FAA Clarifies R-ATP Rule for Recent College Grads

Stephen Pope

Friday, January 31, 2014 at 12:08 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The FAA has clarified that the Restricted Airline Transport Pilot (R-ATP) certificate allows graduates from approved four-year aviation colleges to qualify as first officers with 1,000 flight hours, down from the standard 1,500.
Recent graduates, even those within five years of their college's curriculum approval, are not automatically grandfathered; they require a "certifying statement" from their institution after the school receives FAA authorization and completes transcript reviews.
Some past graduates may not meet the R-ATP requirements even with the five-year look-back period, and their respective schools are currently seeking exemptions, which are under FAA review.

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The FAA has further clarified what the new Restricted Airline Transport Pilot (R-ATP) certificate might mean for recent college graduates.

The new rules require airline first officers to hold an ATP and to have logged 1,500 hours of flight time, or an R-ATP license and 1,000 hours if they’ve graduated from an approved four-year aviation college. Many recent grads have been under the impression that they could be grandfathered under the R-ATP rule if they earned their degree within five years of their college receiving FAA curriculum approval. The FAA now says that while that route might be possible, it won’t be a simple rubber-stamp affair.