Capito joins bipartisan group supporting aviation maintenance training schools

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) should implement a directive supporting aviation maintenance training schools, wrote U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) in a bipartisan letter sent to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

The Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act, which was signed into law by the president in December 2020 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, directed the FAA to issue interim final regulations to establish requirements for issuing aviation maintenance technician school certificates, associated ratings, and the general operating rules for those certificate and rating holders, according to the Sept. 1 letter sent to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Steve Dickson.

“As original sponsors of the language, we encourage and request swift implementation of the directive in support of aviation maintenance training schools, which have a large part to play in the aviation industry’s recovery from the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote Sen. Capito and her colleagues, who included U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Hoeven (R-ND), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Richard Burr (R-NC), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).

And given the immediate and increased need for expanding aviation workforce programs, they added that “it is imperative [that] the part 147 rulemaking remains a top priority for the FAA.” The FAA’s part 147 rulemaking, which is expected to be published in November, would no longer require FAA approval of distance learning programs, which could then be delivered in whatever manner deemed most appropriate and in line with their accredited programs.  

Sen. Capito and her colleagues wrote that they appreciated that the Transportation Department noticed this rulemaking in the Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory Actions, but noted that it nonetheless has already failed to meet the congressionally established deadline, and they remain concerned the rulemaking could meet future delays.

Additionally, as part of the interim direct rule, the senators encouraged the FAA to immediately publish “long-overdue” Mechanic Airman Certification Standards (ACS), which they said are instrumental to the new part 147 and would ensure technical training programs align with industry needs as they evolve. 

“It was our intention that the interim final rule reference those standards generally, and not in a way that would disrupt FAA’s ability to regularly revise the ACS to align with industry standards,” wrote the senators.