(a) No certificate holder may use any person, nor may any person serve as a pilot, unless, since the beginning of the 12th calendar month before that service, that person has passed a written or oral test, given by the Administrator or an authorized check airman on that person's knowledge in the following areas—

(1) The appropriate provisions of parts 61, 91, and 125 of this chapter and the operations specifications and the manual of the certificate holder;

(2) For each type of airplane to be flown by the pilot, the airplane powerplant, major components and systems, major appliances, performance and operating limitations, standard and emergency operating procedures, and the contents of the approved Airplane Flight Manual or approved equivalent, as applicable;

(3) For each type of airplane to be flown by the pilot, the method of determining compliance with weight and balance limitations for takeoff, landing, and en route operations;

(4) Navigation and use of air navigation aids appropriate to the operation of pilot authorization, including, when applicable, instrument approach facilities and procedures;

(5) Air traffic control procedures, including IFR procedures when applicable;

(6) Meteorology in general, including the principles of frontal systems, icing, fog, thunderstorms, and windshear, and, if appropriate for the operation of the certificate holder, high altitude weather;

(7) Procedures for avoiding operations in thunderstorms and hail, and for operating in turbulent air or in icing conditions;

(8) New equipment, procedures, or techniques, as appropriate;

(9) Knowledge and procedures for operating during ground icing conditions, (i.e., any time conditions are such that frost, ice, or snow may reasonably be expected to adhere to the airplane), if the certificate holder expects to authorize takeoffs in ground icing conditions, including:

(i) The use of holdover times when using deicing/anti-icing fluids.

(ii) Airplane deicing/anti-icing procedures, including inspection and check procedures and responsibilities.

(iii) Communications.

(iv) Airplane surface contamination (i.e., adherence of frost, ice, or snow) and critical area identification, and knowledge of how contamination adversely affects airplane performance and flight characteristics.

(v) Types and characteristics of deicing/anti-icing fluids, if used by the certificate holder.

(vi) Cold weather preflight inspection procedures.

(vii) Techniques for recognizing contamination on the airplane.

(b) No certificate holder may use any person, nor may any person serve, as a pilot in any airplane unless, since the beginning of the 12th calendar month before that service, that person has passed a competency check given by the Administrator or an authorized check airman in that type of airplane to determine that person's competence in practical skills and techniques in that airplane or type of airplane. The extent of the competency check shall be determined by the Administrator or authorized check airman conducting the competency check. The competency check may include any of the maneuvers and procedures currently required for the original issuance of the particular pilot certificate required for the operations authorized and appropriate to the category, class, and type of airplane involved. For the purposes of this paragraph, type, as to an airplane, means any one of a group of airplanes determined by the Administrator to have a similar means of propulsion, the same manufacturer, and no significantly different handling or flight characteristics.

(c) The instrument proficiency check required by §125.291 may be substituted for the competency check required by this section for the type of airplane used in the check.

(d) For the purposes of this part, competent performance of a procedure or maneuver by a person to be used as a pilot requires that the pilot be the obvious master of the airplane with the successful outcome of the maneuver never in doubt.

(e) The Administrator or authorized check airman certifies the competency of each pilot who passes the knowledge or flight check in the certificate holder's pilot records.

(f) Portions of a required competency check may be given in an airplane simulator or other appropriate training device, if approved by the Administrator.

(g) If the certificate holder is authorized to conduct EFVS operations, the competency check in paragraph (b) of this section must include tasks appropriate to the EFVS operations the certificate holder is authorized to conduct.

[45 FR 67235, Oct. 9, 1980, as amended by Amdt. 125-18, 58 FR 69629, Dec. 30, 1993; Docket FAA-2013-0485, Amdt. 125-66, 81 FR 90176, Dec. 13, 2016]