For many years now, Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I) has been the primary cause of fatalities in both Commercial and General Aviation. The chart below shows data reflecting the number of fatalities experienced in the worldwide commercial jet fleet over the last ten year period, 2003 through 2012. These statistics are compiled each year, with this year’s data reflecting an uptick in worldwide fatalities due to LOC-I.
In an effort to address this prominent threat, on July 2, 2013, the FAA published a new regulation which requires something that they had never specifically required before in the exact language used: Upset Prevention and Recovery Training. This Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) will be an academic and simulator-based component of the new Airline Transport Pilot Certification Training Program (ATP CTP), completion of which will be required of pilots prior to taking the ATP written knowledge test beginning 1 August 2014 (see Title 14 CFR part 61, § 61.156 or Advisory Circular AC 61-138 for details).
The implementation of UPRT in the U.S. has taken place in full view of an interested and attentive worldwide audience. The FAA convened an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) in multiple sessions held in Montreal in 2012 at the request of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Interested regulatory agencies and industry leaders from Europe, the UK, Canada and other international regulator groups witnessed the testimony provided to the FAA Loss of Control Avoidance and Recovery Training ARC in a shared goal of finding a way to combat the threat to aviation safety posed by LOC-I.
As a result of the information delivered and the resulting deliberations it was abundantly clear that unless changes are made to the training requirements for pilots the fatalities resulting from LOC-I would continue to increase along with the expected rise in commercial airline traffic.
ICAO is addressing the issue through two means. The first is the creation of the First Edition of ICAO Document 10011, Manual on Aeroplane Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (ICAO Manual). This resource is meant to provide guidance to national aviation authorities, training organizations, and instructors regarding the delivery of UPRT. Comments on the draft of the ICAO Manual are being incorporated at this time, with publication expected early in the New Year.
In addition to the important guidance provided by the Manual on Aeroplane Upset Prevention and Recovery, ICAO has proposed amendments of Annex 1 - Personnel Licensing, Annex 6 - Operation of Aircraft, Part I and the Procedures for Air Navigation Services – Training (known as PANS-TRG) relating to upset prevention and recovery training. The Manual of Criteria for the Qualification of Flight Simulation Training Devices (ICAO Document 9625) also has changes providing guidance on the approval of flight simulation training devices for upset prevention and recovery training.
The most significant of the proposed changes is the recommendation that for the Commercial Pilot License that “the applicant should have received, in actual flight, upset prevention and recovery training, approved by the Licensing Authority”. The recommendation is proposed for implementation beginning in November of 2014.
While the exact definition of what constitutes UPRT is still somewhat in the finalization stage, the distinction from the more common form of all-attitude/all-envelope flight instruction, aerobatic training, is highlighted by the following table:
Aviation has a long history of improvements in safety through identifying hazards and the proposing the means to reduce risk; UPRT follows in this familiar path. While there is much yet to be determined regarding necessary training content, aircraft training platforms, and instructor qualification to deliver UPRT it is clear that ICAO is moving along with the FAA in the direction of making it a broad requirement for Commercially licensed pilots worldwide in the future.
By Randall Brooks
President, Upset Prevention & Recovery Training Association