Single Pilot Exemption for Cessna CE-500 series aircraft.

The Cessna (Citation) 500, 550 and 560 were the aircraft that formed the basis of the Citation family of jet aircraft in the General Aviation jet market. Known as the Citation I and II, Citation V, Encore and Ultra there are still over 1,200 of these aircraft on the FAA registry. All of these aircraft were certified under FAA Part 25 in the transport category requiring a minimum crew of 2 pilots. Two variants of this model family are the Citation I/SP and the Citation II/SP (501 and 551 models) which were certified under FAA Part 23 under the Normal category of aircraft allowing single pilot operation of these aircraft. However, there only slightly more than 200 of these two single-pilot models on the FAA registry. Given the relatively small performance and cockpit difference between the two groups of aircraft, there was great interest in finding a way to operate the 500, 550 and 560 models with a single pilot which led to the creation of the Single Pilot Exemption by the FAA for these aircraft. Pilots who have the required experience, receive the required training and demonstrate the required proficiency of operating these aircraft as a single pilot can receive an exemption to operate these aircraft as a single-pilot provided they satisfy all of the FAA requirements and the “conditions and limitations” specified in the exemption.

 One of the conditions/limitations that has gotten more than one pilot into trouble is that the exemption is ONLY VALID FOR FLIGHTS WHERE THE FAA HAS JURISDICTION i.e. US AIRSPACE. Originally the corresponding limitation was written as “This exemption is not valid for operations outside of the United States” which resulted in a number of single pilots who tried to use this exemption in a foreign country being grounded and the aircraft impounded in until the corresponding fines were paid and an adequate, type-rated SIC was procured to repatriate the aircraft to the US. Upon learning about the issues being faced by Citation pilots with this exemption, CST partnered with AOPA to work with the FAA to have the exemption limitation re-written to now state “This exemption is not valid for operations outside the United States, except when the operator receives authorization from the appropriate civil aviation authority of the foreign nation in which the operator intends to operate. XXXX must explain this obligation to any pilot who completes its approved single-pilot course. A copy of this exemption must be provided to the sovereign nation upon request.”

One occasion we received pushbacks from pilots who claim that they have flown to a certain country, or countries, with no adverse issues from the local civil aviation officials. Our advice to them is that while that may be true, they are nonetheless flying an aircraft with a Type Certificate stating the minimum number of crew is 2 with only 1 pilot and that an exemption from the FAA has no validity in a foreign country. It is like not paying taxes, you get away with it, until you don’t, and then the consequences can be severe. For our customers, we request approval, in writing, and then provide that approval to the customer in the event that they are ramp checked in the foreign country or back in the US by the FAA. After all, the requirement to obtain permission is also a limitation set by the FAA, so it is best to be able to procure that permission to demonstrate compliance if you are ever questioned.