The FAA is proposing changes to oxygen-mask requirements for pilots operating pressurized aircraft under Parts 91 and 135. The proposed rule, published Thursday, would allow pilots to fly at higher altitudes without requiring one pilot at the controls to continuously wear an oxygen mask.
Part 91 Changes
Under current Part 91 regulations, one pilot must generally wear and use an oxygen mask above FL350, although two-pilot crews equipped with quick-donning masks are exempt through FL410. Under the proposal, pressurized aircraft equipped with quick-donning masks could operate at any altitude for which the airplane is certificated without requiring a pilot to continuously wear a mask.
“The proposed amendments would allow the operation of airplanes at higher altitudes without requiring at least one pilot at the controls to wear and use an oxygen mask,” the FAA said in its notice. “If adopted, these proposed changes would reduce regulatory and economic burdens on operators by changing certain requirements pertaining to pilots’ use of oxygen masks.”
Part 135 Thresholds Rise
For Part 135 operations using more than one pilot, the new proposal language would raise the altitude at which at least one pilot must wear an oxygen mask from FL350 to FL410. The single-pilot operation threashold would also increase, from FL250 up to FL350. These new updates come in response to a requirement in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
The FAA estimates oxygen servicing costs between $100 and $400 per fill. Based on roughly 4.7 million annual Part 91 and 135 turbojet and multiengine turboprop operations, the agency estimates operators could save between $4.7 million and $18.6 million annually for every 1% of those operations that avoid an oxygen servicing event under the revised rules. Comments on the proposal are due Nov. 23.
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