2025-01276. Petition for Exemption; Summary of Petition Received; Merlin Labs, Inc.

Document Headings

Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following:

1. the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document
2. the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to
3. the agency docket number / agency internal file number
4. the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details.

Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

1. [Docket No.: FAA-2024-2630; Summary Notice No. 2025-04]

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Federal Aviation Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, the FAA's exemption process. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion nor omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

DATES:

Comments on this petition must identify the petition docket number and must be received on or before February 10, 2025.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2024-2630 using any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for sending your comments electronically.
• Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
• Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at [phone].

Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information the commenter provides, to http://www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at http://www.dot.gov/​privacy.

Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at http://www.regulations.gov at any time. Follow the online instructions for accessing the docket or go to the Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nondie Hemphill at [phone], Office of Rulemaking, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591.

This notice is published pursuant to 14 CFR 11.85.

Issued in Washington, DC.

Dan Ngo,

Manager, Part 11 Petitions Branch, Office of Rulemaking.

Petition For Exemption

Docket No.: FAA-2024-2630.

Petitioner: Merlin Labs, Inc.

Section(s) of 14 CFR Affected: §§ 91.9(a) and 91.319(c).

Description of Relief Sought: Petitioner is requesting an exemption from 14 CFR 91.9(a) and 91.319(c) to allow for the operation of two modified Cessna 208B Caravans, which have been issued Special Airworthiness Certificates in the Experimental Category, over densely populated areas outside of congested airways for the purposes of research and development. The petitioner is developing an advanced autopilot system which requires flight testing while conducting published instrument approaches in-and-out of Laurence G. Hanscom Field Airport (KBED). Flights over densely populated areas would be restricted to operations which are necessary to conduct published instrument approaches in-and-out of KBED. At no point will the aircraft be operated as an unmanned system, or an optionally piloted system.