The FAA has indicated that an effort to review and update 14 CFR 141 is going to be taking place lead by the FAA with collaboration with aviation industry stakeholders. More specifically, FSANA has been advised that an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) is going to be tasked in the near future to address this effort.

ARCs are typically comprised of FAA and industry staff to review topics and regulations and then propose suggested updates and modifications to best serve the current and future aviation needs of our country. 14 CFR 141 has not been revised for a number of years, and as our training industry works to meet current and future needs, the time has come to review the regulations under which this happens.

FSANA will be taking part in this effort with a focus on making sure that equal paths to training are maintained in the flight training system. Flexibility, efficiency, and efficacy in training pilots for both professional and private flying is one of the highest priorities. America's Ab Initio flight training landscape provides the highest quality of education transfer in the world.

As of January 24, 2024, there were 521 Part 141 flight schools in the United States.

Part 141 flight schools represent 33% of the approximately 1,500 flight schools in the United states. 36% of the Part 141 schools are located in California, Florida and Texas.

As the ARC gets underway, FSANA will be engaging our members for input and providing updates on the ARC as it moves forward.

The General Aviation Joint Safety Committee (GAJSC) launched its first "Fly Safe Flyer" digital newsletter yesterday. This new quarterly publication is intended to keep the industry informed on GAJSC-related news and updates along with relevant safety information that impacts the general aviation community.

A participant in the GAJSC, FSANA congratulates the launch of this new publication. FSANA president & CEO and representative on the GAJSC

Robert Rockmaker noted, "We are pleased to have a new outlet for the GA community to help share the safety data, related metrics and safety enhancement (SE) reports that are created by the GAJSC".

The publication will allow sharing information that GAJSC committee members have seen, but has not been able to be easily disseminated beyond that group historically. Key data from the GAJSC has historically included the Fatal Aircraft Accident Pareto chart which tracks common causes and trends in general aviation accidents.

This new dynamic tool can be customized to display a specific date range of accident data and sort results by aircraft classification, FAR part, operational category, and accident category.

Focal topics in this and upcoming newsletters will help industry participants better understand data and metrics related to our entire industry's safety.

FSANA looks forward to helping share this information with the industry as we all work together to enhance safety wherever possible. We encourage you to click the link below to the newsletter and dig through some of the material included.

The aviation safety goal is "Zero GA Accidents". It is up to each person in the aviation industry to strive for this goal each and everyday.

The GAJSC is a public-private partnership working to reduce the GA fatal accident rate via data-driven risk reduction efforts. Participants include the FAA and industry stakeholders, including pilot organizations, flight instructors, mechanics, builders, and manufacturers.

You can learn more about the GAJSC at www.GAJSC.org.

Tracking pilot certification activity is something that can always help us continue to understand our business environment. With the end of the year 2023 numbers out, we can see a couple interesting trends that meet expectations that were taking place through the year, and even back up a little bit of conjecture.

First, we again saw total pilot certification events up compared with the previous, and multiple previous, years. all primary certificates saw increases as can be seen from the chart here.

A total of 134,057 pilot certificates were issued in 2023, up from 106,662 in 2022 and 93,775 in 2021.

Our pilot training pipeline continues to deliver more production as demand has remained strong for certificated pilot employment.

Our pilot training pipeline continues to deliver more production as demand has remained strong for certificated pilot employment. The issuance of CFI certificates again also grew, reaching issuance numbers that have not been matched within the last 30 years. A key factor for training providers, the production of CFIs allows them to source staff who will training the next generation of pilots and allows those who are CFIs to leverage that work experience to become qualified for other pilot positions that require more flight experience.

Airline hiring remained strong through 2023, and as they hired pilots they (mostly at regional airlines) also helped many pilots complete ATP pilot certification.

We see strong continued knowledge and practical test activity in ATP pilot certification pathways, with 2023 peaking out a high points not seen in the past two decades for both events.

ATP pilot production has continued to grow at a strong rate over the past years but is showing production numbers that have not been matched in the recent past. This offers airlines the opportunity to recruit from a larger pool to meet hiring demands, and hopefully be in a position to select "best qualified candidates" instead of just hiring any qualified candidates.

Throughout 2023 FSANA had been hearing from some examiners that it felt like more failures were happening. As we look at the data from the year, this does seem to have happened in initial private pilot certification events, which showed a drop of about 2.2% from the previous year, down 3.5% from 2021 experiences. While this may seem like a small number, with 31,950 private pilot certificates issued in 2023, it is a significant number of additional disapproval.

Initial commercial pilot and CFI testing events seemed to stay stable over the past couple of years, with minimal change thus far. This will be something we continue to monitor in upcoming years.

