Air Line Pilots Association International

Docket Operations, M-30 US Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Room W12-140, West Building, Ground Floor Washington, D.C. 20590-0001 Dear Sir/Madame: On May 24, 2012, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a proposed Legal Interpretation (FAA Docket 2011-0045) in which it announced that it was “considering clarifying prior legal interpretations regarding pilot in command discretion under 14 CFR 121.547(a)(3) and (a)(4). The Administration further proposed the view that “. . . to the extent that prior legal interpretations state or simply imply that air carriers have no ability to question a PIC in their employ regarding his or her decision to deny flight deck access to an individual for a reason that is not based on a safety concern, we (the agency) believe the agency overstated its position. Accordingly, we propose to rescind the relevant portions of those prior legal interpretations. The FAA believes that at an appropriate time and venue, air carriers must be able to question why a PIC decided to exclude certain individuals from the flight deck when there was no apparent safety issue.” The ALPA FedEx MEC asserts that the FAA did not “overstate” its position concerning PIC authority under 121.547 (a) (3) and (a) (4).” We believe that the Legal Interpretations which the proposed language would overturn were reached based on sound research and analysis in the interest of establishing and maintaining the safest aerospace system in the world. Furthermore, we assert that there is no valid data or information to suggest or validly demonstrate that the existing interpretations have resulted in dysfunction or had an undue impact on air carriers. We wholeheartedly support the Legal Interpretations as they stand today. Respectfully Submitted, Captain Scott Stratton FedEx Master Executive Chairman Air Line Pilots Association Int'l