FAA Takes Action on DPE/Former ASI - Affects Pilot Certificate Holders
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A notice on July 15th, 2020 has gained some attention and spread throughout the training community. This is a notice of
"program policies and procedures for reexamining individuals holding pilot certificates with various ratings who were tested by Michael A. Puehler of Cincinnati, OH."
The scary part of this is that the notice highlights the procedures by which the FAA will be notifying individuals who received practical tests administered by this FAA Designee that they in prescribed instances will be required to retest for a rating or certificate for which they already had the “license in hand.”
The authority to do this is well documented under Title 49 of the United State Code (49 U.S.C.) §44709 is the authority for the reexamination of a certificated pilot. It states in part that,
“The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may…reexamine an airmen holding a certificate issued under section 44703 of this title.”
FAA Designee's are given the
“authority to act on behalf of the [FAA] administrator”, but the FAA has the authority to check their actions, and when there is concern that they have not acted in accordance with guidance, regulations, or legal manners, they can act in manners that rescind or require retesting of previously issued ratings and/or certificates. That is what is happening here, it has happened before, and will probably happen again.
Specifically, the FAA most commonly takes actions such as this when it is believed that airmen certificates and/or ratings are being issued under conditions where the airmen examined may not meet experience or proficiency requirements.
FSANA is watching this process and feels it is important for flight training providers to take note of actions such as this.
The FAA actively monitors training and testing trends, survey data, and data points in multiple systems to include but not limited to the IACRA and DMS systems. These data metrics provide feedback from which the FAA evaluates the need for further oversight of Designee's when there is concern that they are not doing their work in accordance with prescribed procedures. When it is determined that this is the case, a notice such as this may be the result in the worst of cases.
The FAA is not taking actions like this lightly, and recognizes the significant impact it has on the certificate holders and their flight training providers.
In many instances, with further interview of flight training providers, applicants, and even fellow Designee's in the area, the FAA oversight and additional inspection process finds that “bad actor” DPEs were well known to be cutting checkrides short, not testing all required areas, or worse actions in some cases for a lengthy period of time.
There is a tendency to not report these types of actions which creates an enabling culture. In some cases, flight training providers have even targeted purposefully using
“the examiner that doesn’t fail anyone” or
“the examiner who gives really short tests” thinking that just having as many applicants pass is the best outcome.
Passing applicants is not the best outcome in these cases. Especially when problems with the certification process are found and then certificate holders need to be retested.
As a training community, we all strive to have great pass rates, but the best way to do that is through good training that is then validated by professional testing processes that are FAA regulated. Any less than this undermines safety, undermines the validity of those certificate holders that were properly trained and tested, and those who correctly earned the certificates and/or ratings they hold.
The flight training community can help make sure this is the case by not trying to take advantage of weak testing processes. The trainers, the testers, and the applicants all doing their part in preparing and testing properly is the best way to ensure safety and equitable testing through our system. The FAA works hard to find any bad actors, and fortunately they are few and far between, but some do go unchecked for too long, even if that is a short period of time.
FSANA supports FAA efforts to ensure that designee's are doing their jobs properly, and feels responsibility to help provide feedback to the FAA if any of our members feel there are not fully compliant tests being administered.
At the request of the FSANA lead industry working group, a dedicated Designee Questions Email address was established several years ago. If you have concerns that you feel uncomfortable sharing with your local FAA office, please share them directly with the national designee oversight team at
Designee-Questions-Comments-Concerns@faa.gov.
The FAA has committed to anonymity in this feedback from the national level. If you are concerned that even that is too closely associated with your feedback or concerns, feel free to share them directly with FSANA at
info@fsana.com or call our office (610) 791-4359 and FSANA staff can pass along concerns.
We are hopeful that notices like this will be few and far between, but when they are necessary, it is typically for good reason although painful for the certificate holders and even those who provided them training. Don’t let this happen to your customers.
Most flight training providers know when a bad test or series of them is taking place. If you are an operator who thinks it is happening, put a stop to it so you do not end up with customers experiencing a notice like this potentially even many years later.
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Flight School Accreditation Update
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FSANA continues to put the final pieces in place for the soon to be released flight school accreditation standards. The United States Department of Education (USDE) rolled out updated regulations regarding accreditation that became effective July 1, 2020.
FSANA looks forward to reopening the accreditation program very soon. Flight schools that enroll in the updated program and complete the accreditation process will be defined as pre-accredited in accordance with the USDE.
