Please contact a Boston FSDO Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) for the following services

• Private Pilot Certificate Based on Foreign Certificate: Verification of Authenticity of a Foreign License/Medical Certificate (FAA Letter of Authenticity)
• Military Competency
• Student pilot certificates
• Ground Instructor applications (Basic, Advanced and Instrument)
• Remote Pilot Certificates (See Unmanned Aerial Systems below)
• Flight Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC) and Wings Program Courses
• Practical Tests requiring Oral and or flight for Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Airline Transport Pilot, Flight Instructor, and additional Aircraft Ratings
• SIC Type Rating Applications
• Supervised Operating Experience (SOE) Restriction Removal

Note: The Integrated Airmen Certification and Rating Application (IACRA) must be utilized for the above services. A help manual is provided on the IACRA website.

Note: To locate an authorized Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) in the Boston FSDO District, please visit the Designee Locator Search.

Please contact a Boston FSDO Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR) for the following services

• Special Flight Permits
• Issuance and replacement of Airworthiness Certificates to include Experimental Airworthiness Certificates
• Unmanned Aerial Systems

Designee Information

Find all FAA Designated Pilot Examiners, Designated Mechanic Examiners, and Designated Airworthiness Representatives.

Prior to submitting a low-flying aircraft complaint, please review the following information to insure you have all of the necessary required information:

FAA Guide to Low-Flying Aircraft

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the government agency responsible for aviation safety. We welcome information from citizens that will enable us to take corrective measures including legal enforcement action against individuals violating Federal Aviation Regulations (CFR). It is FAA policy to investigate citizen complaints of low-flying aircraft operated in violation of the CFR that might endanger persons or property.

Remember that the FAA is a safety organization with legal enforcement responsibilities. We will need facts before we conduct an investigation. To save time, please have this information ready if you witness another low-flying aircraft. Please keep your notes: we may request a written statement. Here is the type of information we need:

• Identification – Can you identify the aircraft? Was it military or civil? Was it a high or low wing aircraft? What was the color? Did you record the registration number which appears on the fuselage or tail? (On U.S. registered aircraft, that number will be preceded with a capital "N".)
• Time and Place – Exactly when did the incident(s) occur? Where did this happen? What direction was the aircraft flying?
• Altitude – How high or low was the aircraft flying? On what do you base your estimate? Was the aircraft level with or below the elevation of a prominent object such as a tower or building?

Once we have the appropriate facts, personnel from the Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) will attempt to identify the offending aircraft operator. We can do this in several ways. For example, we can check aircraft flight records with our air traffic control information and/or sightings from other observers, such as local law enforcement officers. We may need to trace and contact the registered aircraft owner, since the owner and operator may be two different people.

Following is Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 91.119 of the General Operating and Flight Rules, which specifically prohibits low flying aircraft.

91.119 Minimum safe altitudes; general

Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:

1. Anywhere – An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface
2. Over congested areas – Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open-air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft
3. Over other than congested areas – An altitude of 500 feet above the surface except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In that case, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure
4. Helicopters – Helicopters may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed In paragraph (b) or (c) of this section if the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface. In addition, each person operating a helicopter shall comply with routes or altitudes specifically prescribed for helicopters by the Administrator

Helicopter operations may be conducted below the minimum altitudes set for fixed-wing aircraft. The reason: they have unique operating characteristics, the most important of which is their ability to execute pinpoint emergency landings during power-out emergencies. Furthermore, the helicopter's increased use by law enforcement and emergency medical service agencies requires added flexibility.

Aviation Noise Ombudsman - The FAA’s Aviation Noise Ombudsman serves as a public liaison for issues about aircraft noise questions or complaints.

National Contact information

Federal Aviation Administration,
Aviation Noise Ombudsman, AEE-2
800 Independence Ave. S.W.
Washington, DC 20591
Email: 9-AWA-NoiseOmbudsman@faa.gov

Local Contact information

Federal Aviation Administration,
Aviation Noise Ombudsman
1200 District Avenue
Burlington, MA
Email: 9-ANE-NOISE@faa.gov

• How to report a drone sighting — Reporting possible violations assists the FAA in assuring that all aircraft—including unmanned aircraft, otherwise known as drones—operating in the National Airspace System are doing so in accordance with applicable regulations. Please be aware that not all drone sightings are violations of FAA regulations. 

