FAA opens comment on carrying firefighters in restricted-category aircraft

The Federal Aviation Administration is looking at whether restricted-category aircraft could carry firefighters to and from wildfires. The agency issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on Sept. 14, asking firefighting organizations, aircraft operators and other interested parties for information.

Current rules bar restricted-category civil aircraft from carrying people unless they are needed for the aircraft's certificated special-purpose operation. Firefighters heading to a fire to work on the ground do not meet that test, and the FAA has concluded that flying them for ground operations is not an aerial-work operation under Part 119.

The notice asks whether transporting firefighters to a wildfire should be added as a special-purpose operation under §91.313, with matching changes to the Part 119 exceptions.

The action follows Section 360 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which told the agency to set up a regulatory path for moving firefighters on certain restricted-category aircraft. Former military aircraft are left out of that provision.

No final rule is on the table yet. The FAA says it is gathering information to shape what a future rule might look like. Comments are due Nov. 13, 2026.