OVERVIEW OF THE ADVANCED QUALIFICATION PROGRAM

Thomas M. Longridge
Federal Aviation Administration
Washington D.C.

The Advanced Qualification Program (AQP) is a voluntary alternative to the traditional regulatory requirements
under CFR 14, Parts 121 and 135 for pilot training and checking. Under the AQP the FAA is authorized to
approve significant departures from traditional requirements, subject to justification of an equivalent or better
level of safety. The program entails a systematic front-end analysis of training requirements from which explicit
proficiency objectives for all facets of pilot training are derived. It seeks to integrate the training and evaluation of
cognitive skills at each stage of a curriculum. For pass/fail purposes, pilots must demonstrate proficiency in
scenarios that test both technical and crew resource management skills together. Air carriers participating in the
AQP must design and implement data collection strategies which are diagnostic of cognitive and technical skills.
In addition, they must implement procedures for refining curricula content based on quality control data. This
paper presents an overview of the Advanced Qualification Program and identifies selected applied research issues
of interest to the FAA for the purpose of improving the program.

BACKGROUND (TPO's), together with associated performance standards,

replace the FAA’s traditional event driven compliance
Goals requirements. Each air carrier applicant, rather than the FAA,
develops its own TPO's on the basis of an instructional systems
The overall goals of the Advanced Qualification Program are: development (ISD) process outlined in Advisory Circular 120-
(1) To increase aviation safety through improved training and 54, Advanced Qualification Program. Once approved by the
evaluation, and (2) To be responsive to changes in aircraft FAA, these TPO's become regulatory requirements for the
technology, operations, and training methodologies. individual carrier. An AQP provides an approved means for
the carrier to propose TPO additions, deletions, or changes as
Distinguishing Features needed to maintain a high degree of aircrew proficiency
tailored to the operator's line requirements.
In general an AQP differs from traditional regulatory
requirements in terms of the following characteristics: Mandatory Requirements

