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Twelve cadet pilots graduated from the first Hong Kong Multi-Crew Pilot's Licence (MPL) programme today (November 29), signifying a fruitful outcome achieved through close collaboration between the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) and Hong Kong Dragon Airlines (Dragonair) in the past few years. The graduates are the first batch of pilots to be issued with such licences in Hong Kong.
These cadet pilots were presented with certificates in a graduation ceremony held in the CAD Headquarters today and witnessed by over 100 family members and colleagues.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, Mr Norman Lo, said that the MPL programme is a significant development on a new training concept and methodology for the licensing of airline pilots.
"This new licensing regime and its associated training curriculum have been developed with one primary objective - that is, to train pilots for modern multi-crew aircraft through the optimum use of resources and advanced flight simulation technologies. This will bring about smoother and more effective pilot training for transitioning to an airline operating environment," said Mr Lo.
The conventional Commercial Pilot's Licence (CPL) training courses, which were developed in the 1950s, aimed to train cadet pilots to operate small piston-powered aircraft with single pilot operations. Having completed the CPL training, they learned to fly on instruments and then to fly multi-engine piston-powered aircraft. Throughout this training process, trainees were taught to fly the aircraft without assistance from other crew members. They would only start learning the concepts of multi-crew operations after joining the airlines, instead of learning them as an integral part of the entire training process, as in the case of the MPL programme.
In November 2006, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), after more than a decade's detailed review, introduced the MPL into the pilot licensing provisions. This new approach was developed based on the requirements of the multi-crew flight deck operating environment.
Based on the ICAO's latest provisions, the CAD developed the regulatory requirements for our industry partners to consider and develop an MPL trial course. In addition, appropriate provisions have also been introduced in the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 to form the legal basis for issuing such licences in Hong Kong.
As pioneers in the implementation of the MPL programme, the CAD and Dragonair worked collaboratively in formulating this programme step by step through a systematic process. Graduates of the first batch of the MPL programme are now flying with Dragonair while the second and third batches of students have also started their training.
The CAD looks forward to strengthening the collaboration among the various organisations in further improving the MPL programme for the benefit of the aviation industry in Hong Kong.
Ends/Friday, November 29, 2013
Issued at HKT 20:35
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