In an effort to promote awareness of potential security concerns related to flight training, the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) requires flight schools and flight training providers to take initial and recurrent security awareness training. The recurrent training must be completed yearly. This training must be completed by flight instructors and flight school staff that have direct contact with student pilots.
Obtain initial TSA Security Awareness Training. This training is typically taken using the online TSA training module available on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website. The online training covers many of the areas of concern that the TSA has identified in the training of pilots related to security at airports and in aviation. This training is offered for free online.
Keep a record of the training you completed. The initial online Flight School Security Awareness Training module allows you to print out a certificate of completion. Keep this certificate in your flight instructor records to show you completed the training. It is also advisable to make an entry in your pilot logbook of the date and the training completed for additional documentation.
Prior to the expiration of one year from the time of initial or previous recurrency training, a flight instructor must obtain recurrency training. Recurrency training cannot be completed using the same initial online module. Instead, it must be obtained by attending a training put on by the flight school the instructor works for or by a self-conducted review process that adheres to TSA guidelines for recurrency training. More information on this can be found in the TSA section of the Department of Homeland Security's website.
Flight instructors must keep records of their recurrency training as completed each year. This can be done through the receipt of a certificate or endorsement from the flight school staff member conducting the training or by creating a self-conducted review documentation process. This can be through development of a written statement that the instructor has conducted a self-review or through self-endorsement in the flight instructor's logbook.
Provide training documentation to the flight school where the flight instructor is employed. If a flight instructor is not an independent flight instructor and works for a flight school with multiple employees, the flight school must maintain records of their employees' training. The flight instructor should provide documentation to the flight school of the initial security awareness training or his most recent recurrency training record. If the flight school conducted the training, it typically keeps a copy of the certificate it provides to the instructor for training provided.
