A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

The FAA has approved a request made by NATA to grant an extension to exemptions involving certain crew training and checking requirements as the Covid pandemic continues to play havoc with travel and scheduling. The two exemptions, originally granted in late March and <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2020-06-01/faa-provides-more-time-part-135-training-requirements">previously extended in May</a>, are available to all Part 119 certificated carriers operating under Part 135&nbsp;and extend the deadlines for those coming due during this period.

 


For exemption No. 18509B, which provides relief to allow NATA members and other Part 135 air carriers/operators to use alternative methods to conduct certain required crewmember emergency procedures during recurrent and upgrade training, testing, or checking, the new extension moves the end date to November 30. For No. 18510B, which provides limited relief from the timeframes for completing recurrent training and qualification requirements for ground personnel and crewmembers, this moves to year-end.

 


Both exemption extensions require certificate holders to provide revised plans to mitigate any potential risk due to the postponement of training, testing, or checking. NATA noted that every Part 135 operator should obtain and review the exemptions&nbsp;and added that a certificate holder that submitted a letter of intent before July 30, in accordance with the previous exemptions, is not required to submit an additional letter.

 


The association will continue to monitor the situation and, if needed, plans to submit future requests.

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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