The US Federal Aviation Administration is moving to rescind and cancel long-standing single-pilot exemptions for certain Cessna Citation business jets, including the Citation 500, S550 and some 560 variants. The change affects older Part 25 aircraft that have been allowed to operate with one pilot under exemptions in place since 1984, and current exemption holders are being notified.
The FAA determined in a 2024 review that the exemptions no longer deliver an equivalent level of safety. Its notice cited widespread noncompliance with the conditions and limitations attached to the waivers, along with an accident review covering the past 18 years. The agency found that CE-500 aircraft flown with one pilot appear to be involved in roughly twice the accident rate of comparable Part 23 Citation aircraft operated single-pilot.
The move tightens operating rules for a small but significant slice of the business aviation fleet, particularly operators and pilots flying legacy Citation jets under the exemption regime. It also ends a long-running approval framework that had allowed single-pilot operation of aircraft normally certificated for two-pilot crews.