Regulation Text
(a) An owner is in operational control of a program flight when the owner—
(1) Has the rights and is subject to the limitations set forth in §§ 91.1003 through 91.1013;
(2) Has directed that a program aircraft carry passengers or property designated by that owner; and
(3) The aircraft is carrying those passengers or property.
(b) An owner is not in operational control of a flight in the following circumstances:
(1) A program aircraft is used for a flight for administrative purposes such as demonstration, positioning, ferrying, maintenance, or crew training, and no passengers or property designated by such owner are being carried; or
(2) The aircraft being used for the flight is being operated under part 121 or 135 of this chapter.
Research Notes
Section 91.1009 — Clarification of operational control — specifies who has operational control during fractional ownership flights.
Default rule: Each owner has operational control during flights for that owner (or with the owner's guests). The program manager has operational control when the aircraft is being repositioned, undergoing maintenance, or operated by the program manager for non-owner purposes.
What operational control means: The party with operational control: (1) is responsible for the safety of the flight; (2) makes go/no-go decisions; (3) is the legal target of any FAA enforcement action; AND (4) accepts the financial obligations of the flight (fuel, fees, repositioning costs).
The distinction from Part 135: In Part 135 charter, the operator (not the customer) has operational control. In Subpart K, the owner has operational control during their flights — this is the structural difference that maintains Part 91 status.
Reference: FAA Order 8900.1 Volume 4 Chapter 11.
Amendment History
Amendment History Coming Soon
Every time this regulation changes, we'll record it here — the date, what was amended, and a plain-English summary of what shifted.