Regulatory Compliance and Legal Issues (Part 91, Part 135, International Operations)
This domain tests the line between legal and illegal flight operations, and the international rules that apply when an aircraft leaves the United States. Expect questions on Part 91 compensation, Part 135 OpSpecs, truth-in-leasing, permits, cabotage, and liability conventions.
Core rules
- Part 91 operations may receive compensation only under the narrow cost-sharing exceptions in 91.501-time-sharing, interchange, joint ownership-and must comply with the 91.23 truth-in-leasing clause and notification requirements. Charging a client for a trip is holding out and requires Part 135.
- Part 135 authority is aircraft-specific and operation-specific. OpSpecs list the aircraft, kinds of operations, and authorized areas; adding a new type or route is not automatic.
- International operations require overflight and landing permits, customs and immigration coordination, eAPIS, visas, and security clearances. A permit for one country does not authorize another.
- Cabotage: foreign operators generally cannot carry passengers for hire between two points in the United States; U.S. operators face equivalent restrictions abroad.
- The Montreal Convention governs international carrier liability; contracts should align with it rather than rely on generic waivers.
Worked example
A company owns a jet under Part 91 and wants a client to pay for a trip. Because the client is not a co-owner and there is no interchange or time-sharing agreement, the payment is compensation for carriage. The flight is a commercial operation and needs a Part 135 certificate and OpSpecs. Recharacterizing the payment as a 'maintenance contribution' does not change the analysis.
Traps
Believing 'no profit' makes compensation legal; assuming a Part 135 certificate covers any aircraft; confusing overflight with landing permits; ignoring cabotage; using a liability waiver to override the Montreal Convention.