Standardising type-rating requirements with those of ICAO will enable operations in international airspace
From 6 September, US co-pilots flying on international routes will have to have a type-rating on their licences, the US Federal Aviation Administration has ruled.
The ruling will mostly affect business and corporate aircraft operators, because although airlines could take advantage of the fact that the FAA did not demand a formal type-rating on their copilots’ licences, in practice the carriers almost always demanded it, whereas business aviation frequently did not.
This action is the result of pressure from other countries that have, over the last few years, been banning the flight of US-registered aircraft in their airspace unless the copilot was type-rated. The US licencing rule ran counter to International Civil Aviation Organisation standards in this respect.
The FAA says it is “amending its pilot certification regulations to establish a second-in-command pilot type-rating and associated qualifying procedures. This final rule is needed to [standardise] FAA pilot type rating requirements [with] the ICAO pilot type-rating standards.
The intended effect of this action is to allow US flight crews to continue to operate in international airspace without the threat of being grounded for not holding the appropriate pilot type-rating.”
DAVID LEARMOUNT/LONDON
Source: Flight International