(1) Participation is voluntary. Air carriers choosing not In order to assure that the increased flexibility inherent in AQP
to participate will continue to be governed by the appropriate does not come at the cost of reduced safety, certain mandatory
existing provisions of 14 CFR, Parts 121 and 135. However, criteria have been established, among them the following. An
nearly all major U.S. airlines are presently participants. A
AQP must:
growing number of regional airlines also participate in the
program.
(1) Be aircraft specific (i.e. (accommodate each make,
model, and series or variant of aircraft within any given fleet
(2) An AQP may employ innovative training and
transitioning to an AQP.)
qualification concepts. Provided the applicant can demonstrate
to the FAA's satisfaction that the resulting aircrew proficiency
(2) Provide indoctrination, qualification, and
will meet or exceed that obtainable through a traditional
continuing qualification curriculums for every duty position.
program, significant departures from the pertinent requirements
Indoctrination consists of fleet common knowledge items.
of FAR Parts 121 and 135 may be authorized.
Qualification consists of fleet specific ground and flight
operations training for a newly assigned cockpit duty position.
(3) An AQP entails proficiency based qualification.
Continuing qualification consists of fleet specific ground and
That is, provided that pilots are trained to a standard of
flight operations recurrent training for presently held duty
proficiency on all objectives within an approved AQP
positions.
curriculum, it is not necessary to verify proficiency by virtue of
a formal proficiency check on every such item. Rather, the
(3) Provide training and evaluation which is
proficiency evaluation may consist of a sample of such items,
conducted to the maximum extent possible in a full cockpit
in order to validate that the training to proficiency strategy has
crew environment (e.g. Captain and First Officer).
in fact achieved its objectives. Terminal proficiency objectives
Qualification and continuing qualification curricula must as phase independent. Additional analysis intended to support
include a line operational evaluation (LOE), which consists of subsequent syllabus development may be conducted on tasks
a full flight scenario systematically designed to target specific and subtasks, including such considerations as relative
technical and crew resource management (CRM ) skills. frequency of occurrence in routine operations, operational
criticality, and success criteria. Terminal and supporting
(4) Integrate training and evaluation of CRM, in objectives are then extracted from the task and subtask
accordance with the provisions of Advisory Circular 120-51, analysis, respectively, for each duty position, and must include
Crew Resource Management Training, and 14 CFR, SFAR 58. identification of applicable performance, standards, and
The evaluation of CRM proficiency is mandatory, and conditions. The documentation of proficiency objectives must
substandard performance on CRM factors must be corrected by identify the references used, respectively, in defining
additional training. In AQP demonstration of proficiency in performance, standards, and conditions for each. This
maneuver oriented technical skills is a necessary but information is submitted for approval to the FAA in the form
insufficient condition for pilot qualification. For pass/fail of AQP qualification standards.
purposes, pilots must also demonstrate proficiency in LOE’s
which test both technical and CRM skills together. The applicant may elect to identify certain SKA's as enabling
objectives, including both phase specific and phase
(5) Provide AQP specific training for instructors and independent SKA’s. Enabling objectives are used to prepare
evaluators, together with explicit training and evaluation individuals and crews for subsequent training in an operational
strategies to verify the proficiency and standardization of such cockpit environment. Identification of such objectives is
personnel for crew oriented, scenario-based training and particularly useful for assuring that courseware, such as
evaluation tasks. computer based instruction, directly supports higher order
objectives at subsequent points within a curriculum. The
(6) Collect performance proficiency data on students, linkage established between levels of objectives may also
instructors, and evaluators and conduct airline internal analyses facilitate the process of updating course content when
of such information for the purpose of curriculum refinement modifications are needed, so that changes at any one level are
and validation. Participants are also required to forward certain properly reflected elsewhere in the hierarchy.
data to the FAA in digital electronic format on a routine basis.
Tasks, subtasks, and associated SKA’s are then allocated to
(7) Integrate the use of advanced flight training curriculum segments, modules, lessons, and lesson elements in
equipment, including full flight simulators. AQP encourages a building block fashion. Most AQP applicants have elected
air carriers to utilize a suite of equipment matched on the basis to make use of software tools which significantly facilitate the
of analysis to the training requirements at any given stage of a entire process of applying the front end analysis to curriculum
curriculum. Judicious analysis of these requirements can development. These tools, which are usually based on
enable an AQP participant to significantly reduce the need for relational data base architectures, are useful in keeping track
use of a full simulator. of the relationships between various levels of tasks, SKA's,
proficiency objectives, courseware, media, training devices,
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT and so on. Such tools reduce the time and labor costs
associated with developing a particular AQP. To the extent
AQP is founded on the principle that the content of training that common elements exist which may be applied across
and checking activities should be directly driven by the AQP's, they facilitate the identification and reapplication of
content of the operational job. The first step in AQP, therefore, such elements, and may reduce an applicant's subsequent AQP
is the conduct of an aircraft specific job task analysis, which development cost. The FAA has funded the development of a
begins with the development of a comprehensive task listing Model AQP software tool to assist in the accomplishment of
for each duty position. The task listing should cover the full these functions, which is provided to air carriers who wish to
range of conditions and contingencies - internal to the aircraft, make use of it (Mangold & Neumeister, 1995).
external to the aircraft, normal, abnormal, and emergency - to
which the pilot may be exposed within the applicant's sphere FREQUENCY OF TRAINING AND EVALUATION
of operations.
First Look Evaluation
The task listing is then analyzed to identify the skills,
knowledges, and abilities (SKA's) necessary for competent Among the most important AQP quality control tools from a
performance of each task and subtask, including SKA's which performance proficiency perspective is the First Look
reflect CRM considerations. Where appropriate, CRM skills Evaluation. Performance on selected TPO's will be evaluated
pertinent to effective task execution should be identified in the prior to each formal training session – that is, prior to any pre-
context of the specific flight task to which they apply. The briefing or practice on such items. Such pre-evaluation data
AQP analysis methodology provides for the identification of will be used to determine the extent to which safety critical
both phase specific and phase independent skills. Skills found skills may have decayed since previous training and/or
to be applicable across multiple flight tasks may be identified checking, and will also provide a baseline for assessing degree
of improvement attributable to subsequent training. unless an alternative line check schedule has been otherwise
Consistently poor pre-evaluation results occurring at the group approved by the FAA for the applicant’s AQP.
level may indicate that curriculum modifications, including
potentially the frequency and content of training, are warranted. APPLIED RESEARCH IN AQP

