27 April 2017
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U.S. ARMED FORCES PAO DECISION TOOL***
Public Aircraft Operations (PAO). In general, the U.S. Armed Forces considers an aircraft operation "Public" when the aircraft is
owned by the Armed Forces, or is used by the Armed Forces and operates outside of the purview of its FAA airworthiness certificate
(e.g. configuration, operational use, or maintenance) and applicable operating regulations under 14 CFR. See 49 U.S.C. § 40102
(A)(41) and 41 U.S.C. § 40125. For case by case PAO determinations, refer to US Armed Forces PAO Decision Tool (below) and
the FAA PAO Circular 00-1.1A.
A determination of PAO means a significant shift in airworthiness responsibilities from the FAA to the responsible U.S. Service
airworthiness authority. DoD owned aircraftare generally PAO, although questions can arise about the aircraft status during the
acquisition process and when considering aspects of FMS cases. Determining if a contracted air service is public or remains civil is
much more complex. If a non-DoD aircraft is being operated by or for DoD purposes, then the operation may be considered PAO
when it is in support of an inherently military requirement and the FAA has no regulations that govern that operation. PAO
determinations are made on an operation-by-operation basis and may be bounded by specific contract language that establishes when
a provider is operating in support of a DoD contract, and when conditions exist that exclude the operation from “civil use”.
A. Is the aircraft
owned by the
Armed Forces?
Note: This includes aircraft leased to the armed forces, pre-accepted aircraft
whose design, development, and flight are being funded by, and for, government
use; whether the aircraft is commercial derivative or military design.
Note: On a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15 contract, title to
property vests in the Government upon the date of the first performance based
payment under the contract for property acquired or produced before that date.
Note: FAR Part 15 contracts are the standard for armed forces designed aircraft.
FAR Part 12 contracts are used for commercial derivative aircraft conforming to
FAA airworthiness standards.
Note: The transfer of ownership of FMS aircraft vary and are dependent on the
specific FMS contract. It is possible that an FMS aircraft remains the property of
the U.S. government prior to delivery and, as a result, the operations could be
deemed PAO.
Go to step E
1. While not a common occurrence, an aircraft owned by the Armed Forces can conduct civil aircraft
operations if the following conditions are met:
A. The aircraft has been provided to the contractor under a lease, loan, or bailment agreement,
and;
B. The contractor operations are not being conducted by, on behalf of, or are not directly
supporting, Armed Forces interests, and,
C. The Armed Forces are not directly or indirectly funding the efforts, and;
D. The contractor has obtained a civil airworthiness certificate and is operating the aircraft
IAW 14 CFR, i.e., operations cannot be inherently governmental and must be able to meet
all the requirements to remain civil as articulated in this tool.
2. For aircraft purchased under a FAR part 12 contract, produced on a commercial line to FAA
airworthiness standards, the government’s equitable interest may not vest until acceptance takes
place.
