Accident Analysis: Under review

What that entails is largely left to the instructor’s discretion. FAR 61.56 does specify that the review must include at least one hour apiece of ground and flight instruction covering current operating rules under Part 91 and “those maneuvers and procedures” the instructor finds “necessary to demonstrate the safe exercise of the privileges of the pilot certificate.” A logbook endorsement to that effect remains good for 24 calendar months. (Passing a checkride or completing a phase of the FAA WINGS program also qualifies.)

Newer pilots don’t always appreciate that the flight review isn’t a test and can’t be failed (or, for that matter, passed). The CFI concludes that either the pilot has shown the necessary proficiency or more work is needed, in which case the flight is just logged as dual instruction. Unfortunately, those who have been through a few of these cycles sometimes make the opposite error and assume that two hours will automatically be enough.

That’s not only a problem because of the likelihood that the instructor’s responsibility to provide an honest evaluation will conflict with the client’s assumption that it’s just a formality. Treating the flight review as an administrative nuisance betrays both a misunderstanding of its purpose and a dismissive attitude toward recurrent training (and thus safety) in general. Those GA pilots who do no
other refresher training—and there are probably a good many—stand to gain the most from a dispassionate assessment of where their skills have gotten dull, and expert assistance in sharpening them. Spending an additional hour or two in the cockpit buys the time to have some fun, learn something new, and safely experience situations beyond your normal comfort zone.

A perfunctory flight review is a wasted opportunity. Going in to learn rather than just going through the motions is the difference between actively improving your airmanship and merely staying legal. That should be an easy call.

Since earning his helicopter rating, statistician David Jack Kenny has taken to having flight reviews at six-month intervals.