Continuing Qualification Cycles Certain features of AQP have generated a significant need
for applied human factors research support. For example,
After initial qualification, which incorporates training and while ISD has long been routinely employed in the
evaluation on all proficiency objectives, follow-on training will development of computer based training content, it has rarely
occur within a scheduling interval called a continuing been employed in an air carrier setting to design an entire
qualification cycle. Its initial duration is 26 months, but it may curriculum from ground school through flight operations
be subsequently extended by the FAA in three months training and checking. The complex nature of this training
increments to a maximum of 39 months, contingent upon the and evaluation requirement, which encompasses both
results of performance proficiency data from each such cycle. advanced technical and cognitive skills, has necessitated
During a continuing qualification cycle all terminal proficiency research to extend methodological techniques to meet the need
objectives must be trained and evaluated. in a pragmatic and economically feasible fashion, together
with software tools tailored for use by air carrier training
Evaluation Period development staff. This requirement has been particularly
challenging in the area of identifying effective strategies for
For continuing qualification curricula, the applicant may elect CRM curriculum integration The emphasis on scenario based
to categorize certain terminal proficiency objectives as training and evaluation has engendered a multitude of
currency items. Currency items refer to flight activities on requirements for human factors support, ranging from the need
which proficiency is maintained by virtue of frequent exercise to establish a systematic methodology for the development of
during routine operations. Such items do not need to be targeted scenario event sets to the establishment of reliable
addressed for training or proficiency evaluation purposes in and valid scenario performance assessment strategies, and the
periodic training sessions. However, verification is required standardization of evaluators responsible for accomplishing
that proficiency on such items is being maintained. Such psychometric measures. The significant time and labor
verification may be obtained during line checks. workload associated with generating LOE’s has engendered an
acute need for software tools which facilitate the creation of
The applicant may also elect to categorize terminal fresh scenarios on a quick turnaround basis. Such tools must
proficiency objectives, including currency items, as critical or incorporate all of the methodological concerns associated with
non-critical, based on operational significance and the targeting desired technical and cognitive skills, as well
consequences of error. This categorization is employed to generating supporting flight paperwork and scenario specific
determine the time interval within which training and grading schemes for use by evaluators. Finally, the
evaluation on such items must occur for continuing requirement in AQP for the acquisition of data which are
qualification curricula. Critical terminal proficiency diagnostic of both pilot proficiency and curriculum
objectives must be trained and evaluated during an evaluation effectiveness has generated a need to adapt psychometric
period the initial duration of which cannot exceed thirteen methods to the development of effective performance
months. Each such evaluation period must include at least one measurement techniques, to establish appropriate data analysis
training session. Non-critical terminal proficiency objectives strategies, and to enhance the reliability, sensitivity, and
may be distributed over a continuing qualification cycle the validity of measures of quality control.
initial duration of which cannot exceed twenty-six months.
REFERENCES
These distinctions directly impact the content of training and
checking activities for continuing qualification curricula in Mangold, S., and Neumeister, D. (1995). CRM in the model
AQP. By virtue of identifying routine activities as currency AQP: A preview. In R. S. Jensen and L.A. Rakovan (Eds.),
items, and classifying certain proficiency objectives as critical, Proceedings of the Eighth International Symposium on
limited training time and resources may be devoted to greater Aviation Psychology (pp 556-561), Columbus; the Ohio State
emphasis on abnormal conditions, emergencies, CRM, and University
those skills which the applicant's operational experience may
indicate are most important to the maintenance of a well Office of the Federal Register, (2 October 1990), Special
trained pilot population. Federal Aviation Regulation 58 - Advanced Qualification
Program, Federal Register, Vol. 55, No. 91, Rules and
For all cockpit aircrew, a proficiency evaluation must be Regulations (pp.40262-40278) Washington D. C.: National
completed in either an aircraft, flight simulator, or flight Archives and Records Administration.
training device during each evaluation period. In addition, for
pilots in command a line check must be scheduled at the Office of the Federal Register, (2 October 1990, Advanced
midpoint of the evaluation period, plus or minus one month, Qualification Program - Advisory Circular, Federal Register,
Vol. 55, No. 91, Rules and Regulations (pp.40279-40352),
Washington D. C.: National Archives and records
Administration

Advisory Circular 120-35B, (6 September 1990), Line

Operational Simulations, Federal Aviation Administration,
Washington D. C.: U. S. Department of Transportation.

Advisory Circular 120-51, (3 January 1995), Crew Resource

Management Training, Federal Aviation Administration,
Washington D. C.: U. S. Department of Transportation.