Concurrently, FSANA will continue forward with the creation of a new entity designed to focus soley on accreditation. There will be a separate board of directors established as part of the process. FSANA estimates that the final process to become recognized by the USDE will take an additional 12-18 months.
Flight schools that become pre-accredited will be the first schools to be able to onboard students who have borrowed money under the USDE Title IV loan and/or grants program.
The pre-accredited schools will be first in line when the new accrediting body is recogfnized by the USDE.
Flight schools that wait to enter the accreditation program will be placed in line based on a first in, first out basis. Some schools may have to wait up to 36-48 months before they can complete the full accreditation process which includes site visits by accreditation inspectors.
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Lanier Flight Center Acquires New ALSIM AL172 Simulator
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Founded in 2003, Lanier currently operates out of Lee Gilmor Memorial Airport (KGVL) in Gainesville Georgia, as well as DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Chamblee, near the heartbeat of one of America’s major aviation centers Atlanta.
The AL172 simulator will perfectly complement Lanier’s growing number of Cessna C172 technically advanced aircraft. The AL172 is an exact replica of the Cessna 172 SP Skyhawk NAVIII. It features real Garmin G1000 NXI avionics and is equipped with the latest ALSIM VFR Visual System (VFRVS). The AL172, due to the VFRVS matched to the accurate force feedback, provides students with the sense of motion in a fixed-base device. This immersion and depth perception allows the simulator to be used for even your most basic PPL training, cutting down time and costs required in an aircraft, in addition to instrument and other flight training. The AL172 was purchased with assistance from Sky Allies Capital, an ALSIM partner based in Las Vegas Nevada that provides airplane, simulator and aviation equipment financing.
“We see the aviation world making a strong comeback post COVID19. Now appeared to be the perfect time to purchase a high-fidelity simulator that we can cement into our curriculum and enhance the training environment and experience. It’s been a pleasure dealing with ALSIM’s USA team, as well as speaking with their growing list of clients. We very much look forward to receiving our new simulator and working with the whole aviation family for many years to come.” says Troy Wheeler, President of Lanier.
Lanier, a FAA approved Part 141 and 161 flight school, is also a Cessna Pilot Center and Liberty University School of Aeronautics Flight Training Affiliate.
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Redbird Offers Free Access to New Solution for Remote Flight Instruction
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As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on the flight training industry, Redbird Flight Simulations is providing free access to a new product that enables flight instructors to conduct remote flight simulator sessions with students.
The product, dubbed Redbird Connect, provides an effective platform for flight instructors and their students to safely resume flight lessons through flight simulation and video conferencing technology. Connect enables remote access to a web-based version of Redbird’s flight simulator operating system, Redbird Navigator, which gives flight instructors full functionality of the system’s instructor tools. From anywhere in the world, instructors now will be able to guide and control flight training sessions on Redbird simulators by setting and changing the weather, initiating failures, pausing and unpausing flights, repositioning aircraft, and more.
Redbird Connect also prioritizes the instructor’s visibility into training sessions. To allow instructors to track flights and provide scenario-specific guidance, the product includes a split-screen view of the simulated aircraft’s primary flight display (PFD) and a moving map display of the flight in progress. Combined with a live video feed of the student, flight instructors can simultaneously oversee the student’s hand flying and critical data for the flight.
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SEVP Spotlight Keeping International Students and Schools Updated During COVID-19
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As the corona virus (COVID-19) continues to alter traditional classroom learning in the United States and across the globe for the foreseeable future, it is SEVP's number one priority to keep students, schools and stakeholders informed of any COVID-19 related updates that impact the international student and school life cycle. We sincerely thank you for your patience and cooperation as we navigate these uncertain times together.
There are several key ways in which SEVP continues to keep our stakeholders informed. Study in the States houses a COVID-19 Resources page, which features official guidance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, recent SEVP blog posts and resources from government partners including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Education. Another key resource I encourage you to visit is the COVID-19 FAQs section on the ICE.gov website. This document is regularly updated and addresses important COVID-19-related stakeholder questions about SEVP-certified schools and international students.
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RAA Supports FAA NPRM on Pilots Records Database, AOPA Opposes
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Disparity seems to exist in the industry about a recent NPRM proposal by the FAA on changes to the Pilots Records Database.
In a recent article, the The RAA noted:
The Regional Airline Association (RAA) voiced its strong support for the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the establishment and maintenance of a robust Pilots Records Database (PRD). RAA member airlines’ top priority is safety for our operations, and the development of an enhanced electronic system for sharing pilot records among air carriers and other operators will meaningfully enhance safety by providing more complete information in the hiring process. Such a system, managed by the federal government, is long overdue.
