The TSA (Transportaion and Safety Administration) and what it means to Flight Schools

Bill Komanetsky  December 31 2011 10:20:41 AM

What is the TSA all about?

The TSA is basically a security arm of the United States Government that is responsible to make sure that another disaster like that which occurred in New York city on 9/11/2001 never happens again.

To this end, the TSA has placed many requirements on flight schools to assure that people do not learn to fly solely for the objective of making the airplane they are flying a weapon.  

If you are an aircraft renter (and a U.S. Citizen) at Ahart Aviation Services, there isn't much you have to do to comply with TSA requirements that flight schools need to abide by.  However, the moment you begin working on a certification, no matter what country you come from, certain things must be done to conform to TSA regulations.

A U.S. Citizen working on a flight certification

• We will need a copy of two picture ID's.  These two ID's also will be used for your LaserGrade test, when you are ready.  LaserGrade is the company we use to issue FAA exams, and they are under scrutiny by both the FAA and the TSA as well.
• A copy of either your Birth Certificate or your U.S. issued, and current, Passport.  We must have originals that we make copies of, not copies.

A U.S. Citizen Renting Aircraft

• Although not 100% required by the TSA, we do require at least one picture ID when renting at Ahart.  We use this so our staff (we have 35) recognize you if you show up on their schedule, as well as if the TSA or FAA request this type of information from us (which has happened in the past).
• A copy of either your Birth Certificate or your U.S. issued, and current, Passport are not required when just renting aircraft, but they would be advantageous for us to have if you ever plan on working on an additional license.  If you wish not to give us these, that's OK, we'll ask for them before you begin any additional training.
• Note that Flight Reviews, Instrument Proficiency Checks and Currency flights do not require TSA approvals or U.S. Citizenship identifications to be provided.  Only Dual-Given that will lead to a license require this information.

A non-U.S. Citizen working on a flight certification

• You will need to apply to TSA for approval to learn to fly here in the United States.  Part of this is to have your finger prints done as well.  If you plan on doing all of your certifications (Private, Instrument, Commercial), you only have to have your fingerprints done once - before your private - and then they will transfer to the other licenses
  • To apply for TSA approval, go to this web site:  https://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov
  • Click on Create New Student account and you will be lead through the process
  • You will get a userid and password that you will use throughout all of your training.  Make sure you keep this ID and password as you will need to log in multiple times during your training.
  • There will be a TSA fee for each license you plan on working on since TSA needs to do a background check to make sure you don't pose a threat.  We have never had anyone coming to Ahart that was noit allowed to train to be a pilot, so I wouldn't be too worried about this
  • You will begin to get emails as your evaluation progresses.  Three emails are important:
    • When you get an email that says waiting for provider approval, please let us know as we will need to log in and approve the fact that you are going to be working on this particular certification
    • When you get an email that says you can now go get your fingerprints done
    • When you get an email that says you can begin training.
  • When you get the fingerprint approval email, you can call the San Francisco airport fingerprint office at 650-821-5231.  The office is open from 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday and the process is very easy.  We can even help you get to the airport for your appointment, once you receive one.
  • When you get an email that says you can begin training, you will then fill out a request for training document off of the Ahart web site and we will make sure everything is processed correctly and then assign you a flight instructor
• Once your TSA approval is complete, we will then need to take your picture and upload it to the TSA site.  We will also need to print it off, place it in our customer folder, and then put it on a shared, secured disk drive.
• Note that if you DO NOT follow this procedure, you will not be allowed to train at Ahart and possibly, you might receive a $1,500 fine from the TSA if caught and probably deportation.  But, if you do everything correctly, there will not be any problems.
• You will need to apply to TSA for the following training after you finish any previous training:
  • Private (The TSA knows this as INITIAL)
  • Instrument (INSTR)
  • Commercial Multi-Engine (Multi or CMEL - only required if your private was done in a Single Engine aircraft)
  • Commercial Single-Engine (CSEL - only required if your private was done in a Multi Engine Aircraft)

Certificated Flight Instructor

• MUST go through initial and annual training to stay current with the TSA.  This training is free, only takes a few minutes, and can be found at: http://download.tsa.dhs.gov/fssa/training/
• All Ahart CFI's, CFII's and MEI's, office and maintenance employees are required to take this training to stay employed at Ahart Aviation Services

Flight Schools

• All flight schools must adhere to all of the policies listed in this topic and monitor that all employees are keeping up to date with their TSA training.
• All flight schools also go through audits by the TSA about twice a year or more.
• Any issues found can result in very large fines and/or removal from the TSA system of approved flight schools

We hope that this overview of TSA and its requirements helps to clear up what the TSA is all about

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