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Civil Aviation Act, 2009 (Act No. 13 of 2009)

Regulations

Civil Aviation Regulations, 2011

Part 61 : Pilot Licensing

Subpart 1 : General

61.01.5 Skills test, competency check and revalidation check

 

(1) Unless a person maintains his or her licence or rating(s) valid by complying with the appropriate requirements prescribed in this Part he or she shall not exercise the privileges granted by the licence or rating(s).

 

(2) A skills test for a night rating conducted after the first revalidation check of the holder of a PPL will revalidate the maintenance of competency in the same category of aircraft.

 

(3) A skills test for the issuance of a licence or rating shall be conducted under the auspices of the ATO which completed the training of the applicant.

 

(4) In the case of a skills test for the issuance of a licence or rating, the approved ATO which conducted the training shall issue a letter of recommendation to the examiner who is conducting the skills test.

 

(5) No skills test, competency check or revalidation check shall be conducted before successful completion of the applicable ground evaluation.

 

(6) An examiner who conducted a skills test, competency check or revalidation check shall endorse the logbook of the candidate or pilot as prescribed in Document SA-CATS 61.

 

(7) In the case of a partial or complete failure of a skills test, competency check or revalidation check, the following shall apply before the candidate or pilot undergoes another test or check:
(a) the candidate or pilot concerned must undergo remedial training at an approved ATO to reach the standard required for the applicable test of check;
(b) no re-check or re-test may be conducted within 72 hours of a partial or complete failure of a test or check;
(c) a flight instructor who conducted the remedial training shall issue a letter of recommendation to the examiner prior to the re-test or recheck; and
(d) the candidate or pilot may not exercise the privileges of his or her licence or rating until he or she has successfully passed a re-test or recheck.

 

(8) A navigation element of the skills test for the issuing of a PPL or a CPL may be conducted as a separate flight within a maximum period of 14 days.

 

(9) A ground evaluation and practical part of the test or check may be conducted on different dates, within a maximum period of 14 days.

 

(10) If, due to unforeseen reasons, a test or check cannot be completed in one flight, the test or check may be completed on a different date, within a maximum period of 14 days and provided an examiner specifies the unforeseen reason on the applicable form.

 

(11) The following requirements shall be complied with for an initial issue of a licence or rating:
(a) an application for an initial issue of a licence or rating must be submitted  to the Director within 30 days of the skills test, except in the case of an applicant undergoing an ATPL(A) integrated training course in terms of this Part, where an application for a CPL(A) and IR must be submitted within 90 days of the skills test; and
(b) an application referred to in paragraph (a) submitted after the prescribed  period of 30 days, shall be accompanied by a condonation application for  consideration by the Director.

[Regulation 61.01.5(11) substituted by regulation 11(c) of Notice No. R.1503, GG45491, dated 16 November 2021 (Twenty-First Amendment of the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2021)]

 

(12) A holder of a licence shall undergo a competency check or a revalidation check before the expiry of a competency or a rating. Provided that—
(a) such a holder shall submit, to the Director, an application for revalidation of a competency or a rating, in a prescribed form, with 30 days of such competency check or revalidation check;
(b) if a competency check or revalidation check is conducted within 90 days prior to expiry date of a competency or the rating, a new expiry date shall be calculated from the last day of the month of expiry of such competency or rating;
(c) if a competency check or revalidation check is conducted more than 90 days prior to expiry date of a competency or a rating, a new expiry date shall be calculated from the last day of the month in which a competency check or a revalidation check was conducted; and
(d) the Director may grant an extension not exceeding 30 days from the date of expiry of a competency or a rating upon receipt of an application accompanied by written reasons providing for exceptional circumstances.

[Regulation 61.01.5(12) substituted by regulation 6(b) of Notice No. R. 520, GG 42632, dated 29 March 2019 (Twentieth Amendment of the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2019)]

 

(13) A holder of a pilot licence must submit to the Director, at least annually, a certified copy of the summary of his or her logbook in the format prescribed in Document SA-CATS 61 together with the prescribed licence currency fees.

 

(14) In the event that a licence holder fails to demonstrate the appropriate skills and knowledge referred to in this regulation, the Director shall require the licence holder to refrain from exercising the privileges of his or her licence or rating and to comply with the following:
(a) the holder shall be required to undergo remedial ground and flight training at an approved ATO;
(b) the holder shall obtain a letter from the ATO referred to in paragraph (a) which confirms the content of the ground and flight training and that the holder has reached the standards required for the issuance of the applicable licence or rating; and
(c) the holder shall undergo the applicable skills test with a DFE appointed for that purpose by the Director.

 

(15) In the event that a licence holder referred to in subregulation (14) fails without reasonable cause to achieve the expected standards as required by the Director, the Director shall cancel the licence or rating with immediate effect.

 

(16) A person whose licence or rating was cancelled by the Director shall comply with the requirements for the initial issue of the applicable licence or rating, provided that the application for the issue of the licence or rating shall not be within a period of 24 months calculated from the date of cancellation.

 

(17) No skills test, competency check or revalidation check may be conducted with fare paying passengers or cargo on board the aircraft.

 

[Regulation 61.01.5 substituted by regulation 7(c) of Notice No. R. 1349, GG 40376, dated 28 October 2016 (Fourteenth Amendment of the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2016)]