Owners and operators of certain legacy Cessna Citation jets face a change in how they crew their aircraft. A Federal Aviation Administration policy notice, published on 28 September and effective the following day, ends the agency’s practice of issuing training-provider exemptions that enabled single-pilot operation of Citation models certified to require two pilots.
The FAA says pilots who relied on endorsements issued under those exemptions must stop single-pilot operations where the aircraft’s operating limitations require a second pilot. The agency is issuing separate rescissions for exemptions that remained valid when the notice was published.
Which Citation aircraft are affected?
The notice concerns specified transport-category aircraft in the CE-500 family, including listed Citation, Citation II, Citation V, Ultra, Bravo and Encore variants. The exact model and its type-certificate limitations matter. The FAA distinguishes these aircraft from CE-501 and CE-551 variants certified under different provisions; its notice does not revoke their underlying single-pilot certification.
For affected aircraft, operators need to plan for a qualified second pilot in accordance with the aircraft’s limitations and applicable rules. The FAA also says a completed proficiency check obtained under an exemption may still satisfy the pilot-in-command check requirement for a two-pilot operation.
Why did the FAA change its policy?
The FAA says a review begun in 2024 found widespread failures to meet exemption conditions among training providers. It also cites an accident-rate comparison that, in the agency’s assessment, raises safety concerns. Those are the FAA’s findings; the notice does not establish probable causes for the accidents it discusses, which remained under investigation when the policy was issued.
The agency identifies a further oversight problem: training providers held the exemptions, but generally had no continuing operational relationship with pilots using the relief. A pilot might therefore be unaware that the provider’s exemption had expired or been rescinded.
Industry groups request more time
The National Business Aviation Association and Citation Jet Pilots asked the FAA on 29 September for a 90-day stay. They argue the broad change could disrupt operators and training providers, and question whether the agency supplied enough underlying data to assess its accident comparison. They also propose an FAA-industry working group.
That request does not itself suspend the FAA policy. The next consequential development will be the agency’s response and any further guidance for affected pilots, owners and training providers.
