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484 

14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition) 

§ 135.295 

(8) New equipment, procedures, or 

techniques, as appropriate; and 

(9) For rotorcraft pilots, procedures 

for aircraft handling in flat-light, 
whiteout, and brownout conditions, in-
cluding methods for recognizing and 
avoiding those conditions. 

(b) No certificate holder may use a 

pilot, nor may any person serve as a 
pilot, in any aircraft unless, since the 
beginning of the 12th calendar month 
before that service, that pilot has 
passed a competency check given by 
the Administrator or an authorized 
check pilot in that class of aircraft, if 
single-engine airplane other than tur-
bojet, or that type of aircraft, if heli-
copter, multiengine airplane, or tur-
bojet airplane, to determine the pilot’s 
competence in practical skills and 
techniques in that aircraft or class of 
aircraft. The extent of the competency 
check shall be determined by the Ad-
ministrator or authorized check pilot 
conducting the competency check. The 
competency check may include any of 
the maneuvers and procedures cur-
rently required for the original 
issuance of the particular pilot certifi-
cate required for the operations au-
thorized and appropriate to the cat-
egory, class and type of aircraft in-
volved. For the purposes of this para-
graph, type, as to an airplane, means 
any one of a group of airplanes deter-
mined by the Administrator to have a 
similar means of propulsion, the same 
manufacturer, and no significantly dif-
ferent handling or flight characteris-
tics. For the purposes of this para-
graph, type, as to a helicopter, means a 
basic make and model. 

(c) Each competency check given in a 

rotorcraft must include a demonstra-
tion of the pilot’s ability to maneuver 
the rotorcraft solely by reference to in-
struments. The check must determine 
the pilot’s ability to safely maneuver 
the rotorcraft into visual meteorolog-
ical conditions following an inad-
vertent encounter with instrument me-
teorological conditions. For com-
petency checks in non-IFR-certified 
rotorcraft, the pilot must perform such 
maneuvers as are appropriate to the 
rotorcraft’s installed equipment, the 
certificate holder’s operations speci-
fications, and the operating environ-
ment. 

(d) The instrument proficiency check 

required by § 135.297 may be substituted 
for the competency check required by 
this section for the type of aircraft 
used in the check. 

(e) For the purpose of this part, com-

petent performance of a procedure or 
maneuver by a person to be used as a 
pilot requires that the pilot be the ob-
vious master of the aircraft, with the 
successful outcome of the maneuver 
never in doubt. 

(f) The Administrator or authorized 

check pilot certifies the competency of 
each pilot who passes the knowledge or 
flight check in the certificate holder’s 
pilot records. 

(g) Portions of a required competency 

check may be given in an aircraft sim-
ulator or other appropriate training de-
vice, if approved by the Administrator. 

(h) Rotorcraft pilots must be tested 

on the subjects in paragraph (a)(9) of 
this section when taking a written or 
oral knowledge test after April 22, 2015. 
Rotorcraft pilots must be checked on 
the maneuvers and procedures in para-
graph (c) of this section when taking a 
competency check after April 22, 2015. 

(i) If the certificate holder is author-

ized to conduct EFVS operations, the 
competency check in paragraph (b) of 
this section must include tasks appro-
priate to the EFVS operations the cer-
tificate holder is authorized to con-
duct. 

[Doc. No. 16097, 43 FR 46783, Oct. 10, 1978, as 
amended by Amdt. 135–27, 53 FR 37697, Sept. 
27, 1988; Amdt. 135–129, 79 FR 9974, Feb. 21, 
2014; 79 FR 22012, Apr. 21, 2014; Docket FAA– 
2013–0485, Amdt. 135–135, 81 FR 90177, Dec. 13, 
2016] 

§ 135.295 Initial and recurrent flight 

attendant crewmember testing re-

quirements. 

