Latest news with #commercialpilot
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mount Carmel Academy grad takes off to new heights
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — She just graduated from high school and now she's really taking off. She is Ava Wimberley, an 18-year-old who just finished at Mount Carmel Academy. At Mount Carmel, WGNO Good Morning New Orleans features reporter Bill Wood found out, Ava had been considering the kind of career she wanted to have. She knew it would be a first class ticket to a dream job. She decided to take off for Purdue University in Indiana. And there, she would study to become a commercial airline pilot. 'I want to do something that's exciting but also rewarding,' said Wimberley. She's already getting her pilot's license at home in New Orleans. 'I wanted a career where I was always learning but also having fun everyday,' she said. She flies for an hour and a half, three times a week. Now she's fastening her seatbelt for a new to deliberate for second day in Diddy trial Florida GOP sells 'Alligator Alcatraz' merchandise ahead of Trump visit What's in the latest version of Trump's big bill moving through the Senate Trump: 'Who knows' how to get Murkowski vote on Senate megabill Protestors demand justice and freedom outside ICE Detention Center in Jena, La. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's FAA pick has claimed 'commercial' pilot license he doesn't have
President Donald Trump's nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration long described himself in his official biography as being certified to fly aircraft commercially — but records examined by POLITICO show that he does not hold any commercial license. Bryan Bedford's biography at Republic Airways, the regional airline where he has been CEO since 1999, said until Thursday that he 'holds commercial, multi-engine and instrument ratings.' (By Friday, after POLITICO's inquiries, the word 'commercial' had been removed.) The FAA registry that houses data on pilot's licenses does not list any such commercial credentials for Bedford. Similar language asserting commercial credentials for Bedford appeared in his Republic bio since at least 2010, according to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Bedford is a licensed private pilot, the FAA records show, and has attained additional credentials allowing him to fly in a variety of specialized circumstances, including operating multi-engine planes and piloting at night or in bad weather. He has passed 'written and oral exams' for becoming a commercial airline pilot, the Transportation Department said in a statement, adding that Bedford had not 'personally nor publicly claimed to be a commercial airline pilot.' Questions about Bedford's credentials do not appear to threaten his prospects for heading the FAA, an agency trying to recover from years of high-level leadership shake-ups, failures of key aviation technology, a spate of near-misses in the skies and January's 67-fatality crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Bedford didn't respond to multiple attempts by POLITICO to request comment, nor did Republic. The White House referred questions to DOT. DOT defended Bedford, who would be the latest in a string of licensed pilots confirmed to lead the aviation agency. The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on his nomination earlier this week. 'Bryan never misrepresented his credential; it was an administrative error that was immediately corrected,' DOT said in a statement. The agency did not respond to questions about what the 'error' was or how it had been fixed. The aviation news publication The Air Current previously reported in April about questions regarding Bedford's pilot credentials. The FAA issues various forms of commercial pilot ratings, including a 'commercial privileges' certificate that allows pilots to fly people or goods for hire, such as on cargo planes, small propeller aircraft or charter flights. Working as an airline pilot requires someone to hold a more rigorous commercial rating designating them as an 'air transport pilot,' which requires extensive flight hours, among other things. Darren Pleasance, president and CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, a trade group for private airplane owners, said earning any pilot's license — including for commercial planes — requires written and oral exams and also a 'check ride' conducted by a licensed FAA examiner, who evaluates a person's skill at actually flying a plane. Pleasance, who holds an 'air transport pilot' license and is a certificated flight instructor, said a pilot working toward their commercial privileges would additionally have to pass a more comprehensive flight test that includes successfully performing complicated maneuvers in midair and during landing or take-off. 'You cannot get a commercial rating without having gone through and taken those tests,' Pleasance said after being asked to comment on the pilot licensing process and testing criteria. He was not addressing any specific questions regarding Bedford's credentials. Another aviation expert familiar with the licensing process, granted anonymity to speak candidly about a sensitive topic, said that 'if you haven't successfully gone through all of that, no one should claim to have a certain rating — because they don't have it.' 'It's like saying you are a medical doctor but you haven't finished medical school,' said the expert. After viewing Bedford's publicly accessible licensure record, the person confirmed that it does not contain any commercial certifications. It lists Bedford as being licensed to fly single and multi-engine planes as well as having earned his 'instrument rating,' which means he can fly at night or in bad weather. In a statement, DOT said that Bedford has never claimed to be a 'commercial airline pilot,' and added that he had passed 'written and oral exams' needed to be licensed to fly commercially. DOT didn't address whether Bedford had completed a 'check ride' with an experienced pilot, which is necessary for a commercial certificate. Besides the wording on his company's website, Bedford also gave a speech in 2019 at Liberty University where another speaker introduced him as holding 'commercial, multi-engine and instrument pilot ratings.' During a question-and-answer portion of his appearance, Bedford said he had decided to pursue pilot training after going through an intense period of union negotiations, where labor insisted that he didn't understand what it meant to be an airline pilot. 