemption being rescinded, “In addition to the widespread non-compliance described above, a review of CE-500 accidents over the last 18 years indicates that, even with conservative assumptions about crew configuration, Part 25 CE-500 aircraft operated with a single pilot are involved in approximately twice the rate of accidents as Part 23 CE-500, 510 and 525 aircraft flown with a single pilot.”
CJP has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the data the FAA used in its review of the CE-500 single-pilot exemption program. “Our goal is to understand the facts and analysis behind the FAA’s actions so we can assess their impact on our members and respond constructively,” said CJP CEO Rob Balzano.
“While AOPA supports the agency’s authority to take appropriate action as required by the FAA’s safety management system and its aviation safety mandate, AOPA recommends the agency pause its decision to rescind Citation jet single-pilot exemptions in an all-or-nothing manner,” AOPA v-p for regulatory affairs David Boulter wrote to the FAA. “It makes no sense to punish compliant and safe operators with this order.”
“The goal of modern safety systems is to monitor operations and use the data collected to continuously improve safety,” Boulter wrote. “Any deficiencies in operations under this exemption should have been identified and corrected long before such drastic action, without industry collaboration, was taken.”
Textron Aviation said it was aware of the notice and that it “supports the FAA’s commitment to aviation safety and stands ready and available to support customers.”
Online commenters were critical of the FAA’s action. In the Private Jet Pilots forum on Facebook, a member wrote, “This new rule is ridiculous; it’s a straight-wing jet, not a rocket ship. Single pilot in a King Air is more dangerous than [single pilot] in a Citation.”
AIN asked the FAA, “If there is such a concern with safety of the relatively few pilots operating Part 25 jets under single-pilot exemptions, why hasn’t the FAA required type ratings for Part 23 turboprops that are far more complex to operate and that have worse safety records?”
The FAA responded: “Part 23 turboprops are certified for single-pilot operations by design, whereas operating a CE-500 with one pilot required an exemption because it was certified for a two-pilot crew. The FAA rescinded the CE-500 exemptions due to widespread noncompliance with exemption conditions and clear safety risks. Changing Part 23 standards would require formal rulemaking.”
One of the accidents cited by the FAA in making its decision to rescind the exemptions took place on Dec. 18, 2025. A Citation II crashed in Statesville, North Carolina, killing all seven aboard, including Nascar driver Greg Biffle, his wife, and two children. While the PIC was type-rated in the CE-500, his type rating included a limitation: “CE-500 second in command required.” The pilot in the right seat of the accident airplane, who did not hold a multi-engine rating or a CE-500 SIC type rating, “was not qualified to perform second-in-command duties per Title 14 CFR part 61.55,” according to the NTSB preliminary report.
Unlike the FAA, other regulatory frameworks such as EASA’s require type ratings in most high-performance aircraft. When the Mitsubishi MU-2 twin turboprop suffered a series of accidents, the company, which still supports the aircraft, formally asked the FAA to mandate a type rating pilot training program. Instead, the FAA imposed a special regulation for training, and since then the number of MU-2 accidents dropped significantly.