Recognizing that the wide-ranging nature of many proposals in the new rule lack the detail necessary for a complete response, the FAA has asked industry for engagement to inform the final crafting of the rule and the method whereby the records will be transferred from existing airline record systems. RAA commends the FAA for this approach.
“The PRD will add transparency, standardization and efficiency into an air carrier’s hiring process and will provide immeasurable safety benefits,” noted Bill Whyte, VP of Aviation Operations and Technical Services, who authored the comments. Whyte continued: “Deploying the PRD at a deliberate and focused pace to safeguard the intent of the rule is essential and RAA members remain committed to working with the Agency and our pilot community to ensure a smooth transition to this much-needed system.”
RAA has long held the FAA’s implementation of the PRD as a matter of utmost importance and emphasizes that any airline or business burdens associated with implementation of the PRD are more than offset by the PRD’s clear and well-substantiated public safety benefit. RAA urges the FAA to review comments to its NPRM as quickly as possible and implement the transition to a federal Pilot Records Database (PRD) without delay.
In comparison, AOPA noted in an article that “"FAA's New Rule on Pilot Records"
In the article, AOPA noted that, "AOPA raised concerns over the FAA’s proposal of an electronic database intended to replace the longstanding Pilot Records Improvement Act (PRIA) for air carriers and to verify certification, training, and currency of pilots. AOPA and other aviation organizations believe that the Pilot Records Database (PRD) described in a notice of proposed rulemaking will place an undue burden on many individual pilots."
Chief among AOPA’s complaints is that the PRD NPRM expands beyond what is statutorily required, does not accept industry recommendations, and does not provide a clear process for pilots to have errors on their record corrected.
Additionally, thousands of small, sole-practitioner operations under Part 91 (e.g., small corporate and air tour operators) would be subjected to costly and burdensome regulations, setting a bad precedent for interpreting the PRD to apply to a broader group of small operations. According to AOPA’s comments, “The result would [be] unnecessary self-reporting to the PRD. Similarly, having PRD reporting for other part 91 operations, such as aerial advertising and photographers, pipeline patrol, glider operations, banner towers, agriculture operations, and acrobatic teams should not be included due to their size and type of operation and not being mandated by the PRD Act.”
“While AOPA supports the need for a transparent process to ensure accurate pilot records, this proposal unfortunately attempts to mandate a costly process to smaller Part 91 operations that we strongly believe were not intended to comply,” said AOPA Director of Regulatory Affairs Chris Cooper. “Again, the FAA proposal places unnecessary requirements on Part 91 operators that would do nothing to enhance safety.”
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Considering Your Website Policies
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FSANA is in the process of developing a new website and content management system. As we are doing this, one of the things we have noticed is that there are some specific website policies and procedures that can have legal ramifications for businesses. While we work on our association’s website, we thought we might share some of the things we have noted with you, the providers of flight training, that you might want to consider in your own businesses’ websites.
There is a federal law that is being taken seriously called the
Children’s Online Privacy
Protection Act or COPPA. You should check to see how your website handles your website policies, terms of use, COPPA et al. This includes a deep dive with the COPPA law which addresses children under age 13. Below are links.
If your business has a website which can be viewed publicly by people of all ages, we encourage you to take a moment and review your website policies, terms of use et al. This topic can be brought into play if and when a website user decides to challenge your policies via a legal complaint.
This is especially true for any business with a website that has youth under age 13 as a viewer. Remember, your website can be viewed by everyone unless you password protect it. There are some organizations that password protect and allow a viewer very limited access. Some country clubs and private clubs deploy this scope. You can see the homepage with driving directions to the club and nothing more.
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DPEs Available to Travel to Help Training Providers Source Practical Tests
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FSANA has been collecting DPE names who have expressed a willingness to travel to help flight training providers secure practical tests since our last newsletter.
This list is published on the FSANA website and is kept up-to-date with contact information, so if you are a flight training provider who is finding a challenge of scheduling DPEs in your local area, feel free to reach out to these individuals and you may be able to have them help serve some of your local testing needs.
This effort is being made in general, but also as many DPEs have self selected to delay a return to providing practical tests during the effects of COVID-19 periods and in some locations. FSANA will continue to hep provide this information as the flight training industry continues to move forward with both new and existing students in all phases of their training.
If you are a DPE who is not on this list but would like to be, please let us know by emailing us at
info@fsana.com with your email and phone number that we could list.
