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 Practical Test Standards (PTS) to improve general aviation safety by integrating knowledge, risk management, and practical skills into pilot certification.
The ACS evolved from initiatives like FITS and GAJSC recommendations, aiming to modernize pilot training by shifting from rote, maneuver-based learning to scenario-based training with a strong emphasis on identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks.
Achieving the ACS's safety goals requires improved guidance and standardization training for instructors and examiners on risk management, along with broader adoption of these concepts by the existing pilot population, ideally through more effective flight reviews.

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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.