§ 121.401 Training program: General. ( a ) Each certificate holder shall: ( 1 ) Establish and implement a training program that satisfies the requirements of this subpart and appendices E and F of this part and that ensures that each crewmember, aircraft dispatcher, flight instructor, check pilot, and check flight engineer is adequately trained to perform his or her assigned duties. Prior to implementation, the certificate holder must obtain initial and final FAA approval of the training program.
( 2 ) Provide adequate ground and flight training facilities and properly qualified ground instructors for the training required by this subpart;
( 3 ) Provide and keep current with respect to each airplane type and, if applicable, the particular variations within that airplane type, appropriate training material, examinations, forms, instructions, and procedures for use in conducting the training and checks required by this part; and
( 4 ) Provide enough flight instructors and approved check pilots and check flight engineers to conduct the flight training and checks required under this part.
( b ) Whenever a crewmember or aircraft dispatcher who is required to take recurrent training, a flight check, or a competence check, takes the check or completes the training in the calendar month before or after the calendar month in which that training or check is required, he is considered to have taken or completed it in the calendar month in which it was required.
( c ) Each instructor, supervisor, check pilot, or check flight engineer who is responsible for a particular ground training subject, segment of flight training, course of training, flight check, or competence check under this part shall certify as to the proficiency and knowledge of the crewmember, aircraft dispatcher, flight instructor, check pilot, or check flight engineer concerned upon completion of that training or check. That certification shall be made a part of the crewmember's or dispatcher's record. When the certification required by this paragraph is made by an entry in a computerized recordkeeping system, the certifying instructor, supervisor, check pilot, or check flight engineer must be identified with that entry. However, the signature of the certifying instructor, supervisor, check pilot, or check flight engineer is not required for computerized entries.
( d ) Training subjects that are applicable to more than one airplane or crewmember position and that have been satisfactorily completed in connection with prior training for another airplane or another crewmember position, need not be repeated during subsequent training other than recurrent training.
( e ) A person who progresses successfully through flight training; is recommended by his instructor, check pilot, or check flight engineer; and successfully completes the appropriate flight check for a check pilot, check flight engineer, or the Administrator need not complete the programmed hours of flight training for the particular airplane. However, whenever the Administrator finds that 20 percent of the flight checks given at a particular training base during the previous 6 months under this paragraph are unsuccessful, this paragraph may not be used by the certificate holder at that base until the Administrator finds that the effectiveness of the flight training there has improved.
[Doc. No. 9509, 35 FR 90, Jan. 3, 1970, as amended by Amdt. 121-104, 38 FR 14915, June 7, 1973; Amdt. 121-108, 38 FR 35446, Dec. 28, 1973; Amdt. 121-143, 43 FR 22642, May 25, 1978; Amdt. 121-316, 70 FR 58823, Oct. 7, 2005; Amdt. 121-382, 85 FR 10921, Feb. 25, 2020; Docket No. FAA-2019-0360; Amdt. No. 121-392, 89 FR 51425, June 18, 2024]