FAA Seeks Input On ATP, Type Rating Changes

The FAA has proposed some changes to its standards for obtaining an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate in the airplane category or for obtaining an airplane type rating, and if you have any opinions about the proposal, the FAA wants to hear from you. The proposed rule change is posted online, and comments will be accepted until Dec. 21. The proposed standards include what a pilot is expected to know, consider and do in order to prepare for the FAA ATP knowledge test and practical test and receive an ATP certificate or airplane type rating. The areas covered are preflight preparation, takeoffs and landings, inflight maneuvers, stall prevention, instrument procedures, emergency operations and post-flight procedures.

The proposal was developed by a working group of the FAA's Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee, chaired by David Oord, AOPA senior director of regulatory affairs. The group prepared the draft, which was then approved by the full committee. The working group's goal was to develop clear standards for aeronautical knowledge, ensuring that the required knowledge "reflects what airmen really need to know for safe operation in the National Airspace System," said Oord. The standard improves on the prior ATP practical test standard by consolidating overlapping tasks, and by linking the "special emphasis" areas applicants and examiners are expected to focus on with specific ATP ACS Areas of Operation and Tasks, according to AOPA.