29 September 2006
A report by ABC News in the US has revealed that “dozens of foreign student pilots with questionable visas have been able to slip between the cracks and gain entry to American flight schools”.
According to a memo quoted by ABC, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says that the situation has arisen because of “conflicting and ambiguous” information about visas and applicants from a number of other agencies, including the Department of State.
The FAA says that it won’t comment on the story, as it is currently making investigations of its own into a number of flight instructors and schools. The chances are, though, that it’s all going to mean greater difficulty in obtaining the paperwork – and knowing that you’ve got the correct paperwork – for training in the US.
AOPA in the US has published a comprehensive guide to the flight training requirements as they stand: you can read it <a href=’http://www.aopa.org/tsa_rule/#outline’ target=’_blank’>here</a>.
The ABC report is <a href=’http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/dozens_of_forei.html’ target=’_blank’>here</a>.
