Check Rides Grind to a Halt After IACRA System Failure

The system outage comes amid an ongoing pilot examiner shortage that has already forced some applicants to wait weeks for a test date.

Meg Godlewski

Friday, March 03, 2023 at 12:33 PM ET

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Flight training. [Credit: Daryl LaBello/Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA's Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application (IACRA) system is experiencing sporadic failures, making it nearly impossible for designated pilot examiners (DPEs) to perform check rides.
A recent outage on February 27-28 led to database issues and some loss of data, requiring applicants to potentially re-do applications or re-enter information.
The system's unreliability causes cancelled check rides, wastes applicants' time and money, and exacerbates the existing shortage of DPEs and pilots.

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In January, the FAA’s Notice to Air Mission (NOTAM) system crashed, spurring a ground stop of commercial air traffic. Today, it’s the sporadic failures of the FAA’s Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application system (IACRA) that are making it nearly impossible for designated pilot examiners to perform check rides.

“It’s been going up and down for days,” said Doug Stewart, a DPE from the east coast. Stewart was also the first executive director of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators, an organization that, along with the National Association of Flight Instructors, strives to improve the quality of flight instruction to create better pilots.