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PPL privilege for incidental flights

Asked by: 3069 views General Aviation

I'm trying to understand what scenarios would apply for that specific privilege. How does the FAA define a flight that is only incidental for a business or employment? At what point does it cross over into commercial ops? Could you provide some examples?

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2 Answers



  1. Mark Kolber on Sep 04, 2016

    The basic definition is that it’s for a business that is not aviation-related. Flying for an air cargo operation is not “incidental”. Flying yourself to a business conference is.

    A few gotchas: in some cases it is hard to tell. And there are still limitations based on other rules. So for example, if you bring other people to the conference and are being reimbursed for the costs of the flight, it may be incidental but it is also carrying persons for compensation, which runs afoul of the rules.

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  2. Mitchell L Williams on Sep 07, 2016

    As long as the transportation is a secondary benefit and you are not advertising to supply the transportation you are in good shape. This has been answered many times so you can google many good answers.

    If you are the boss then you can haul your helpers around for whatever purpose. However, if you are the helper and you haul your boss around, then that may look like a commercial activity.

    If you and a friend fly to a meeting that you both attend, then you can charge pro rata share and be good to go. However, if you fly your friend to the meeting and wait for him at the airport, that looks like commercial use.

    If your machine breaks down and you fly to Ten Buck Two to get a part, that is all good. If someone else needs a part and you go get it for them, then that looks like commercial use.

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