Jacksonville, Fla.-based Airline Training Solutions has introduced a professional flight training program directly aimed at meeting new, tougher training requirements for airline first officer candidates. The curriculum includes multi-pilot, high-altitude, and poor weather training, and all training is delivered in a two-pilot cockpit concept that simulates the airlines, according to the company.
A 2009 crash involving a regional turboprop outside Buffalo, N.Y., prompted intense scrutiny of air carrier hiring and training practices. While the National Transportation Safety Board did not cite first officer qualifications as a contributing factor in the Colgan Air Flight 3407 crash, Congress passed legislation this summer that requires the FAA to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to require Part 121 carriers to develop and implement methods for ensuring that crew members have proper qualifications and experience.
“For most new hires, the hardest thing to get comfortable with was the two-pilot cockpit concept,” said Scott Malone, chief flight instructor for Airline Training Solutions. “We are going to conduct all of our training flights in a two-pilot cockpit configuration to develop good crew coordination skills. The student and instructor will work together as a cockpit ‘team.’”
Ground training is conducted in Cessna Citation jets. Flight training is conducted in a Tecnam P2006-T twin-engine aircraft. The airplane’s twin Rotax engines render hourly operating costs very close to those of a new four-place single, according to Hayden Malone, vice president of Airline Training Solutions.
After students earn commercial and instrument ratings, they can fly on charter flights with Malone AirCharter, flying the company’s Cessna Citations or a Beechcraft King Air B200.
For more information, call 904/708-5469 or send an e-mail to the company.
Jill W. Tallman
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