  Generally speaking, it is legal to fly a drone in most locations, but there are rules — including safety tests, staying under 400 feet, keeping the drone in sight, avoiding all other aircraft, not causing a hazard to any people or property, obtaining authorization to operate near airports, and avoiding restricted airspace.

  We look into all reports of unauthorized aircraft operations and investigate when appropriate. Drone operators who conduct unsafe operations that endanger other aircraft or people on the ground could face fines up to $75,000. In addition, we can suspend or revoke drone operators’ pilot certificates.
   
  The FAA works with federal and local law enforcement partners to educate them about how to respond to unsafe or unauthorized drone operations. Consistent with local Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) across the country, our FSDO will perform investigations and when necessary, take appropriate enforcement actions.

  Safely and securely integrating drones into the National Airspace System is a key priority for the FAA. Additional information is available at https://www.faa.gov/uas.

• FAA UAS — Everything you need to operate your UAS in the National Airspace System
• Commercial Operator Regulations — 14 C.F.R Part 107 — Small UAS Rule Regulations
• Recreational Hobbyist Laws — 49 U.S.C. §44809 — Exception for limited recreational operations of Unmanned aircraft
• Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) — Automated system for attaining airspace authorizations at LAANC-capable airports. Partners with several smart phone apps (Airmap, Kittyhawk, etc.) to allow operators to attain instantaneous authorization to operate in controlled airspace.
• UAS Facility Maps — Depict the maximum altitudes that a UAS may be operated (with authorization from ATC in controlled airspace) LAANC-capable airports are depicted in green, non LAANC-capable airports are depicted in red
• FAA DroneZone — Register your UAS, attain a waiver from Part 107 regulations, or attain an airspace authorization for non-LAANC capable airspace.

A Special Flight Permit-SFP (commonly referred to as a Ferry Permit) may be issued to any U.S. registered aircraft that may not currently meet applicable Airworthiness Requirements but is capable of safe flight. The SFP will be issued by the FSDO geographically responsible for the area in which the flight is to originate.

Note:

1. A Special Flight Permit is not an authorization to deviate from the requirements of 14 CFR Part 91.
2. Special Flight Permits will be issued by the FSDO/IFO having jurisdiction over the geographical area in which the flight is to originate, this does not apply to 121 or 135 certificate holders.
3. If an AD requires compliance before further flight and does not have a provision for issuance of a Special Flight Permits, the operation of the aircraft to which it applies would not be appropriate, and a Special Flight Permit will not be issued.

The following is not all inclusive (refer to 14 CFR Part 21.197), but lists the most common request for Special Flight Permits.

• Flying the aircraft to a base where repairs, alterations, or maintenance are to be performed, or to a point of storage.
• Flying an aircraft whose annual inspection has expired to a base where an annual inspection can be accomplished.
• Flying an amateur built aircraft whose condition inspection has expired to a base where the condition inspection can be accomplished.
• Delivering or exporting the aircraft.
• Production flight testing of new production aircraft.
• Evacuating aircraft from areas of impending danger.
• Conducting customer demonstration flights in a new production aircraft that have satisfactory completed production flight tests.
• To authorize the operation of an aircraft at a weight in excess of its maximum certificated takeoff weight.

Applications for a Special Flight Permit (Ferry Permit) can be submitted as follows:

• Online via the Airworthiness Certification (AWC) portal
  • AWC – Airworthiness Certification online application overview and quick start guide (PDF) (USE For initial Registration)
  • On-Line Application, AWC Applicant Portal Process Walkthrough (PDF)

The FAA may issue an applicant an airworthiness certificate when:

• Registered owner or operator/agent registers aircraft,
• Applicant submits application to the local FAA servicing office, and
• FAA determines the aircraft is eligible and in a condition for safe operation

Applications for an airworthiness certificate, replacement airworthiness certificate, Aircraft N Number changes, can be submitted as follows:

• Online via the Airworthiness Certification (AWC) portal
  • AWC – Airworthiness Certification online application overview and quick start guide (PDF) (USE For initial Registration)
  • On-Line Application, AWC Applicant Portal Process Walkthrough (PDF)

*Note – All replacements certificates are processed through the AWC portal.