The path to becoming a professional pilot has evolved a lot in the past eight years, following the implementation of new regulations and testing guidance governing how pilots of transport-category aircraft obtain certification. While it’s possible to fly professionally with a certificate for commercial single-engine operations, most pilots intending to fly for the airlines, commuter ops, or a corporate flight department will go one step further.
ATP Requirements for Your Certificate
Key Takeaways:
- The Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) multi-engine certificate is the highest professional pilot rating, essential for airline operations, and is considered the gold standard due to its association with a very high level of safety.
- Following the 2009 Colgan Air crash, significant regulatory changes were implemented, including stricter pilot duty and rest hours, and increased minimum flight hour requirements for airline first officers (1,000-1,500 hours).
- A major change, effective 2014, was the introduction of the mandatory Airline Transport Pilot Certification Training Program (ATP-CTP), requiring 30 hours of ground instruction and 10 hours of full-motion simulator training before a pilot can take the ATP written exam.
- These new, costly, and complex requirements for obtaining the ATP certificate have created substantial hurdles for aspiring professional pilots, leading to concerns about potential pilot shortages and the "off-shoring" of flight training.
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