Flightcrew representatives have criticised the relatively new multicrew pilot licence (MPL) and its practical implementation by regulators, flight training organisations and the air transport industry.
The European Cockpit Association (ECA) suggests that the higher level of reliance on simulation rather than real flying during training should have been introduced gradually to see if it could produce equivalent pilot capabilities, but that it was rushed in with no such trial and therefore cannot be seen as having established its validity.
The MPL was introduced in 2006 as a means of enabling pilots to be trained ab initio, specifically for the co-pilot task with a particular airline, rather than via the commercial pilot license route whereby pilots are trained as solo aircrew who have to be taught crew skills after the award of their CPL before taking up a co-piloting job.
It was also the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s first attempt to develop a competency-based pilot qualification by defining all the skills a pilot has to acquire, and what the trainee must be able to do to demonstrate that each skill has been acquired. This definition of competency and the way the MPL course monitors skill acquisition throughout a student’s progress comprise the one part of the concept that the ECA accepts as completely sound.
The ECA says there is no proof that the MPL route enables graduates to be assessed for captaincy potential. It also points out that the system was so recently introduced that none of the still comparatively few MPL pilots in airline service have yet reached command, so proof of concept is still awaited.
Above all, the ECA's report expresses considerable scepticism about the way in which national aviation authorities have developed the MPL syllabus, and the way flight training organisations and airlines teach it. In practice, says the ECA, the way MPL courses have been implemented “shows the competency-based training concept was misunderstood or misinterpreted. Due to this lack of understanding of the competency based concept both by authorities and by approved training organisations, MPL syllabi are often only hours-based and approved as such by the authorities. This shows that authorities and other stakeholders need to receive the appropriate education on the CBT concept, its implementation, approval and oversight processes.”
The ECA has not, however, called for a withdrawal of the MPL. Instead, its report contains a long list of recommendations designed to ensure it produces pilots of a quality equivalent to or better than those trained via the CPL route.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