'When I was in Minnesota between like, 1994, 1997, I went through private, instrument, multi-engine, commercial, and by the time we got to our next labor negotiation three years later, I had all my ratings, and l'd actually been flying some of our turbine airplanes around,' Bedford said. At Bedford's confirmation hearing Wednesday, Republican senators repeatedly praised his fitness for the FAA job — including Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who called him 'exactly the type of innovative leader' the agency needs. Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz of Texas added that 'as a pilot, Mr. Bedford understands how important it is for pilots to go through rigorous training.' Democrats at the hearing pressed Bedford on other issues related to public safety, including whether he would scale back the FAA's requirement that people seeking to become airline pilots log at least 1,500 of flight time — a rule that Republic requested an exemption from in 2022. None of them brought up his pilot's credentials. 'I am less worried about that than I am more worried about the fact that in his previous role at Republic Air[ways], he pushed very hard to degrade the 1,500 hour rule,' Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the Commerce Committee's top Democrat, said when asked about the credentials issue during a call with reporters Tuesday. The assertion that Bedford holds a commercial rating appears to have been scrubbed from two sections of Republic's website at different times within the past seven months. According to a screen grab from the 'Executive Leadership' section of the airline's website from December 1, 2024, accessed via the Wayback Machine, Bedford's biography said at the time that he 'holds commercial, multi-engine and instrument pilot ratings.' By March 18, according to the Wayback Machine, the word 'commercial' had been removed from that sentence. One day before that, Trump announced Bedford as his pick on social media. However, the claim that Bedford holds a 'commercial' rating still appeared as of Thursday on the Republic website's 'Board of Directors' page. By Friday the reference had been scrubbed. As of Friday, similar language also remained in a biography section for Bedford at the Regional Airlines Association trade group website. When asked about possible questions on Bedford's biography after Wednesday's hearing, Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) told a reporter he'd 'heard about that' and that his team 'did flag that.' 'We are doing just sort of an extensive look, not just at his policies, but just sort of his background as well,' he said. 'So I haven't made a determination yet but it is something that' he is examining, Kim said. — Chris Marquette and Sam Ogozalek contributed to this report.
Irish Times
11-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
My son wants to be a pilot. Is there any way of learning without breaking the bank?
My son is very interested in becoming a commercial airline pilot. Could you outline how he would go about doing this? From what I understand, it is hugely expensive. Is this the case? I put your question to Sé Pardy, an Aer Lingus captain and a manager at Simtech Aviation Training. If you are interested, try contacting a local airfield that is a registered training facility and take a trial lesson with an instructor to provide a good idea of your suitability for a career in aviation. The next step is to pass a 'class one medical exam', as laid out by the Irish Aviation Authority. There are several conditions that prohibit you from flying, such as colour blindness. The authority has a list of training and medical facilities. READ MORE Next up is securing a licence. There are three options and qualifications to earning a commercial pilot licence before you are accepted to fly passengers. One option is 'fully sponsored training'. Apply to an airline that provides all the cost of your flight training to approximately 200 flying hours and pass the 14 Air Transport Pilot Licence exams. If you pass, you will generally be offered a position as first officer. These positions are highly sought after. The Aer Lingus Future Pilot Programme, for example, could have 9,000 people applying for 20-30 positions. Another option is self-funded or mentored programmes. These are commercial pilot programmes where you are required to fund your own training at a cost of €100,000-120,000. Your progress will be monitored by an airline that may fast-track you into their organisation. Your training will be based on their standard operating procedures of this airline to make transition easier to your day-to-day job. Employment is not guaranteed. [ My son wants to study sustainability but has no idea what course to choose. Can you help? Opens in new window ] The last option is military training: some pilots will receive their flight training with the Air Corps as an officer and, when released from service, may transition into civilian aviation. The Irish Air Corps generally advertises annually for cadets. There are many exams you have to pass. For a Commercial Pilot's Licence, you need an Air transport Pilot Licence – Theoretical Knowledge. You can also secure a Private Pilot Licence which allows you to fly non-commercially. It can be very expensive. Obviously if you are fully funded you are in a fortunate position and it generally will not cost you money, but will require your dedication, all your ability and sole focus. If you are funding yourself, the costs range from €80,000-€120,000, depending on the flight academy you attend, plus another €20,000-€35,000 depending on the aircraft you are specifically trained to fly. Then you must find a job, which may require further investment in interview performance training. Career prospects are very good, though aviation is a cyclical industry. If you are determined, resourceful and passionate, it can be a wonderful career.