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COVID-19 Resources for Flight Training Providers
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As the COVID-19 effect continues to develop, FSANA is working to collect and provide links and resources that are useful for flight training providers. We will continue to share these with you as we encounter them and share them both on our website and in our communications.
At this time, the links and notifications below are some that we have found that may be of use depending on your operation and local restrictions that are in place.
4/17/2020* -
CISA
Updates memo to better include flight training
Version 3.0 of this memo came out somewhere in the second week of April although* the dates still show as March 28 on the document. Of note, this version specifically included an update that includes "flight instructors" as essential workforce.
4/4/2020 - FAA Issues "Information for Airport Sponsors Considering COVID-19 Restrictions or Accommodations"
"Prohibiting certain flights (e.g., certain locations, types of aircraft, and types of operations): As is normally the case, actions such as these may violate Federal law and the airport’s grant assurances, unless approved in advance by the FAA (and, in some cases, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) as well). To seek such approval, the airport sponsor should contact the applicable FAA Airports District Office to discuss the matter."
3/17/2020 - Part 141 Training Interruptions Related to COVID-19 and Applicable Deviations to Order 8900.1
The FAA has offered a deviation memo for FAA Part 141 training providers to better accommodate for distance learning in parts of the approved TCOs.
FAA Dedicates Web Page for FAA COVID-19 Relief For Certificate Holders: Policy Deviations, Exemptions and Rule Changes
Visit the following link for regular updates to deviations and policies:
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Useful COVID-19 Related Links
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Next Annual Flight School Operators Conference Scheduled
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FSANA's Annual Flight School Operators Conference is returning to the Rosen Plaza in Orlando, Florida March 3-5, 2021. The conference committee which is comprised of many FSANA members has been meeting and the early session topics sound outstanding.
With the new world brought on by the virus, every flight school will want to attend the 2021 conference. Several FSANA committees will be meeting real time in conjunction with the conference.
Look for more information in the upcoming months, but for now lock your calendars for
March 3-5, 2021.
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ARTICLES OF INTEREST FROM THE INDUSTRY
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FLIGHT SCHOOL BUSINESS EXCHANGE
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International CFIs Available to Work
International CFIs available to work immediately with two years of work authorization in the United States. Most of the candidates have both CFI and CFII. Please contact Brett Hart (503) 726-8378 or email
bhart@flyhaa.com
if you have any openings.
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Busy Western New York Flight School seeks a Part 141 Chief Flight Instructor.
Duties include managing flight school, liaison with local schools and universities, managing Veteran’s Administration system, information sessions and tours, marketing and oversight of fleet maintenance.
Tired of the heat and humidity in Florida? Come to Western New York where summer temperatures almost never get as high as 90!
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University Air Center Flight School, Gainesville Florida
Looking for Certified Flight Instructors-Instrument for a full time busy flight school. We fly Piper Warrior, Cessna 172 (G1000), Cessna 182 (Garmin glass), Cessna 210 and Piper Aztec. We have the option of time as flight instructor then move into the Caravan for Part 91 operations then to our Charter department flying Citation Jets. Come join the UAC team! Email resume to
PamL@universityaircenter.com
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Flight School Needs Cessna 172 AircraftGainesville Florida
If you have Cessna 172 aircraft that might be useable in a flight training program, contact Mike at
mfreed@flyoceanaviation.com
to discuss possibilities.
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Tell us what is important to you as a school owner, manager or chief flight instructor. We will share comments in an upcoming edition of Flight Training News. Send your thoughts to
info@fsana.com
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FSANA SUPPORTING PARTNERS
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V I S I O N A R Y
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P A R T N E R S
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D E V E L O P E R
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P A R T N E R S
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B U I L D E R
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P A R T N E R S
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L E A D E R
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P A R T N E R S
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The above organizations are annual supporters of the FSANA mission and work of the association and its members. The follow organizations join our Partners in supporting FSANA's 2020 Flight School Operators Conference.
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Established in 2009, the Flight School Association of North America (FSANA) is the first and only association of its kind dedicated solely to the flight training industry. FSANA represents flight schools, firms that provide products and services to the flight training or aviation industry, and other supporting partners.
The Mission of the Flight School Association is to support, promote and advocate for the business of flight training; to provide knowledge, programs and services that help its members thrive and better serve their customers and communities; to foster best business practices; to educate and inspire youth; to increase the global pilot population; to improve general aviation safety; and to work in alliance with the aviation and aerospace industry.
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