Legal Interpretations

As students of aviation, we are familiar with our regulations, the AIM, Advisory Circulars and other instructional, regulatory and best practice FAA guidance publications. But questions remain about whats legal. One sure, but unpleasant way to answer them is to attract the FAAs enforcement apparatus. This begins with your friendly neighborhood Aviation Safety Inspector, and can lead to suspension or revocation orders, plea bargaining, trials and appeals with the NTSB, and ultimately, the federal courts. There is a better way.

Mark Kolber

Wednesday, May 16, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The FAA Chief Counsel Office provides official interpretations of aviation regulations, accessible online, which pilots can use to clarify legal questions and understand compliance without facing enforcement.
These interpretations cover diverse areas, offering specific guidance on aircraft equipment requirements (e.g., anti-collision lights, installed clocks), IFR procedures (e.g., mandatory procedure turns, strict adherence to lost communication rules), and pilot training/currency standards.
While valuable, some interpretations may challenge long-standing common practices or seem counter-intuitive, leading to unexpected complications for previously accepted operational norms.

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As students of aviation, we are familiar with our regulations, the AIM, Advisory Circulars and other instructional, regulatory and best practice FAA guidance publications. But questions remain about what’s legal. One sure, but unpleasant way to answer them is to attract the FAA’s enforcement apparatus. This begins with your friendly neighborhood Aviation Safety Inspector, and can lead to suspension or revocation orders, “plea bargaining,” trials and appeals with the NTSB, and ultimately, the federal courts. There is a better way.

The FAA Chief Counsel Office has been issuing letters of interpretation in response to inquiries for decades. Once only available from legal research and aviation compliance companies, the FAA now publishes them. At www.faa.gov, search for “Legal Interpretations & Chief Counsel Opinions.” They cover a wide variety of subjects including logging flight time, whether manufacturer Service Bulletins are mandatory, airline and charter pilot duty time limitations, and the multiple and often-grey areas where Part 91 and Part 135 charter operations collide.