Volga-Dnepr J.S. Cargo Airline

OST-2006-23787 - Emergency Exemption - Moffett Field-Cape Canaveral

January 31, 2006

Application for an Emergency Exemption

Volga-Dnepr respectfully requests an emergency exemption from the provisions of 49 U.S.C. §§ 40109(g) and 41703(c), and otherwise applicable provisions of the Department of Transportation regulations, so as to permit Volga-Dnepr to operate one one-way all-cargo charter flight, utilizing Volga-Dnepr’s AN-124-100 aircraft, to transport outsized cargo from Moffett Field, California to Cape Canaveral /Kennedy Space Center, Florida on or around February 8, 2006.

The outsized cargo to be transported by Volga-Dnepr from Moffett Field to Cape Canaveral will consist of one Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems SES Astra Satellite with the weight of 45,000 pounds and the dimensions in shipping configuration measuring 43’ L x 15’ W x 12’ H.

The cargo as described cannot be transported on any commercially available U.S. aircraft, and requires the use of the AN124-100 aircraft and its ramp loading system.

Counsel: The Wicks Group, Glenn Wicks, 202-457-7790

OST-2006-23787 - Emergency Exemption - Moffett Field-Cape Canaveral

March 1, 2006

Amendment to Application for an Emergency Exemption

Volga-Dnepr respectfully requests that its application for an emergency exemption submitted in the referenced docket on January 31, 2006, be amended so as to permit Volga-Dnepr to operate one one-way all-cargo charter flight utilizing Volga-Dnepr’s AN-124-100 aircraft to transport outsized cargo from Moffett Field, California to Cape Canaveral John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on or around March 8-11, 2006. The need to reschedule the flight from its initially requested dates is due to an unanticipated delay in the LMCSS Astra satellite manufacturing program.

Counsel: The Wicks Group, Glenn Wicks, 202-457-7790

OST-2006-23787 - Emergency Exemption - Moffett Field-Cape Canaveral

Filed January 31, 2006 | Supplemented March 1, 2006 | Issued March 7, 2006

Notice of Action Taken | Word

Exemption from 49 USC § 40109(g) to permit the applicant to operate one, one-way, all-cargo charter flight, using its AN-124-100 aircraft, carrying outsized cargo on behalf of Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, from Moffett Field, California, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, during the period March 8 through March 11, 2006.  The applicant states that the flight would carry a LMCSS SES Astra Satellite.  The applicant asserts that LMCSS needs the subject lift to meet extremely tight schedules associated with maintaining the assigned launch slot of the satellite; that the cargo is too large for transportation on U.S.-carrier aircraft; and that surface transportation is not feasible because of the delicate nature and extremely high value of the cargo.

We are granting Volga-Dnepr’s request to operate the proposed one-way flight, on behalf of LMCSS.  We found that its request met all the relevant criteria of 49 USC § 40109(g) for the grant of an exemption of this type, and that the grant was required in the public interest.  Specifically, we were persuaded that the need to move the cargo to meet extremely tight schedules associated with maintaining the assigned launch slot of the satellite; the fact that the cargo could not be transported by surface because of its delicate nature and extremely high value; and the unique, outsized nature of the cargo, constituted an emergency not arising in the normal course of business.  Moreover, based on the representations of the U.S. carriers, we concluded that no U.S. carrier had aircraft available that could be used to conduct the operation at issue here.  We also found that grant of this authority would prevent unreasonable hardship to LMCSS.

By: Michael Reynolds