Flight School Security Awareness Training for Aircraft and Simulators

October 26, 2004
Best Practices and Recommendations (continued)

Limit student pilot (pre-solo) access to aircraft keys.
• Consider having primary student pilots, prior to first solo flight, check in with a specific employee before allowing access to a parked aircraft.
- The intent is to have an opportunity to observe and assess student behavior prior to uncontrolled access to the aircraft.
• Establish a key control program.
- Have the instructor or other employee open the aircraft door and retain possession of the key during the student’s aircraft pre-flight inspection.

Establish positive identification of student pilots before every flight lesson. This is recommended because students may not have the same instructor for every lesson.
• If students have more than one instructor, introduce each instructor initially.
• Create a class roster so employees know the current enrollment.

Establish the legitimacy of pilots or companies requesting to dry lease simulator time from your facility. Require formal requests be made via fax and on company letterhead. Research the company via the internet or aviation directories to confirm the existence of that company.

Assign one or two regular instructors to the student. These instructors should share information on behavioral peculiarities or patterns and/or unusual questions posed during training. These peculiarities and questions should be documented in the student’s file and shared with appropriate personnel.

Ground school instructors should conduct a hand-off briefing with the flight instructors (airplane or simulator) to discuss any peculiar or unusual behavior displayed by their students prior to the student progressing to the next phase of training.

For questionable, suspicious or peculiar behavior:
• The instructor should notify management for resolution.
• Management should determine whether to suspend student flight privileges.
• Management should contact either the GA Hotline or TSOC. Appropriately secure unattended aircraft at all times. Consider taking additional security measures, such as:
• Prop locks
• Tie down locks
• Throttle locks
• Flight control locks
• Lock all aircraft access doors/panels
• If aircraft is kept in hangar, lock hangar doors Establish procedures for securing aircraft at cross-country destinations and interim stops. Ensure appropriate physical security:
• Ensure appropriate signage designating secure area exists, if applicable. • Discuss physical security with employees.
- Student training facilities and required display of ID badges
- Aircraft hangars
- Parking ramp areas
- Onsite security force, if applicable
- Video surveillance and who monitors it, if applicable
- Secure access to flight simulators and other training devices

This completes the topic on Best Practices and Recommendations.

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