FAA Rescinding Cessna Citation Single-pilot Exemptions, AINsight: Does Pilot Flight Time Equate to Competency?, FAA Proposes... ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ | September 25, 2026 Friday FAA Rescinding Cessna Citation Single-pilot Exemptions The FAA is issuing a notice that will prohibit single-pilot operation of certain Cessna Citations that normally require two pilots. These include Citation 500, S550, and certain 560 models. At the same time, current exemption holders are being notified that their exemptions will be rescinded. The FAA has been granting exemptions for pilots to fly these certain Part 25-certified Citations with only one pilot since 1984, based on the lack of data showing there was a degradation of safety between one- and two-pilot operation of those jets. However, in 2024 the FAA reviewed compliance with the exemptions and “found numerous instances of noncompliance with the \[conditions and limitations\] by holders of these exemptions,” according to the FAA notice. “In addition to the widespread non-compliance described above, a review of CE-500 accidents over the last 18 years indicates that, even with conservative assumptions about crew configuration, Part 25 CE-500 aircraft operated with a single pilot are involved in approximately twice the rate of accidents as Part 23 CE-500, 510 and 525 aircraft flown with a single pilot.” The FAA also targeted training providers with exemptions, because the provider has no ongoing involvement with pilots operating under the exemption. “Thus, the pilot exercising the relief is likely unaware when the exemption expires or is terminated and may continue to conduct operations for which no relief exists, resulting in regulatory noncompliance.” AINsight: Does Pilot Flight Time Equate to Competency? The Royal Aeronautical Society last month published “The Competency Conundrum,” a thought-provoking piece by Russell Patterson. In this paper, he poses a question: “If not all flight hours are created equal, does this mean there are varying levels of competency?” That’s a great question. Reading Patterson’s submission led me to one conclusion: we got it wrong. For decades, the aviation industry has used an ineffective measurement—total flight hours—to judge pilot competency. It’s an easy argument: experience equates to a more competent pilot. It seems intuitively obvious, but that’s not always the case. This is troubling to Patterson: “We are not asking what hours actually measure. By treating flight time as a universal proxy for competence, judgement, and resilience under pressure, we have compressed a complex, multidimensional reality into accumulated total time. In doing so, it has created a measurement problem that affects how we train, how we assess, and how we ultimately think about safety.” He cautions that “this is not an argument against experience, but rather an exploration into understanding what experience actually is.” Measuring pilot competency is complex. There is a link between higher flight time and some competencies such as pattern recognition, procedural fluency, and systems knowledge. However, not all flight hours are created equal. Read more FAA Proposes Allowing Pilots To Forego Wearing O2 Masks The FAA has proposed a rule change that would simplify oxygen-mask regulations for Part 91 and 135 operations, raising the altitude at which one pilot would have to wear a mask during commercial operations and eliminating the requirement to wear a mask at any altitude for Part 91 pilots. It comes with a stipulation that quick-donning oxygen masks be available in case of an emergency. Comments on the proposed rule are due November 23. ICAO standards are not as stringent as FAA regulations and recommend that participating states’ regulations not require wearing a mask above FL250 as long as a quick-donning mask is available. The current FAA Part 135 rules require one pilot in a two-pilot cockpit to wear a mask at and above FL350, which would change to FL410. Part 91 pilots are now required to don a mask at FL350 when by themselves or FL410 for a two-pilot operation. The FAA’s proposed rules would more closely align with ICAO standards and EASA regulations, although there still would be a requirement for Part 135 pilots to wear a mask when they are the only pilot on the flight deck at FL350 and above, up from FL250. Read more Thales Opens Center To Elevate Safety Culture Thales has opened a new Flight Safety Center at its Bordeaux, France facility to promote “understanding, sharing, and advancing air safety culture.” Employees, customers, partners, suppliers, regulatory authorities, and industry experts are invited to visit the facility to learn more about air safety challenges and receive training, as well as share best practices and explore new aviation technologies. Both civil and military personnel will use the Flight Safety Center for interactive experiences, technology demonstrations, and real-world operational feedback, according to Thales. This will help with their understanding of “how safety is built throughout the life cycle of an aviation system, from design and development, to certification, operation, and maintenance.” Eventually, Thales plans to expand the Flight Safety Center concept to multiple strategic sites to enhance skills of its 21,000 employees working in civil and military aviation. “Flight safety is the foundation of trust in aviation,” said Thales executive v-p avionics Yannick Assouad. “Behind every safe flight are advanced technologies, rigorous processes, a culture of transparency and learning from experience, and, above all, dedicated women and men. Our Flight Safety Center was designed to bring this safety culture to life, share it with our entire ecosystem, and work together to prepare for the challenges of tomorrow’s aviation.” Sponsor Content: West Star Aviation Economical, Reliable Emergency Power Solution for Legacy 450/500 and Praetor 500/600 Aircraft Reduce maintenance, downtime, and battery replacement costs with the True Blue Power® TS56 Emergency Power Supply. Learn how West Star Aviation is helping Legacy and Praetor operators upgrade to a more modern, reliable emergency power solution. Read more Canada Issues Guidance for Single-pilot SOP Mandate Transport Canada has issued guidance for Canadian air-taxi and commuter operators flying single-pilot international trips to create required standard operating procedures (SOPs). The new guidance calls for hard weather triggers that mandate a course reversal or diversion, backed by a no-fault turnaround policy. Interim Order No. 2 (2026) made SOPs mandatory for single-pilot international operations under Subparts 703 and 704 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations. Advisory Circular 700-067 details what airplane and helicopter operators under Subparts 702, 703, and 704 should include in single-pilot and multi-crew SOPs. With no second pilot to cross-check, the guidance makes SOPs the backbone of crew resource management, built on self-callouts