2011 Seminars

2010 Seminars 

In the News

Standard Industry Fare Level (SIFL)

The DOT has released Standard Industry Fare Level (SIFL) rates for the 2 nd half of 2010 (July 1, 2010, to December 31, 2010). The new rates are:

0-500 miles $ 0.2243

501-1,500 miles $ 0.1710

over 1,500 miles $ 0.1644

Terminal Charge $ 41.00

7/20/2010

FAA - Aircraft Re-registration begins fall 2010

  Effective October 1, 2010, the FAA will require owners to begin re-registering their aircraft.  The re-registration process is a rolling program with the first three-month window involving only aircraft whose certificates were issued in March of any year.  The process will move on to certificates issued in April and so on for the next three years.  The intent is to clear the clutter from the aircraft registry and to provide more up-to-date information to law enforcement and other agencies.  For the full rule, see the link on the Jackson and Wade Insights page.

5/31/2010

FAA requires operation of NextGen's ADS-B by 2020

The final rule dictating aircraft owners to operate in NextGen's ADS-B-required environment by 2020 has been released by the FAA.  The rule addresses ADS-B out.  The FAA acknowledges that the general aviation community will incur significant costs from this rule.  However, the FAA says this must be balanced against the system's overall benefits which include fuel saved and other operational efficiencies.

4/6/2010

FAA Lifts Ban on Anti-Depressant Use

Starting Monday, April 5th, pilots will be allowed to fly while taking the most common anti-depressant drugs and those who lied about doing so in the past will be granted limited amnesty.  Under the new policy, pilots who take one of four antidepressants — Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa or Lexapro — or their generic equivalents will be allowed to fly if they have been successfully treated by those medications for a year without side effects that could pose a safety hazard in the cockpit.  

3/23/2010

Senate passes FAA Funding Bill, lack of User Fees

The FAA re-authorization process took another step forward.  On Monday this week the Senate passed a bill to provide funding for the FAA and to modernize the air traffic control system by 2020.  Safety measures included in this version of the bill: first officers on commercial passenger flights must have at least 800 hours total time, the FAA must establish new safety standards for flight-crew training, an Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office will be established within the FAA and pilots are banned from using electronic devices in the cockpit.  Taxes on jet fuel will rise, but there will be no new user fees imposed to help finance the modernization.  The bill now moves on to be considered by a conference committee where the House and Senate versions will be merged.  Both houses will have to vote on the final bill again before it goes to the White House for approval.

11/19/2009

TSA releases NPRM on Repair Station Security

The proposed regulation is designed to build on the existing FAA certification and safety requirements for repair stations.  If adopted, the regulation would require FAA-certified foreign and domestic repair stations to implement strict access controls, provide security awareness training and allow for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspections.  There is a 60 day comment period once the NPRM is published in the Federal Register.

7/9/2009

British VAT rules being reconsidered

The UK government may change its tax legislation to remove an exemption from value added tax (VAT) for privately operated aircraft weighing more than 8,000 kg.  If changed, it would bring Britian's VAT rules into line with those of the European Union.  It has been argued that the difference between the UK and EU positions is marginal in practice because the majority of aircraft operators are VAT registered and any VAT charged can normally be reclaimed.  The EC's concern is that VAT-exempted aircaraft imported into the UK could then be re-exported to another EU state at zero VAT.

5/22/2009

FAA-required drug and alcohol testing requirements re-located

The FAA is working on a major revision of its drug and alcohol testing regulations. Given the complexity of that revision and the time it will take to complete the rulemaking process, the FAA has concluded that in the interim it makes sense to pull the existing regulations together in one place. The FAA expects that doing so will clarify the requirements for testing, and simplify locating specific provisions and changes to those provisions for individuals and entities that have drug and alcohol testing programs.

    This rulemaking will gather the existing regulations into the new part, Part 120, and remove them from their existing locations, and provide cross references  to the new part.

5/13/2009

New Department of Homeland Security Border-Crossing Rules

The deadline is May 18 to comply with a new rule from the Department of Homeland Security that requires the pilots of private aircraft on international flights to submit reports with the Customs and Border Protection.  The rule requires GA pilots to submit crew and passenger manifests at least 60 minutes before departure.  The information must be submitted using the CBP's Electronic Advance Passenger Information System web site, or through an authorized third party vendor.  Pilots who fail to meet these reporting requirements can be fined.

5/13/2009

FAA Withdraws Proposed Repair Station Rule

The FAA has withdrawn a Notice of Proposed Rule Making to revise the system of ratings and require repair stations to establish a quality program.  The withdrawal followed more than 500 comments from the public.  If enacted, the rule would have required each repair station to maintain a capability list, designate a chief inspector and have permanent housing for facilities, equipment, materials and personnel.  The proposal would have been extremely burdensome on small businesses that do not work on air carriers.

5/5/2009

New York tax law change

The New York "commercial use" exemption applies where a company uses an aircraft more than 50% of the time to provide transportation to others.  This includes transportation provided under Part 91 to related companies.

New York has recently amended this exemption to provide that transportation services provided to related companies will no longer count for purposes of meeting the 50% requirement.  This change is effective June 1 and could cause aircraft owners to have to pay use tax on the entire cost of their aircraft.  There may be ways to restructure the arrangement to reduce the impact of this change. Contact Jackson & Wade for more information.

5/4/2009

Jackson & Wade attorney key contributor at NBAA conference

Jackson & Wade attorney Lori N. Edwards was recognized by NBAA as a  key contributor at the NBAA Maintenance Management Conference 2009.  Her presentation entitled "Voluntary Disclosure Programs for Maintenance Professionals" was held on April 17th at the conference held in New Orleans.

A summary of the session:  Maintaining a strong safety culture is key in aviation. In support of that goal, the FAA provides several voluntary disclosure programs aimed at helping certificate holders identify negative safety trends before they result in an accident, incident or regulatory violation. In this session the presenter will discuss several of the voluntary disclosure programs available, and the unique ways in which they may apply from a maintenance perspective.

5/1/2009

Women in Corporate Aviation Newsletter

Jackson & Wade attorneys Michelle M. Wade and Dillon L. Strohm make headlines in the Women in Corporate Aviation newsletter published in May 2009.  Their article entitled "Short FAQ on Registering Aircraft in the United States" can be found on page 10 of the recent newsletter.

To view the entire WCA newsletter. go to  www.wca-intl.org.

2009 Seminars

Book Updates, Supplements and More

  Coming Soon.  Federal Aviation Regulations Explained Airport Edition, by Kent S. Jackson gives readers an in-depth view of the regulatory issues that airport operators and tenants deal with.