UndauntedFlyer
Ease the nose down
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2006
- Posts
- 1,062
Training to Proficiency
As a result of the 2009 Colgan accident in Buffalo, the Pilot Records Improvement Act, and its enhancements by congress and the FAA, any failures of any tests, including written tests, phase checks, certification tests or any aviation related events are becoming a factor toward whether or not a pilot candidate will be considered for employment with a Part 121 air carrier. Presently, pilot applicants for employment with an air carrier are being asked to disclose any such failures; and past training records, including Part 141 records and personal logbooks, are being thoroughly audited by the the airlines. As a result, any FAA Notices of Disapproval issued by FAA examiners or inspectors, or failed phase checks/certification checks in Part 141 programs should now be of special concern to pilot applicants and young pilots in training. Avoiding aviation related failures is now of a greater importance than ever before. The FAA has instructed their inspectors with POI authority for airlines to increase surveillance, and to personally observe the proficiency checks of any Part 121 air carrier pilots with four or more "failures" on their records. So now, of course, if a person applies for an airline pilot position with such a record of failures, right or wrong, they may not be considered for employment.
College programs or Part 141 programs with "Examining Authority" should understand that there may never need to be a failure or an unsatisfactory evaluation of any pilot in training. This is possible if the Chief Instructor/Asst. Chiefs understand that students can satisfactorily and properly complete the entire program without any evaluator ever having to write the word "Unsatisfactory" in any student's flight record. The objective is for every student to be "trained to proficiency" in every phase of their training, resulting in the official phase checks becoming the final phase in a total learning block. This is a three step process where line flight instructors typically provide a first phase of training in a block, assistant chiefs validate that training to the required proficiency level, and then a final check by an assistant chief who is an equal level colleague. It is the assistant chief who is responsible for validating the training of the pilot to required proficiency or, if necessary, back to the line instructor for remedial training and/or possibly a repeat of the course with a pending "incomplete." When the block is satisfactorily completed, validated to required standards and checked, the student moves on and the incomplete grade is updated. This is training to proficiency and it produces the best possible pilot.
The largest airlines enjoy a 99.0 percent pass rate of their pilots for FAA type ratings and proficiency checks. Yes, these pilots are well prepared for their checks; but more importantly, this success rate is because the larger airlines have learned how to practically eliminate failures. No failures of check rides is a necessity because any pilot who may be involved in an accident or incident will certainly have their training records reviewed by aviation experts, lawyers and newspapers. Therefore, airlines mostly use AQP training which is similar to a Part 141 program, thus reducing the risk of failures.
Unfortunately, there are those evaluators in the general aviation world who like to be tough and hold what they think are high standards by failing students for small mistakes. Hopefully, someone will be able to bring to their attention the significance of those failures so they might better understand the seriousness and career ending potential resulting from such a philosophy. While not referencing any particular or recent failure, failures occur too often for trivial oversights or simply technique differences from that of the evaluator. Tragically, especially post-Colgan, more and more pilots who are actually very good pilots and fine young men and women are finding that their careers and dreams of becoming airline pilots are in serious jeopardy by misunderstandings and unfair evaluations of the past.
The Colgan accident is changing the pilot career forever, and flight schools, particularly university/college programs, will need to upgrade their programs and establish the positive policies of "training validations" and "training to proficiency." The result will be better and more thoroughly trained pilots.
As a result of the 2009 Colgan accident in Buffalo, the Pilot Records Improvement Act, and its enhancements by congress and the FAA, any failures of any tests, including written tests, phase checks, certification tests or any aviation related events are becoming a factor toward whether or not a pilot candidate will be considered for employment with a Part 121 air carrier. Presently, pilot applicants for employment with an air carrier are being asked to disclose any such failures; and past training records, including Part 141 records and personal logbooks, are being thoroughly audited by the the airlines. As a result, any FAA Notices of Disapproval issued by FAA examiners or inspectors, or failed phase checks/certification checks in Part 141 programs should now be of special concern to pilot applicants and young pilots in training. Avoiding aviation related failures is now of a greater importance than ever before. The FAA has instructed their inspectors with POI authority for airlines to increase surveillance, and to personally observe the proficiency checks of any Part 121 air carrier pilots with four or more "failures" on their records. So now, of course, if a person applies for an airline pilot position with such a record of failures, right or wrong, they may not be considered for employment.
College programs or Part 141 programs with "Examining Authority" should understand that there may never need to be a failure or an unsatisfactory evaluation of any pilot in training. This is possible if the Chief Instructor/Asst. Chiefs understand that students can satisfactorily and properly complete the entire program without any evaluator ever having to write the word "Unsatisfactory" in any student's flight record. The objective is for every student to be "trained to proficiency" in every phase of their training, resulting in the official phase checks becoming the final phase in a total learning block. This is a three step process where line flight instructors typically provide a first phase of training in a block, assistant chiefs validate that training to the required proficiency level, and then a final check by an assistant chief who is an equal level colleague. It is the assistant chief who is responsible for validating the training of the pilot to required proficiency or, if necessary, back to the line instructor for remedial training and/or possibly a repeat of the course with a pending "incomplete." When the block is satisfactorily completed, validated to required standards and checked, the student moves on and the incomplete grade is updated. This is training to proficiency and it produces the best possible pilot.
The largest airlines enjoy a 99.0 percent pass rate of their pilots for FAA type ratings and proficiency checks. Yes, these pilots are well prepared for their checks; but more importantly, this success rate is because the larger airlines have learned how to practically eliminate failures. No failures of check rides is a necessity because any pilot who may be involved in an accident or incident will certainly have their training records reviewed by aviation experts, lawyers and newspapers. Therefore, airlines mostly use AQP training which is similar to a Part 141 program, thus reducing the risk of failures.
Unfortunately, there are those evaluators in the general aviation world who like to be tough and hold what they think are high standards by failing students for small mistakes. Hopefully, someone will be able to bring to their attention the significance of those failures so they might better understand the seriousness and career ending potential resulting from such a philosophy. While not referencing any particular or recent failure, failures occur too often for trivial oversights or simply technique differences from that of the evaluator. Tragically, especially post-Colgan, more and more pilots who are actually very good pilots and fine young men and women are finding that their careers and dreams of becoming airline pilots are in serious jeopardy by misunderstandings and unfair evaluations of the past.
The Colgan accident is changing the pilot career forever, and flight schools, particularly university/college programs, will need to upgrade their programs and establish the positive policies of "training validations" and "training to proficiency." The result will be better and more thoroughly trained pilots.