No certificate holder may use a flight 

attendant crewmember, nor may any 
person serve as a flight attendant crew-
member unless, since the beginning of 
the 12th calendar month before that 
service, the certificate holder has de-
termined by appropriate initial and re-
current testing that the person is 
knowledgeable and competent in the 
following areas as appropriate to as-
signed duties and responsibilities— 

(a) Authority of the pilot in com-

mand; 

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485 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 135.297 

(b) Passenger handling, including 

procedures to be followed in handling 
deranged persons or other persons 
whose conduct might jeopardize safety; 

(c) Crewmember assignments, func-

tions, and responsibilities during ditch-
ing and evacuation of persons who may 
need the assistance of another person 
to move expeditiously to an exit in an 
emergency; 

(d) Briefing of passengers; 
(e) Location and operation of port-

able fire extinguishers and other items 
of emergency equipment; 

(f) Proper use of cabin equipment and 

controls; 

(g) Location and operation of pas-

senger oxygen equipment; 

(h) Location and operation of all nor-

mal and emergency exits, including 
evacuation chutes and escape ropes; 
and 

(i) Seating of persons who may need 

assistance of another person to move 
rapidly to an exit in an emergency as 
prescribed by the certificate holder’s 
operations manual. 

§ 135.297 Pilot in command: Instru-

ment proficiency check require-

ments. 

(a) No certificate holder may use a 

pilot, nor may any person serve, as a 
pilot in command of an aircraft under 
IFR unless, since the beginning of the 
6th calendar month before that service, 
that pilot has passed an instrument 
proficiency check under this section 
administered by the Administrator or 
an authorized check pilot. 

(b) No pilot may use any type of pre-

cision instrument approach procedure 
under IFR unless, since the beginning 
of the 6th calendar month before that 
use, the pilot satisfactorily dem-
onstrated that type of approach proce-
dure. No pilot may use any type of non-
precision approach procedure under 
IFR unless, since the beginning of the 
6th calendar month before that use, the 
pilot has satisfactorily demonstrated 
either that type of approach procedure 
or any other two different types of non-
precision approach procedures. The in-
strument approach procedure or proce-
dures must include at least one 
straight-in approach, one circling ap-
proach, and one missed approach. Each 
type of approach procedure dem-

onstrated must be conducted to pub-
lished minimums for that procedure. 

(c) The instrument proficiency check 

required by paragraph (a) of this sec-
tion consists of an oral or written 
equipment test and a flight check 
under simulated or actual IFR condi-
tions. The equipment test includes 
questions on emergency procedures, en-
gine operation, fuel and lubrication 
systems, power settings, stall speeds, 
best engine-out speed, propeller and su-
percharger operations, and hydraulic, 
mechanical, and electrical systems, as 
appropriate. The flight check includes 
navigation by instruments, recovery 
from simulated emergencies, and 
standard instrument approaches in-
volving navigational facilities which 
that pilot is to be authorized to use. 
Each pilot taking the instrument pro-
ficiency check must show that stand-
ard of competence required by 
§ 135.293(e). 

(1) The instrument proficiency check 

must— 

(i) For a pilot in command of an air-

plane under § 135.243(a), include the pro-
cedures and maneuvers for an airline 
transport pilot certificate in the par-
ticular type of airplane, if appropriate; 
and 

(ii) For a pilot in command of an air-

plane or helicopter under § 135.243(c), 
include the procedures and maneuvers 
for a commercial pilot certificate with 
an instrument rating and, if required, 
for the appropriate type rating. 

(2) The instrument proficiency check 

must be given by an authorized check 
airman or by the Administrator. 

(d) If the pilot in command is as-

signed to pilot only one type of air-
craft, that pilot must take the instru-
ment proficiency check required by 
paragraph (a) of this section in that 
type of aircraft. 

(e) If the pilot in command is as-

signed to pilot more than one type of 
aircraft, that pilot must take the in-
strument proficiency check required by 
paragraph (a) of this section in each 
type of aircraft to which that pilot is 
assigned, in rotation, but not more 
than one flight check during each pe-
riod described in paragraph (a) of this 
section. 

(f) If the pilot in command is as-

signed to pilot both single-engine and