Buried in the 5,600-page coronavirus relief and multi-agency funding bill that Congress pushed through in late December is a provision that requires the FAA to issue new training standards for aviation technical schools. The long-awaited change would update educational requirements contained in Part 147, which dictates the basic curriculum for certified technician training programs. A broad industry coalition has been working with the FAA for years to get the standards—which have changed little since their introduction in 1970—into place via a revamped rule. The congressional mandate, included in a broader set of reforms that target FAA certification, calls for “interim final regulations to establish requirements for issuing aviation maintenance technician school certificates and associated ratings and the general operating rules for the holders of those certificates and ratings” within 90 days. The bill was signed into law on Dec. 27, giving the FAA until the end of March to act.
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