NATA has submitted comments critical of the FAA’s recent notice on certain aircraft lease agreements known as "wet leases,” because it overemphasizes the importance of management agreements instead of adopting a more holistic view of an air carrier’s operational control system.

The comments point out that much of the information and proposed guidance outlined in the notice, if followed by FAA inspectors, creates new unjustified regulatory burdens. Attempting to the address an apparent lack of understanding by the FAA, NATA's comments also elaborated on several unique elements of the on-demand charter industry.

“It is NATA’s belief that this goal [a more definitive demonstration of operational control in Part 135 operations] can be achieved through current regulations. FAA enforcement of current regulations and lack of understanding of how the Part 135 industry operates are the true issues. Certainly, operational control cannot be determined from one aspect of a contract, as this notice implies, but must consider each Part 135 air carrier as an entire operational structure,” the comments state.

“The Wet Lease guidance has morphed from a legitimate attempt by the FAA to clarify to the industry how to properly determine operational control into a legal exercise that falls far short of the goal by placing an inordinate amount of focus on management agreements rather than proper demonstration and evaluation of an air carrier’s entire operational control system.”

The association closed its comments with suggestions to the FAA for achieving their ultimate goal; increased safety through better implementation and demonstration of operational control.

“It is imperative that the FAA fully understand the intricacies of the on-demand air charter industry before they issue burdensome new requirements which fall far short of addressing the problem and while proper enforcement of current regulatory requirements could much better address the true issue of unclear or improperly delegated operational control,” concluded NATA President James K. Coyne (pictured, above).

FMI: www.nata.aero