Flight Crew Licensing — Page 79, Lesson 122

We’re moving into the heart of Flight Crew Licensing now, and I want to walk you through the rules that govern how a licence actually works in practice. These paragraphs, 5.19 through 5.25, are about the lifecycle of a licence — how it’s validated, what privileges it grants, and the conditions you must keep meeting to keep it alive. Let’s start with 5.19, Rendering a Licence Valid. Here’s the key idea: a licence is issued by one authority, but it might need to be used in another state’s airspace. A Contracting State — that’s a state that has signed up to the Chicago Convention — may validate a licence issued by another authority. But there’s a strict proviso: the period of validity of that validation must not extend beyond the original period of validity of the licence itself. So if your home licence is valid for two years, a foreign state can validate it for at most two years — never longer. Now, there’s a special carve-out for JAA licences. The JAA is the Joint Aviation Authorities, and a JAA licence, along with its associated ratings and so on, issued in accordance with JAR-FCL — that’s the Joint Aviation Requirements for Flight Crew Licensing — is to be accepted without further formality in any other JAA member state. No validation process needed; it’s automatically recognised across the JAA community. Moving to 5.20, Validation of a Non-JAA Licence for use in a JAA State. This is the flip side. If you hold a non-JAA licence — say from a state outside the JAA system — and that licence includes an instrument rating, or IR, it may be validated for use in a JAA state for a period not exceeding one year. But there’s a condition: the basic licence must remain valid in the state of licence issue. So the validation is only as good as the underlying licence. Now 5.21, Credit of Experience. This is about converting a non-JAA licence into a JAA one. The holder of a non-JAA licence may be credited with theoretical knowledge and/or flying experience — but this is at the discretion of the JAA member state authority. So it’s not automatic; the authority decides how much credit to give towards the issue of a comparable JAA licence by that member state. Let’s look at 5.22, Privileges of a Licence. This is fundamental. A pilot licence issued by a State grants the holder the privilege to act as a pilot in aircraft registered in that State. So the licence ties you to the aircraft’s state of registration. And here’s the critical limitation: a licence or rating holder is not permitted to exercise privileges other than those granted by the licence or rating. You can only do what your licence explicitly allows — nothing more. Now 5.23, Medical Fitness. This is where the medical side comes in. The holder of a licence is to hold a medical assessment certificate issued in accordance with the requirements of Annex 1 Chapter 6 — that’s the Medical Provisions for Licensing — or, in the case of a JAA licence, JAR-FCL part 3. So there are two possible standards depending on the licence type. Then come the behavioural obligations. Holders of licences are not to exercise the privileges of their licences if they are aware of any decrease in medical fitness standard — and that includes both physical and mental fitness. So if you know your fitness has dropped, you must not fly. There’s also a strict rule about psychoactive substances: licence holders are not to act in any capacity under their licence whilst under the influence of any psychoactive substance. And beyond that, licence holders are not to engage in any problematic use, or abuse, of substances. So it’s not just about being impaired at the moment — it’s about not having a substance problem at all. Finally, there’s a practical advisory: licence holders should seek the advice of an approved aeromedical examiner, or AME, before taking any medication over a prolonged period. So if you’re on long-term medication, you need to check with an AME first. Now 5.24, Validity of Licences. This ties everything together. A licence or rating is only valid if the necessary ratings or certificates — including a medical certificate — are also valid. So the licence isn’t a standalone document; it depends on the whole package being current. And the licence or rating holder is to maintain competence and meet the requirements for recent experience required by the licence or rating, including the maintenance of a current medical assessment. Finally, 5.25, Recent Experience. This is the last paragraph in our excerpt, and it sets a hard rule: a pilot is not to operate an aircraft in commercial air transport or carry passengers — and the paragraph cuts off there, but the principle is clear: there are recent experience requirements you must meet before you can fly commercially or carry passengers. So the whole picture here is: a licence is a privilege tied to a state of registration, it must be validated properly if used elsewhere, it depends on medical fitness and currency, and you can only exercise the privileges it grants — nothing more.