Following the events of September 11th, 2001, the Federal Government embarked on a massive effort to increase the security of the domestic airspace, aviation infrastructure, and all aspects of flying in general. Sweeping changes to the entire aviation industry were introduced in order to reduce or eliminate the potential for aircraft or aviation facilities to be used in future attacks.
The TSA
The TSA now has a role in flight training. Consequently, flight instructors should know which airman certificates the TSA is interested in. Instructors must also be aware of the requirements for citizenship documentation, record-keeping, foreign student processing, flight instructor and flight school security awareness training, and more.
Our goal is to deliver up-to-date training designed to assist and ensure that you are fully aware of the latest TSA requirements. Not following the TSA guidelines properly can have serious consequences both for your students and for you.
A Little Background
Following the 9/11 events, investigations revealed that several of the hijackers had received flight training in the U.S., and a few even earned pilot certificates. Some of the hijackers had been considered as persons of interest prior to the attacks, but no formal action had been taken. This raised alarms with legislators, who set out to put in place restrictions on foreign-born persons seeking to obtain flight training in the U.S.
The goal was not to eliminate the possibility of non-citizens getting lessons from CFIs, but to give law enforcement the ability to do basic screening of hopeful pilots. The TSA, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, was created to oversee and administer new regulations that applied not just to the airlines, but general aviation as well. Accordingly, new regulations were put into effect in order to reduce the likelihood of a security related incident with a general aviation aircraft or by someone trained in a flight school.