Relevant FAA Advisory Circulars
Annotated compilation of essential Advisory Circulars for Part 135 operations
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About Advisory Circulars
What are Advisory Circulars?
Advisory Circulars (ACs) are informational documents issued by the FAA to provide guidance and information on aviation matters. While not regulatory, ACs describe acceptable means of compliance with regulations and provide recommended practices.
Understanding AC Structure
AC Numbering System:
- First Number: Subject matter (e.g., 120 = air carrier operations, 135 = commuter and on-demand operations, 91 = general operating rules)
- Dash Number: Specific topic within subject area
- Letter Suffix: Change/revision (A, B, C, etc.)
Example: AC 120-92D = subject 120 (air carriers), topic 92 (safety management systems), revision D
Status: Always verify you're using the current version at faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/
How to Use Advisory Circulars
- Acceptable Compliance: Following AC guidance is generally considered acceptable compliance with regulations
- Alternative Methods: You may use alternative methods if they provide equivalent safety
- Best Practices: ACs often contain industry best practices beyond minimum regulatory requirements
- Inspector Expectations: FAA inspectors often reference ACs during audits and evaluations
Operations Advisory Circulars
Pilot Records Database and Pilot Records Improvement Act
Purpose: Guidance for air carriers on the Pilot Records Database (14 CFR Part 111) and the Pilot Records Improvement Act: what to report, what to request before hiring, and how long to keep the underlying records.
- Records an operator must enter in the PRD for each pilot, and the deadlines for entering them
- The pre-hire records review a hiring operator must complete
- Pilot access, dispute and correction rights
- Retention of the underlying training, qualification and disciplinary records
Private Carriage Versus Common Carriage of Persons or Property
Purpose: Explains how the FAA distinguishes common carriage (holding out to the public) from private carriage, which determines whether an operation needs a Part 119 certificate and which rules it flies under.
- The four elements of common carriage: holding out, to transport persons or property, from place to place, for compensation
- Why the number of contracts and the way an operator advertises matter
- Where charter brokering and management arrangements sit on the line
- Operating as a private carrier under Part 125 or Part 91 versus a Part 135 certificate
Weather Information for Aviation
Purpose: Comprehensive guide to aviation weather services, products, and interpretation for flight planning and operations.
- Overview of all FAA and NWS weather products
- Proper interpretation of METARs, TAFs, AIRMETs, and SIGMETs
- Using weather information for go/no-go decisions
- Understanding forecast reliability and limitations
Standard Operating Procedures and Pilot Monitoring Duties for Flight Deck Crewmembers
Purpose: Guidance on developing, implementing and updating standard operating procedures, including the pilot monitoring role, for air carrier flight decks.
- What a complete SOP set covers and how it is documented in the GOM and checklists
- Pilot flying / pilot monitoring duties and callouts
- Stabilized approach criteria and go-around policy
- Reviewing SOPs against line observations and safety data
Mitigating the Risks of a Runway Overrun Upon Landing
Purpose: Guidance for operators and pilots on landing performance assessment and the factors that produce runway overruns.
- Time-of-arrival landing distance assessment with the 15 percent safety margin
- Effects of runway condition, wind, touchdown point and speed additives
- Stabilized approach and go-around criteria
- Training and SOP elements to include
Aircraft Weight and Balance Control
Purpose: Provides procedures and guidance for conducting aircraft weight and balance control programs for air carriers and commercial operators.
- Weight and balance program requirements
- Standard and average passenger weights
- Baggage and cargo loading procedures
- Load manifest preparation and retention
- Fuel load calculations
- Center of gravity envelope management
Emergency Medical Equipment
Purpose: Guidance on emergency medical equipment requirements and recommendations for air carriers (applicable principles for Part 135).
- Required vs. recommended medical equipment
- First aid kit contents and inspections
- AED (Automated External Defibrillator) considerations
- Emergency medical kit contents
- Training requirements for medical equipment use
Maintenance Advisory Circulars
Air Carrier Maintenance Programs
Purpose: Describes the elements of a continuous airworthiness maintenance program (CAMP) for Part 121 and Part 135 certificate holders: the maintenance manual, the inspection program, the required inspection items, and the analysis and surveillance system.
