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UPRT - Regulatory &

Legal Requirements

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On-Aircraft Advanced UPRT mandatory as of December 2019

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On 20 December 2018, Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/1974 entered into force. This Regulation amends Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (the Aircrew Regulation) by introducing new requirements for upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) for pilots in its Annex I (Part-FCL). Effectively on-aircraft Advanced UPRT (FCL.745.A) became mandatory from 20th December 2019.


The requirements are laid out in article 4b on UPRT for all ATPLs, all MPLs and some CPLs for certain class and type ratings.
A link to the EASA Regulatory background may be found here and a list of reference material at the bottom of this page.

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Decision 2019/005/R contains the related acceptable means of compliance (AMC) and guidance material (GM) as well as revised AMC & GM to Annex VII (PartORA) to the Aircrew Regulation regarding the implementation of Advanced UPRT in type rating training programmes of approved training organisations (ATOs). Additionally, this Decision amends the AMC & GM to Annex I (Definitions) and Annex III (Part-ORO) to Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 (the Air OPS Regulation) in order to align the existing UPRT provisions for operator-related training with the new UPRT regulatory framework in Part-FCL.
A link to the UPRT Guidance may be found here.

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On-Aircraft UPRT Regulations & Requirements - Highlights

  1. The industry and regulators have focused on UPRT because loss of control in flight is the single largest cause of commercial aircraft accidents and fatalities.    

  2. Airbus, ATR, Boeing, Bombardier & Embraer have published the industry standard Aeroplane Upset Prevention and Recovery Training Aid - AUPRTA Rev 3.0 – February 2017. 

  3. All pilots studying for new ATPLs and pilots undergoing their first type rating course in multi-pilot operations, are required to undergo the Advanced UPRT course FCL.745.A as of 20 December 2019.  References and more detail are summarised at the bottom of this page.

  4. It is not a regulatory requirement for existing commercial pilots (ATPL/CPL/MPL) to undergo the Advanced UPRT course.  Page 8 of the Explanatory Note to Decision 2019/005/R states that “The completion of the advanced UPRT course is a prerequisite for the issue of a type rating for single pilot high-performance complex aeroplanes, single-pilot aeroplanes in multi-pilot operation and multi-pilot aeroplanes (see point FCL.720.A, as amended). However, many current pilots will not have completed this training and, while it could be beneficial, there is no requirement for pilots already holding a type rating to complete this course.” However, many organisations are choosing to have some or all of their existing pilots undertake this training.

  5. The requirements for FCL.745.A ie the AMC (Acceptable Means of Compliance) and GM (Guidance Material) were published in February 2019.

  6. The training requirement under FCL.745.A is 3 hours of actual UPRT.  Any activities not directly associated with UPRT such as taxy, transit, circuits, approaches etc do not count towards this 3 hours. 

  7. Pilots with aerobatic experience have no exemptions from the Advanced UPRT course.  Whilst such pilots may be less impacted by the physiological aspects of the training, the UPRT Syllabus is materially different and in fact includes no standard aerobatic manoeuvres. 

  8. Several UPRT study groups and the regulators have determined that the primary value of on-aircraft UPRT is to enable pilots to deal with the psychological and physiological effects of recovering from flight upsets.  Flight profiles mimic the G-force range of commercial airliners and are typically flown between +2.5G and -1.0G.  More information can be found on our value and benefits of UPRT page.

  9. The Ultimate High Academy additionally promotes the development of pilot resilience and teaches a range of recovery strategies and methodologies which enables pilots to recover even under conditions of extreme stress.

  10. With respect to the timing of the Advanced UPRT course within the ATPL syllabus, there is no prescribed schedule and it may be flown at any stage.   Typically UPRT can be flown at the foundation flight training stage or at the advanced flight training stage; most organisations are choosing to fly the Advanced UPRT course at the end of the I.R. phase prior to the MCC/JOC stage.

 

Flight Simulator (FSTD) UPRT Regulatory Requirements

  1. All commercial airlines have been required to include recurrent FSTD UPRT over the normal 3 year Simulator Programme.  

  2. Whilst there are psychological and physiological limitations of delivering UPRT in an FSTD, this training delivers genuine benefits in increasing the likelihood of recoveries from flight upsets.

  3. The value of FSTD UPRT is entirely dependent upon the quality of the TRIs.  EASA has defined the requirements for UPRT TRIs but many organisations pay lip-service to fulfilling these.  With many TRIs having had no personal experience of genuine flight upsets in commercial or training aircraft, the value of the training delivered may not be the best.  EASA suggest that the value of this training would be enhanced if UPRT TRIs undergo on-aircraft UPRT.

  4. The Ultimate High Academy delivers “Train the UPRT TRI Trainer” courses that materially enhance the quality and the value of UPRT delivered in FSTDs.

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The main references on Regulatory support for On-Aircraft UPRT are:

  • ICAO AUPRTA Airplane Upset & Prevention Recovery Training Aid, Revision 3.0 (February 2017) - THE Industry standard guide to UPRT - read more

  • IATA - Guidance Material and Best Practices for the Implementation of Upset Prevention and Recovery Training – v2 2018 - read more

  • EASA UPRT Guidance update February 2019 ED Decision 2019/005/R - read more

  • EASA - Startle Effect Management Study - read more

  • ICAO 10011 - 2014 - Manual on Aeroplane Upset Prevention and Recovery training - THE UPRT BIBLE - read more

  • FAA Advisory Circular AC120-109A - Stall Prevention & Recovery Training - November 2015 - read more

  • FAA Advisory Circular AC120-111 - Upset Prevention & Recovery Training - April 2015 - read more

  • EU Commission - new Law - December 2018 - read more

  • Boeing - Aerodynamic Principles of Large-Airplane Upsets - 28 March 2013 - read more

  • High Altitude Operations: Supplement #1 to the Airplane Upset Recovery Training Aid (AURTA) - read more

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