--- title: "Editorial: Blair’s Got It Right—Pilot Quality Depends on Oversight" description: "Editorial: Blair’s Got It Right—Pilot Quality Depends on Oversight" image: https://nickthepilot.com/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/The%20image%20depicts%20a%20modern%20sleek%20cockpit%20of%20a%20small%20aircraft%20filled%20with%20an%20array%20of%20advanced%20digital%20instruments%20and%20flight%20displays%20In%20the%20foreground%20a%20focused%20pilot%20wearing%20a%20crisp%20white%20shirt%20and%20dark%20tie%20is%20intently%20scanning%20the%20instruments%20with-1.jpeg --- [Skip to content](https://nickthepilot.com/blog/editorial-blairs-got-it-right-pilot-quality-depends-on-oversight#main-content) ![](https://nickthepilot.com/hs-fs/hubfs/nick-logo.png?width=110&height=110&name=nick-logo.png) - [Home](https://nickthepilot.com/home) - [About Us](https://nickthepilot.com/about) - [Contact Us](https://nickthepilot.com/contact-us) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Home](https://nickthepilot.com/home) - [About Us](https://nickthepilot.com/about) - [Contact Us](https://nickthepilot.com/contact-us) ### Join The Flight Crew Newsletter Apr 22, 2025 1:01:04 AM # Editorial: Blair’s Got It Right—Pilot Quality Depends on Oversight [Nick The Pilot](https://nickthepilot.com/blog/author/nick-the-pilot) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://nickthepilot.com/blog/editorial-blairs-got-it-right-pilot-quality-depends-on-oversight) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://nickthepilot.com/blog/editorial-blairs-got-it-right-pilot-quality-depends-on-oversight) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://nickthepilot.com/blog/editorial-blairs-got-it-right-pilot-quality-depends-on-oversight) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://nickthepilot.com/blog/editorial-blairs-got-it-right-pilot-quality-depends-on-oversight) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://nickthepilot.com/blog/editorial-blairs-got-it-right-pilot-quality-depends-on-oversight) Editorial: Blair’s Got It Right—Pilot Quality Depends on Oversight Jason Blair’s recent white paper, “Safeguarding Pilot Quality Through Robust FAA Oversight and Testing Systems,” hits the mark. It’s an honest look at what many of us in aviation have been saying behind closed doors: the quality of pilot training is slipping, and the FAA isn’t doing enough to stop it. The pilot shortage has created a dangerous incentive structure. Flight schools are pushing people through the pipeline as fast as they can. Instructors are there just long enough to pad their logbooks before heading to the airlines. And worse, students are being trained to pass checkrides—not to become solid, capable aviators. Blair calls this “teaching to the test,” and he’s right. It’s a recipe for disaster. What makes Blair’s argument strong is that he doesn’t just whine—he offers real, practical fixes. Chief among them: keep checkrides in the hands of independent Designated Pilot Examiners (DPEs). When schools do their own testing or influence who conducts the exams, standards drop. Pilots get rubber-stamped instead of evaluated. That doesn’t help anyone—not the pilot, not the airline, and not the public. He also points to another hard truth: the FAA doesn’t have the resources to oversee the system the way it should. POIs are overworked, underpaid, and sometimes underqualified. If we’re serious about safety, we need to fund the agency properly. Oversight shouldn’t be optional, and it shouldn’t be delayed because the local FSDO is short-staffed. Blair’s also aligned with the Designated Pilot Examiner Reforms Working Group. Their proposals—to streamline and standardize the checkride process—make sense. It shouldn’t take a miracle to schedule a checkride, and the quality of that checkride shouldn’t depend on who you know or where you live. Bottom line: this isn’t about resisting change. It’s about refusing to accept the erosion of standards under the excuse of “meeting demand.” If the FAA wants to keep its credibility—and if we want to keep our skies safe—it’s time to get serious. Blair’s paper is a solid roadmap. Now it’s up to the FAA to follow it.   https://jasonblair.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Safeguarding-Pilot-Quality-Through-Robust-FAA-Oversight-and-Testing-Systems-Jason-Blair-2025-04-21.pdf   ## Related posts [![](https://nickthepilot.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/The%20image%20depicts%20a%20busy%20airport%20tarmac%20at%20dawn%2c%20with%20the%20first%20light%20of%20day%20casting%20a%20soft%20glow%20over%20the%20scene.jpeg?height=200&name=The%20image%20depicts%20a%20busy%20airport%20tarmac%20at%20dawn%2c%20with%20the%20first%20light%20of%20day%20casting%20a%20soft%20glow%20over%20the%20scene.jpeg)](https://nickthepilot.com/blog/the-impact-of-dei-on-aviation-safety-will-lives-be-lost-before-we-know-the-consequences) ## [The Impact of DEI on Aviation Safety: Will Lives Be Lost Before We Know the Consequences?](https://nickthepilot.com/blog/the-impact-of-dei-on-aviation-safety-will-lives-be-lost-before-we-know-the-consequences) [Nick The Pilot](https://nickthepilot.com/blog/author/nick-the-pilot) Feb 14, 2025 9:43:42 AM The Impact of DEI on Aviation Safety: Will Lives Be Lost Before We Know the Consequences? 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