Are The ACS Working?

Monday, August 24, 2020 at 01:44 PM ET

Verified

The culmination of training for a certificate or rating is the check ride, the expectations for which are described in the FAA's Airmen Certification Standards, or ACS. They replaced the Practical Test Standards and, among other refinements, emphasize risk management.

Key Takeaways:

The Airman Certification Standards (ACS), implemented in 2016, replaced the outdated Practical Test Standards (PTS) to enhance general aviation safety by integrating knowledge, skill, and comprehensive risk management into pilot training and testing.
Developed following historical safety initiatives that identified flaws in traditional training, the ACS aims to modernize pilot certification by emphasizing real-world scenarios and systematic risk assessment and mitigation.
While initial implementation for new certifications has been smooth, the ACS's ultimate success in reducing accident rates hinges on developing robust guidance for teaching and testing risk management, standardizing flight instructors and examiners, and reforming the biennial flight review to reach all existing pilots.
Pilots and instructors are encouraged to proactively embrace ACS's risk management principles through continuous learning, updated resources, and advocating for/conducting risk-based flight reviews to maximize its safety benefits, even without taking a new practical test.

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The first Airman Certification Standards (ACS) were issued in 2016, after a five-year gestation period, replacing the Practical Test Standards (PTS) system that previously governed checkrides for airman certificates and ratings. Implementation has proceeded smoothly, and according to designated pilot examiners (DPEs), the ACS is not more burdensome than the PTS. The big unknown, however, is whether the ACS will help improve safety, as reflected in accident rates.

One answer to that question will depend on how the risk management elements are trained and tested and how these standards will be adopted by existing pilots who may never take another practical test. In the final analysis, it will depend on how pilots, instructors and others take the ACS to heart after the checkride. I have written about the ACS before (see “The Coming Airman Certification Standards,” July 2013, and “New Certification Standards,” September 2015). It’s been four years since the first ACS was issued, so it’s time to take a look at how well they are working.