NAFI Hits 1500-Hour Proposal

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Requiring 1500-hour ATP certificates for all Part 21 pilots could actually reduce safety according to the National Association of Flight Instructors. In a news release and briefing paper that debunks the impetus behind congressional resolutions that equate the hours required to obtain an ATP with competence in the cockpit. “The emphasis should be on training and quality of training, not just on total flight experience,” said NAFI Executive Director Jason Blair. ” In most accidents over recent years, this [1,500-hour] requirement would have made no difference at all.

The briefing paper notes that obtaining an ATP requires no additional training beyond that required for multi and IFR ratings and that aspiring airline pilots will almost certainly accumulate the hours necessary for the new regulation in light aircraft, with little applicability to the demands of an airliner cockpit environment. “The result of this proposal will be to increase the number of hours a pilot has gained in experience prior to employment in a Part 121 Air Carrier job, but not necessarily improve the skill sets such a pilot possess, in fact, the potential exists to degrade safety with this proposal,” Blair said.

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