- The ten elements of an air carrier maintenance program
- Developing and keeping current the maintenance manual required by § 135.427
- Required inspection items (RII) and the continuing analysis and surveillance system (CASS)
- Contract maintenance and the operator's responsibility for it
Approved Aircraft Inspection Program
Purpose: Guidance for Part 135 operators of aircraft with nine or fewer passenger seats on developing and getting approval for an Approved Aircraft Inspection Program under § 135.419.
- When an AAIP is required or advantageous versus § 91.409 inspections
- Content of the program: inspection intervals, tasks, forms and records
- The approval process through the certificate-holding district office
- Revising an approved program
Airworthiness Directives
Purpose: Information on the Airworthiness Directive (AD) system, including compliance requirements and record-keeping.
- Understanding AD applicability
- Emergency vs. standard ADs
- Compliance time frames and methods
- Alternative methods of compliance (AMOCs)
- AD record-keeping requirements
Maintenance Records
Purpose: Guidance on maintenance record-keeping requirements, including what must be recorded and retained.
- Required maintenance record entries
- Proper maintenance release documentation
- Record retention requirements
- Transfer of records when aircraft sold
- Electronic record-keeping considerations
Electronic Signatures, Electronic Recordkeeping, and Electronic Manuals
Purpose: Describes what the FAA accepts in an electronic recordkeeping, signature and manual system for certificate holders, and how such a system is evaluated and approved through the operations specifications.
- Attributes an electronic signature must have: unique, under the signer's sole control, tamper-evident, linked to the record
- Record integrity, audit trail, backup and retrieval requirements
- Electronic manuals and revision control
- The evaluation process and OpSpec/MSpec authorization
Minimum Equipment Requirements for General Aviation Operations Under FAR Part 91
Purpose: Explains how a Part 91 operator may fly with inoperative equipment under § 91.213, with or without a Minimum Equipment List. Part 135 MELs are approved separately, through OpSpec D095 against the Master MEL for the type.
- The § 91.213 decision path for inoperative instruments and equipment
- How an MEL is derived from the Master MEL and what it may not include
- Placarding, deferral records and repair intervals
- For Part 135: the operator's MEL, its repair categories (A, B, C, D) and the deferral procedure in the maintenance manual
Training & Personnel Advisory Circulars
Crew Resource Management Training
Purpose: Guidance on developing and implementing effective Crew Resource Management (CRM) training programs.
- CRM training requirements for Part 135
- Core CRM competencies and skills
- Single-pilot resource management (SRM)
- Integrating CRM into training programs
- Evaluating CRM effectiveness
- Threat and Error Management (TEM) concepts
Line Operational Simulations (LOS)
Purpose: Guidance on using Line Operational Simulations for training and evaluation (formerly LOFT - Line Oriented Flight Training).
- LOS scenario development
- Using LOS for proficiency checks
- Realistic scenario design
- Facilitation and debriefing techniques
Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP)
Purpose: Guidance for establishing voluntary safety reporting programs that encourage employees to report safety issues without fear of punitive action.
- ASAP program structure and benefits
- Implementing non-punitive reporting culture
- Event Review Committee (ERC) operations
- Protection from enforcement action
- Data analysis and corrective actions
Currency Requirements and Guidance for the Flight Review and Instrument Proficiency Check
Purpose: Guidance on the flight review and the instrument proficiency check under §§ 61.56 and 61.57, and the recency-of-experience rules that keep a certificate exercisable.
- Flight review scope and the courses and checks that satisfy it
- Instrument proficiency check content and who may give it
- Recent-experience requirements for passenger-carrying and IFR flight
- How a Part 135 competency or proficiency check under §§ 135.293 and 135.297 interacts with these Part 61 requirements
Safety Management Advisory Circulars
Safety Management Systems for Aviation Service Providers
Purpose: Guidance on building an SMS that meets 14 CFR Part 5, which applies to every Part 135 certificate holder (§ 5.1(b)).
