# Raytheon Aircraft Company — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 04-0183 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2004-10-26 04-0183 response to Raytheon Aircraft Company concerning 172.204, 173.22. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation 400 Seventh St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590 Special Programs Research and Administration OCT 26 2004 Ms. Karen L. Baxter Ref. No. 04-0183 Hazardous Materials Regulatory Compliance Engineer 9709 E. Central Wichita, KS 67206 Dear Ms. Baxter: This is in response to your letter dated August 12, 2004, regarding the shippers's certification prescribed in § 172.204 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you present the following scenario and asked whether Raytheon Aircraft Company (Raytheon) would be liable should there be penalties involved with non-compliance under the HMR. According to your letter, Raytheon contracts with Company X to inventory and ship hazardous materials. In some cases, Company X will use its personnel to prepare hazardous materials shipments. In such cases, Company X, on Raytheon's behalf, signs the shipper's certification on the shipping paper. At your company's direction or through contractual arrangement, a third party may perform the to certify that hazardous materials are being offered for transportation in accordance with the functions of an offeror (shipper), such as signing the certification statement on a shipping paper HMR. Under the HMR, any person performing functions of an offeror must take responsibility for performing those functions in accordance with the applicable rules. Each person who performs a function governed by the HMR is responsible for complying with the appropriate requirements of the HMR. Note that, because Company X in this situation is acting as an agent of Raytheon, Raytheon may be held responsible for Company X's non-compliance with the HMR. The degree of regulatory liability is usually determined on a case-by-case basis, and is dependent on the facts of the specific situation. I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if you require additional assistance Office of Hazardous Materials Standards 172.204 040183 173.22 <<>> Au8-12-04" 09:33 am From-Raytheon Aircraft +316 676 6127 T-265 P. 001/001 F-357 Relerford 3/72.201 Raytheon Aircraft $173.22 ShippingPapers, /Shipperes FROM: Karen L. Baxter Responsibilit Fazardous Material Regulatory Compliance Engineer 9709 E. Central 04-0183 Wichita, K$ 67206 172.702 Phone: (316) 676-7742 Fax: (316) 676-6127 Email: karen_baxter@rac.ray.com Date: 08/12/2004 FAX COVER SHEET TO: Mr. Edward IT. Mazzullo Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards U.S. DOT/RSPA (DHM-10) 400 7" Street S. W. Washington, D.C. 20590-0001 Fax: (202)366-3012 Request for formal interpretation: Raytheon Aircraft Company is contracting other companies to inventory and ship all classes of hazardous materials. In some cases Raytheon Aircraft Company would own the inventory. If the company Raytheon Aircraft Company contracts to ship the hazardous materials uses the contracting company personnel to prepare the materials for shipment and sign the shipper's certification, will Raytheon Aircraft Company be in any way liable should there be penalties involved with non compliance to 49 CFR parts 171 hrough 180? The contracting company would be shipping on a Shipper' Declaration or Bill of Ladling with the Raytheon Aircraft Company's log and for export shipments Raytheon Aircraft Company would be the "exporter of record". Thanking you in advance for your formal interpretation of this subject. Karen S. Bert ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `64307fd4d0b32059a5e1b911f15b595ab23f8677e95832a206e162ea7d67a152` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-25T22:17:51.027Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-04-0183` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Raytheon Aircraft Company" ], "individuals": [ "Ms. Karen L. 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