How to get a special flight permit

What is a special flight permit?

A special flight permit, often called a ferry permit, is FAA authorization for an airplane that does not currently meet its airworthiness requirements to make a specific flight, as long as it is still capable of that flight safely. The rule is 14 CFR 21.197.

It is not a way around maintenance, and it is not a way around the operating rules either. A special flight permit does not authorize you to deviate from 14 CFR Part 91. It exists so a grounded airplane can reach the place where it will be fixed, inspected, stored or delivered. The regulation lists purposes including:

• Flying to a base where repairs, alterations or maintenance will be performed, or to a point of storage
• Flying an airplane whose annual inspection has expired to a base where the inspection can be done
• Flying an amateur-built airplane whose condition inspection has expired to a base where that inspection can be done
• Delivering or exporting the airplane
• Evacuating the airplane from an area of impending danger
• Production flight testing of new production aircraft, and customer demonstration flights in a new production airplane that has passed those tests
• Operating above maximum certificated takeoff weight for a flight beyond normal range, such as with extra ferry fuel

When does an airplane need a special flight permit?

If the airplane is in annual, has no overdue airworthiness directives, and has no damage or open items affecting airworthiness, it needs no permit. Otherwise, these are the situations owners run into most.

• The annual inspection has expired and the airplane needs to reach a shop to have it done
• An airworthiness directive is overdue, unless that directive specifically prohibits a special flight permit
• The airplane has damage or a defect that a mechanic judges safe for one flight to a repair facility
• A newly purchased airplane is out of annual and needs to reach the buyer's chosen shop

How do I get a special flight permit?

The exact process varies by FAA office, but it generally follows this order. Note that the application itself has moved online: the FAA now prefers the Airworthiness Certification tool, with the paper form as the alternative rather than the default.

What the application has to say is set by 14 CFR 21.199: the purpose of the flight, the proposed itinerary, the crew required to operate the airplane, the ways in which the airplane does not meet its airworthiness requirements, and any restriction you think is needed for safe operation. The FAA may also require inspections or tests it considers necessary for safety.

1. Confirm the destination shop and its appointment date, since the permit covers a specific flight
2. Have an A&P mechanic or a Part 145 repair station inspect the airplane where it sits and record in the maintenance records that it is safe for the intended flight. Without that entry an FAA inspector has to come out and inspect the airplane instead
3. Apply online through the FAA Airworthiness Certification tool, which is the preferred route, or on paper using FAA Form 8130-6, titled Application for U.S. Airworthiness Certificate, which is the correct form despite its name
4. The application goes to the Flight Standards District Office with jurisdiction over the area where the flight will originate. A designated airworthiness representative can also issue the permit, and representatives are listed in the FAA Designee Management System
5. Receive the permit with its operating limitations, and display it in the airplane along with the current airworthiness certificate where one applies

What limitations come with a special flight permit?

Every permit comes with operating limitations written for that flight. Common ones include limiting the flight to essential crew, which for most airplanes means one pilot and no passengers, restricting it to day visual conditions, specifying the route, and noting any inoperative equipment or speed restrictions.

A permit is commonly issued with a validity window of about ten days, which gives some flexibility on when to go, and it covers only the one proposed flight. It expires when the airplane lands at the destination. The permit is displayed in place of the standard airworthiness certificate, and it is worth carrying a copy of the mechanic's safe-for-flight logbook entry as well, because the permit rests on that entry.

The pilot must follow those limitations exactly. Flying outside them is flying without valid authorization, which can also affect insurance coverage. For the flight itself, see maintenance ferry flights.

Does insurance cover a flight on a ferry permit?

Ask before the flight, not after. Many aircraft policies will not cover an airplane that is not airworthy, and an airplane that needs a ferry permit is by definition not airworthy. That is the gap owners miss.

The good news is that this is usually easy to solve. Underwriters will commonly extend coverage for a ferry flight, often at no additional premium, provided you ask for it in advance and the flight is made within the permit's limitations. Get the confirmation in writing before departure day. If your policy also requires dual instruction before you fly the airplane yourself, see insurance transition training.