- Four pillars of SMS: Policy, Risk Management, Assurance, Promotion
- SMS implementation phases and timeline
- Safety risk assessment and mitigation
- Safety assurance processes
- Safety promotion and training
- Documentation and record-keeping
- Management commitment and accountability
Fatigue Risk Management Systems (FRMS)
Purpose: Guidance on developing and implementing Fatigue Risk Management Systems for air carriers (principles applicable to Part 135).
- Science of fatigue and its effects on performance
- FRMS program components
- Fatigue risk assessment tools
- Fatigue reporting and monitoring
- Countermeasures and mitigation strategies
- Education and training requirements
Fitness for Duty
Purpose: Explains the Part 117 fitness-for-duty concept: the crewmember's and the carrier's shared responsibility to ensure a flightcrew member is rested and fit before accepting an assignment. Part 117 does not apply to Part 135, but the concept is the basis of a fatigue call-off policy.
- What "fit for duty" means and who decides
- Reporting unfit-for-duty and the carrier's obligation not to assign
- Non-punitive handling of fatigue reports
- Education on sleep, circadian rhythm and recovery
Weather & Navigation Advisory Circulars
Aviation Weather
Purpose: The FAA's primary reference on weather theory for pilots: the atmosphere, fronts, wind, turbulence, icing, thunderstorms and the weather of the regions U.S. operators fly.
- Companion to AC 00-45 (Aviation Weather Services), which covers the products
- Icing, turbulence and convective weather from the physics up
- Regional and seasonal weather patterns
- Useful as the ground-school text behind the weather items in recurrent training
Thunderstorm Avoidance
Purpose: Guidance on thunderstorm recognition, avoidance, and safe operations in convective weather.
- Thunderstorm life cycle and hazards
- Airborne weather radar interpretation
- Recommended separation distances
- In-flight decision-making for weather avoidance
Aircraft Icing
Purpose: Comprehensive information on aircraft icing conditions, recognition, avoidance, and operations in icing conditions.
- Types of icing and formation
- Recognizing icing conditions
- Ice protection systems and limitations
- Known ice vs. FIKI (Flight Into Known Icing) equipment
- PIREPs for icing conditions
U.S. Terminal and En Route Area Navigation (RNAV) Operations
Purpose: Guidance on U.S. implementation of Performance-Based Navigation including RNAV and RNP operations.
- RNAV and RNP concepts and requirements
- Aircraft and crew authorization requirements
- Operational procedures for PBN
- Continuing airworthiness for PBN
Approval of Aircraft and Operators for RNP Operations
Purpose: Guidance for obtaining approval for Required Navigation Performance (RNP) operations.
- RNP levels and requirements (RNP 10, RNP 4, RNP 2, RNP 1, etc.)
- Aircraft qualification and equipage
- Pilot training requirements
- Operational procedures and limitations
RVSM (Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum)
Purpose: Authorization for operations in RVSM airspace (FL290-FL410) where vertical separation is reduced to 1,000 feet.
- Aircraft RVSM certification requirements
- Altimetry system performance standards
- Operator authorization process
- Continuing airworthiness and maintenance
- Pilot procedures and training
How to Access Advisory Circulars
Official FAA Sources
Where to Find ACs
- Primary Source: faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/
- Search Function: Search by AC number, subject, or keyword
- Current Versions: Website always shows current version and indicates if superseded
- Download: All ACs available as free PDF downloads
- Subscription: Sign up for email notifications of new or revised ACs
Staying Current
Advisory Circulars are regularly updated to reflect new regulations, technology, and best practices. It's important to periodically check for updates to ACs relevant to your operations.
Best Practices for AC Management
- Maintain Library: Keep copies of all relevant ACs in your operations manual or reference library
- Version Control: Ensure you're using current versions (check FAA website quarterly)
- Train Staff: Include relevant AC guidance in training programs
- Audit References: Use ACs as reference during internal audits
- Inspector Familiarity: Know that FAA inspectors reference ACs extensively
Related Resources
Explore these additional compliance resources: