IATA, safety agency partner on training for airline pilots

To prevent loss of control situations in air travel, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have announced the publication of new training requirements for airline pilots.

The training tagged “upset prevention and recovery training” (UPRT) requirements aimed to better train pilots in order to face unexpected events, potentially leading to a loss of control.

The requirements are based on International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and recommended practices and have been developed by EASA in consultation with leading industry experts.

All European Airlines and commercial business jet operators are required to implement these provisions by May 2016. The Executive Director, EASA Patrick Ky said: “A number of accidents in the recent years have demonstrated that Loss of Control remains a major area of concern for aviation safety and should be tackled with the highest priority”.

“Although LOC-I events are rare, 97 per cent of the LOC-I accidents over the past five years involved fatalities to passengers or crew. Partnering with EASA on this important initiative based on global standards and best practices will reduce the likelihood of such events in future,” said the Director General and Chief Executive Officer, IATA, Tony Tyler.

Meanwhile, IATA through its Pilot Training Task Force has been developing detailed guidance material in support of the implementation of the provisions by its European members.