Rulemaking Committee Report Calls for Creation of Additional Pilot Training Regulatory Pathway

The Regional Airline Association (RAA) has applauded the release of the Air Carrier Training Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ACT ARC) Report, which includes recommendations based on a year of focused work by a diverse group of aviation safety and training experts. 

The ACT ARC working group was comprised of safety and pilot training experts, as well as organizations like the Regional Airline Association (RAA), Airlines for America (A4A), the National Air Disaster Foundation (NADF), the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), Coalition of Airline Pilots Association (CAPA), CAE, Inc., National Air Carrier Association (NACA), Flight Safety International (FSI), and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) amongst other industry experts.

The unanimous recommendation calls for the FAA to strengthen pilot training and improve safety. “This pivotal report reflects the consensus of a broad array of pilot training experts, unified behind a recommendation that FAA create additional, structured-training based pilot qualification pathways to improve safety. FAA must now act swiftly to create new, safety-enhancing R-ATP pathways,” noted RAA CEO Faye Malarkey Black.

This ACT ARC recommendation comes on the heels of a separate provision in the recently enacted FAA Reauthorization bill (“Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act”) that requires FAA to create an additional, airline-based Enhanced Qualification R-ATP Pathway to complement existing pilot qualification pathways within six months of enactment. The deadline for FAA Action on the Enhanced Qualification Pathway is Nov. 16, 2024, and RAA urges FAA to meet this critical deadline set by Congress.

RAA claims these actions reflect a strong consensus among experts and regulators that there is a better way to train and prepare pilots.  

FMI: www.raa.org