US to shake up airline pilot training

The US regulator has raised the bar on its major overhaul of airline tech and cabin crew training.

“The FAA is proposing the most significant changes to air carrier training in 20 years,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “This is a major effort to strengthen the performance of pilots, flight attendants and dispatchers through better training.” 

The proposed requirements mean a significant shift in training philosophy designed to produce qualified and capable crewmembers and dispatchers ready to face current and future aviation challenges.

Under the proposal, flight crews would have to demonstrate, not just learn, critical skills in real-world training scenarios.

Pilots will be required to train as part of a flight team, coordinate their actions through Crew Resource Management, and fly scenarios based on actual events.

The revised proposal will also require ground and flight training to teach pilots how to recognize and recover from stalls and aircraft upsets.

The proposal will require remedial training for pilots with performance deficiencies, such as failing a proficiency test or check, or unsatisfactory performance during flight training or a simulator course.

And the proposal will address how air carriers may modify training programs for aircraft with similar flight handling characteristics.

It also reorganizes and revises the qualification, training, and evaluation requirements for all crewmembers and dispatchers.

Like the original proposal, the supplemental notice will require the use of pilot flight simulation training devices.

Pilots also will have to complete special hazard training in addition to practising the use of crew resource management skills.

The supplemental proposal also contains requirements derived from voluntary FAA-approved alternative training regimens such as Advanced Qualification Programs (AQP). These include:

* crew-oriented, scenario-based training;

* demonstration of satisfactory skill on each task to determine necessary job performance training hours;

* a continuous analysis process that lets the certificate holder validate how effective the qualification and training program is, or where it may need to be changed.

The new proposal also clarifies that the proposal’s economic impact on air carriers that conduct training under voluntary, FAA-approved alternative programs, such as AQP, and the time used for flight simulator training, would be minimal.

Flight attendants would be required to complete hands-on emergency drills every 12 months, and the proposal would standardize the training and experience requirements for certain dispatchers and instructors.