and checklist verification. These SOPs should include a pre-departure self-briefing identifying where to turn back or divert, plus hard triggers such as cloud ceilings dropping toward terrain or loss of a clear horizon. Fuel guidance suggests extra wind contingency and en route triggers to divert earlier and land with more fuel. For single-pilot IFR operations, suggested content includes writing down clearances, self-briefing at defined points, engine-failure planning for every flight phase, and requiring automation at high workload. The helicopter sections cover wire strikes, rotor strikes, whiteout, and mountain wave scenarios, plus emergency-authority rules for two pilots in a dual-control single-pilot helicopter. Helicopter SOPs should address mission pressure, including ruling out management penalties for stopping, delaying, or cutting a flight short. Read more Proposed FAA Penalty Against Aery Aviation Is Withdrawn The FAA has withdrawn a civil penalty letter issued to Aery Aviation on Dec. 22, 2025 and will not pursue one of the highest-ever proposed penalties for a non-airline operator: $15.74 million covering 431 flights between July 2021 and April 2022 that the FAA alleged were flown with unairworthy airplanes. “After full consideration of the above-referenced case and the evidence presented, we have determined that it is not in the interest of justice to pursue this matter,” the agency’s College Park, Georgia-based Aviation Litigation Division, southern team, wrote to Newport News, Virginia-based Aery Aviation on September 14. The alleged violations related to Aery Aviation’s work flying banner- and target-towing flights in Bombardier Learjets for the U.S. Navy. Aery Aviation president Scott Beale had already responded to the FAA in 2022 about a possible enforcement action, and the FAA said it didn’t need further information, so he thought the issue was over. But then 38 months later, the FAA, without any prior communication, filed the multimillion civil penalty. “From the beginning, Aery maintained that it did nothing wrong,” Beale concluded. “We stood behind our people, our operations, and the evidence we presented. We appreciate the FAA’s consideration of the case and evidence, and we respect the agency’s important aviation-safety mission.” Read more FAA Gets SMART To Improve Airspace Congestion The FAA took the next step in its efforts to ease airspace congestion, rolling out the Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories (SMART) tool that centralizes operations and weather, controller staffing, and flight data into a single platform. SMART uses AI to synthesize 200 data streams to provide a full picture of where aircraft are going, how much the system can handle, and whether congestion or weather could create problems, according to the agency. With SMART, air traffic managers and other specialists have a better understanding of potential pinch points and can recommend changes to ward them off. The FAA anticipates the tool will result in fewer delays and cancellations, optimized airspace, more predictable operations, and, ultimately, lower airline ticket prices. “By fundamentally reshaping how we manage our airspace and preventing problems before they happen, SMART will slash those frustrating delays, reduce stress on air traffic controllers, and lower travel prices,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The FAA has begun using the tool on a limited basis around Washington, D.C., and plans to gradually expand it to other parts of the country. Air Space Intelligence was contracted to help build an air traffic center that would facilitate the rollout of SMART over the next few months. Read more Pathfinder Places Loft H125 VR Simulator in Anchorage The first Loft Dynamics Airbus H125 virtual reality (VR) simulator in Alaska will be installed at Pathfinder Aviation’s base in Anchorage. The utility operator plans to launch training in the VR simulator in October, focusing on proficiency and mission training, and it will seek FAA Level 7 flight training device qualification. With 22 helicopters flying more than 7,000 hours per year, Pathfinder finds it difficult to send pilots elsewhere for simulator training or to work around weather conditions to train in company helicopters. The VR simulator training will include inadvertent instrument meteorological condition encounters and avoidance; emergency procedures; external-load operations; normal and abnormal procedures; whiteout conditions; mountain, pinnacle, slope, and confined-site operations; and local site and terrain familiarization. Plans call for training in the VR simulator to be for Pathfinder pilots, but the company will make the training available for other operators. “In Alaska, we don’t get to choose when conditions become difficult, so our pilots need to be ready before they do,” said Pathfinder CEO Rogan Parker. “The value of having this simulator in Anchorage is repetition. We can put pilots through a whiteout, IIMC event or emergency, work through decision making, then run the scenario again. That kind of repetition is hard to achieve consistently in the aircraft, and it gives pilots the chance to build judgment before the stakes are real.” Top Stories This Week on AINonline FAA Order Lays Groundwork for Unified Agency Safety Management System Ahead of Schedule, Embraer Delivers First Praetor 600E Boeing Freighter Saga is Cautionary Tale for Radia’s WindRunner Development Charter Broker ONEflight Pauses Sales Activity Amid Financial Troubles Textron Aviation Marks Rollout of 500th Citation Latitude Business Jet Canada Looks To Extend 100% Expensing to Aircraft Photo of the Week Ehhh, what’s up Doc? Textron Aviation demo pilot Mark Mohler snapped this photo of B-29 Superfortress “Doc” holding short of Runway 1R at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, the World War II-era bomber’s current home. Doc was brought back to airworthy condition almost 10 years ago by Doc’s Friends in Wichita after the airframe rotted away in the Mojave Desert for more than half a century. Today the airplane flies across the U.S. on tours, delighting those who get a glimpse of it. Thanks for sharing, Mark! Keep them coming. If you’d like to submit an entry for Photo of the Week, email a high-resolution horizontal image (at least 2000 x 1200 pixels), along with your name, contact information, social media names, and info about it (including brief description, location, etc.) to photos@ainonline.com. Tail numbers can be removed on request. Those submitting photos give AIN implied consent to publish them in its publications and social media channels. AINalerts News Tips/Feedback: News tips may be sent anonymously, but feedback must include name and contact info (we will withhold name on request). We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length, clarity, and grammar. Send feedback or news tips to AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter. View email in browser. 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