Washington, DC

FAA ends single-pilot exemptions for older Cessna Citation jets

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ended a more than 40-year programme allowing certain Cessna Citation business jets that are certificated for two-pilot operation to be flown by a single pilot under exemption.

The policy, published in the Federal Register on September 28, took effect September 29. The FAA said it will stop issuing the exemptions and is rescinding existing exemptions held by training providers. Pilots who obtained single-pilot endorsements through those providers must now operate the affected aircraft with a qualified second pilot.

The aircraft covered are the transport-category versions of the CE-500 series, including the Citation/Citation I (Model 500), Citation II (550), Citation S/II (S550), Citation V and Ultra (560), Bravo, Encore and Encore+, as well as the Model 552 Navy T-47A.

The FAA began reviewing the exemption system in 2024 after discovering instances in which training was being offered under another organisation's exemption. The agency said its review identified incomplete records, training conducted in an advanced aviation training device contrary to exemption conditions, and improper checks by designated pilot examiners, including falsified records. Of 14 Part 61 exemption holders, 13 were either denied extensions or had their exemptions rescinded because of non-compliance or failure to respond to FAA information requests.

The FAA also analysed 18 years of CE-500 accident data. It said Part 25 CE-500 aircraft operated single-pilot were involved in approximately twice the accident rate of Part 23 CE-500, Citation 510 and Citation 525 aircraft operated single-pilot. The agency said this did not support the equivalent level of safety required for an exemption.

Two fatal accidents were also cited. A May 2025 CE-500 accident in San Diego killed six people aboard and injured eight on the ground; the FAA said the pilot had received an improper check six months earlier. A December 2025 accident involving a CE-500 variant at Statesville, North Carolina, was also operated without a qualified second-in-command. Both accidents remain under investigation and no probable cause has been determined.

The FAA said the decision also reflects an oversight problem: training providers holding the exemptions had no continuing operational relationship with pilots subsequently using their endorsements. The agency concluded that the arrangement no longer provided an equivalent level of safety to the underlying two-pilot requirements.

The change does not remove the ability to operate Cessna aircraft that are already certificated for single-pilot operation. The FAA's action specifically concerns CE-500 variants whose operating limitations require two pilots.

Source: FAA, Notice of Policy Change and Rescission of Single-Pilot Training Exemptions for Certain Cessna Aircraft, Federal Register, September 28, 2026