You can see from this chart what the general trends have been on each of these certification events.

Quality in training continues to be a critical factor the entire industry needs to keep in focus. While high demand for certification pushes all of us to "just get people done," those base skills we teach in early flight training are translatable into the skill set needed at upper levels of aviation pilot services. Our training industry training industry continues to increase its ability to meet training throughput to meet hiring demands. A goal that is a part of this effort remains to produce quality pilots for future professional service.

A critical part of our aviation training landscape continues to be the provision of training for non-U.S. citizens. Each year, the TSA shares with FSANA some of the data that helps us understand how much training is conducted in this sector.

Helping feed the business of flight training, and provision of training for pilots all around the world, many of whom then return back to their home countries and complete additional training to go into service as professional pilots, is a big part of many flight training providers' business models. These students are also receiving training from U.S. flight instructors who use the flight training they give to gain needed experience to move on to other professional jobs.

Security threat assessments are not required for non-U.S. citizens for all training, but specifically for initial pilot training (typically private pilot), instrument ratings, multi-engine ratings, and type ratings/ATP certificates do require this approval.

We can see from the chart below that while a general drop from 2019 took place, we have been continuing to climb these numbers post-COVID for initial pilot, instrument rating, and multi-engine certification events.

Type rating and recurrent type rating certification has been an additional activity that continues to see growth. From the chart and graph below, we can see what growth has been taking place since the low point in 2020 when COVID closures were experienced.

The charts below show raw numbers and graphical depictions of initial and recurrent type rating certification threat assessment approvals for non-U.S. citizens seeking or maintaining type ratings.

The United States aviation training industry has long been the international leader and it continues to be so. The U.S. flight training industry works to serve the needs of pilot training throughout the world and the data from the TSA continues to support that this remains a robust portion of the business model.

Every year for more than 50 years, the General Aviation Awards program and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have recognized aviation professionals for their contributions to general aviation in the fields of flight instruction, aviation maintenance/avionics, and safety.

These awards highlight the vital leadership roles these individuals play in promoting safety, education, and professionalism throughout the aviation industry.

Recipients of the 2024 National General Aviation Awards are:

You can learn more about the program and this year's winners by clicking here.

Only a few training providers can say they have been in the business for 50 years. This year, King Schools joins those few, celebrating their 50th birthday.

“2024 marks 50 years since John and Martha began what has turned into a lifelong passion and an exceedingly successful business,” Barry Knuttila, King Schools CEO, said. “Not only have they helped millions of pilots achieve their training goals, but they also guided the company and the curriculum through countless regulatory changes and technology transformations.”

John and Martha got their start traveling to far-flung cities and towns to conduct in-person ground school courses for aspiring private pilots. Today, King Schools is the world’s premiere supplier of print, video and computer-based instructional materials covering every aspect of flight training and safety both for written test preparation and guidance in practical flight operations. More than half of all pilots in the United States have used one or more King Schools courses as part of their aviation training.

FSANA and its members offer the Kings thanks for all their contributions to the industry and congratulations on this milestone.

King Schools has launched a year of celebration to mark the half-century milestone, which will include events, appearances, and speeches as well as special offers on King Schools courses and curricula. The website and King Schools’ social media sites will be regularly updated with details.

Dangerous laser strikes topped all previous records in 2023. The FAA received 13,304 reports from pilots last year, a 41% increase over 2022.

Shining a laser at an aircraft is a serious safety threat. Many types of high-powered lasers can incapacitate pilots, many of whom are flying airplanes with hundreds of passengers. Pilots have reported 313 injuries since the FAA began recording data on laser strikes in 2010.

The FAA strongly encourages the public to report laser strikes to the FAA and local law enforcement agencies at faa.gov/aircraft/safety/report/laserinfo.

Learn more about the dangers of lasers by visiting faa.gov/about/initiatives/lasers and by reading the article “Blinded By the Light” here: medium.com/faa/blinded-by-the-light-4879e10fe619.

The FAA is recruiting pilots in the Naples, FL, and Lakeland, FL for Sun ‘n Fun, in early

April, 2024!

We need pilots (25-plus years of age) who have flown at least once in the last 6 months

(including training simulator time), and who hold a current medical certification Class I,

II, or III (not BasicMed)^. Participation involves completing two computerized tests

related to tasks such as working memory, attention, mental rotation, and multitasking

performance.

The study session takes about 4 hours and pays $300, $400, or $500 (dependent on

medical certification at time of participation), and payment is dispersed

immediately following participation!

You can learn more about this effort by clicking here.