Operational control responsibilities and delegation

This regulation establishes who's responsible for safety in fractional ownership programs (like NetJets or Flexjet).

The key point: Aircraft owners retain ultimate responsibility for safe operations and regulatory compliance, even when they hire a program manager to handle day-to-day operations. Owners can delegate tasks to the program manager and rely on their expertise, but both parties become jointly responsible for compliance—you can't simply hand off accountability.

In practice: If something goes wrong operationally or the aircraft isn't airworthy, both the owner and program manager can be held accountable. This prevents owners from claiming ignorance by saying "the program manager handles everything."

The regulation also clarifies that FAA management specifications and approvals are issued to the program manager on behalf of all fractional owners collectively. These authorizations stay with the program even when individual aircraft change ownership, as long as the aircraft remains in the program.

*This is a plain-English summary for study only. The official 14 CFR text on this page is controlling — always read the current regulation and consult a CFI.*