Several weeks after expanding commercial airline pilot training rules, the FAA on Thursday Nov. 21 launched a new government-industry team that will focus on studying training issues with the goal of advocating additional best practices for training new commercial airline flight crews.
Earlier this month the agency
mandated new commercial airline training provisions aimed at giving pilots more instruction on dealing with flight hazards such as recovering from aircraft stalls and upsets. The new Air Carrier Training Steering Group has been tasked with looking at ways to further expand upon those provisions.
"We want to identify additional areas for improvement in training, and make voluntary efforts to address these. We live in a world today where we cannot regulate every aspect of safety," said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. "One of the most successful safety engagements we’ve had between government and industry is CAST – the Commercial Aviation Safety Team. We are sharing data and looking at trends. When we do this, it’s obvious to all of us where we need to act."
Huerta said he will also be reaching out to airlines to ask them to support their representatives that are nominated to serve on the group. He said the agency is also looking for recommendations on how to improve training for flight attendants and dispatchers.