On June 12, 2000, the United States and Canada signed an international agreement known as a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement to facilitate acceptance of various aspects of each other’s aviation safety oversight systems for the benefit of the users of those systems. The technical annex to the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement between the United States and Canada addressing pilot licensing is called the
Implementation Procedures for Licensing. The
Implementation Procedures for Licensing authorizes pilots holding certain licences or certificates from either country to obtain a licence or certificate from the other country when certain requirements are met.
Chapter II Paragraph 2.1(c) of the
Implementation Procedures for Licensing states that “FAA pilot certificates issued on the basis of a foreign licence are not eligible for conversion to a TCCA pilot licence under these implementation procedures. TCCA pilot licences issued on the basis of a foreign licence are not eligible for conversion to an FAA pilot certificate under these Implementation Procedures.”
Similarly, Paragraph 5.0(3) of the
Application Guidelines for Aeroplane FAA to TCCA Licence Conversion Agreement guides that “Holders of a FAA airman certificate issued on the basis of another foreign pilot licence are not eligible for conversion under these Implementation Procedures.”
What does “FAA pilot certificates issued on the basis of a foreign licence” mean?
Does “FAA pilot certificates issued on the basis of a foreign licence”
merely refer to FAA pilot certificates issued under
14 CFR 61.75, which specifies on the FAA pilot certificate:
- the person’s foreign license number and country of issuance; and
- a limitation that the U.S. pilot certificate can only be exercised when the pilot has the foreign pilot license, upon which the issuance of the U.S. pilot certificate was based, in the holder’s possession or readily accessible in the aircraft?
Or does “FAA pilot certificates issued on the basis of a foreign licence”
also include original FAA pilot certificates without the above specifications, but issued under:
- 14 CFR 61.39(e)(1) read with 14 CFR 61.39(a)(6), permitting a holder of a foreign pilot license issued by a contracting State to the Convention on International Civil Aviation to take a practical test leading to a U.S. pilot certificate from an FAA-authorized examiner without an endorsement from an FAA-authorized instructor; or
- 14 CFR 61.71, permitting a person who holds a foreign pilot license to apply for an equivalent U.S. pilot certificate on the basis of a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement and associated Implementation Procedures for Licensing?