Premium on Safety - Issue 42 2021 - 8
FOCUS POINT
Avoiding Part 134.5
How to not end up in an illegal air charter conundrum
BY AMY LABODA
It is a fact: illegally conducted air charter activities hurt our entire
industry. Companies that engage in air charter operations that are
not certificated by the FAA, or are outside of the scope of their
certificates, often also skimp on pilot, cabin crew and maintenance
training, compromising overall operational safety. If an incident
or accident occurs (and invariably it does) any insurance the
company might carry is likely to be invalid. Beyond that, any FAA
certificated employees are likely to come under the sharp focus of
FAA investigators.
If you work for an operation that engages in illegal air charter you
could have your FAA certificates revoked. So how do you avoid it?
The best advice is to learn what to look for when job hunting.
THE THREE C'S OF ILLEGAL CHARTER
Illegal charter operations can take many forms. Some of the
more formal types of illegal charters include " flight department
companies, " illegal dry leases or excessive timeshare agreements,
or anything that exceeds the FAA's rules as outlined in 14 CFR 91
and 14 CFR 135. Less formal illegal charters can include " tradeouts "
and the simple " cost-share " arrangement that isn't following
the letter of 91.501.
" We try to break it down into three categories: the clueless,
the careless, and the criminal, " explains Bryan Burns, president,
Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF). " So when you look at
operators, examples of the clueless include student pilots and
private pilots, but also a small operator who may feel that they
8
can take on a passenger because they're going to a particular
destination, they tell their friend, and well, they split the costs, "
says Burns. The problems began when the pilot solicited the
passenger, and multiplied when " costs " came into it.
The careless aircraft owner who gets caught in the illegal charter
trap might allow their friend to use their jet or turboprop for five
or 10 hours in return for use of that individual's home in Aspen. " It
might be legal if the deal is managed properly and everyone plays
by the rules, but it's like anything. When you start stretching and
bending rules, there's a risk that what you are doing is illegal, " he
continues.
Finally, there is the criminal operation, one that, according to
Burns, quite intentionally operates outside the scope of regulation.
" They know what they're doing. They don't care. They advertise
aircraft available for charter on the internet, for instance, without
carrying the required certifications for the operation. "
The Air Charter Safety Foundation is a non-profit organization
with 260 member companies working to help business, charter
and fractional ownership companies offer safe air transportation
by providing objective information about these standards and
services to the public. The ACSF administers the Aviation Safety
Action Program (ASAP) in partnership with the Federal Aviation
Authority. The ASAP, which has more than 200 participants,
makes use of member employee input to identify significant safety
concerns and issues, operational deficiencies, non-compliance with
https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/safe_charter_operations/
https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/asap/
https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/asap/
https://www.acsf.aero/
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