The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Administration recently signed an amendment to the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement in Brussels.
The agreement promotes transatlantic cooperation and efficiency. The amendment will, in the future, cover pilot licensing and flight simulator training devices.
The amendment was signed by FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, European Commission Directorate General for Mobility and Transport Director-General Henrik Hololei and Permanent Representative of Estonia to the EU Ambassador Kaja Tael.
The amendment is supported by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA).
“We welcome this long-awaited broadening of the EU-US partnership to enable collaboration on simulators and pilot licensing,” Pete Bunce, GAMA president and CEO, said. “Both sides must now reach agreement and begin implementing these two annexes in the very near future so that the tangible benefits can be realized without delay.”
These benefits are the expanded use of simulators which will contribute to general aviation safety and allow private pilots to easily transfer their existing skills between authorities, Bunce said.
GAMA, meanwhile, recently announced 130 high schools from 34 states have registered for the 2018 Aviation Design Challenge, the majority of which are participating for the first time.
The competition is designed to encourage interest in aviation careers.