In the wake of the Sept. 11th attacks, about 500 flight schools nationwide, including about 50 in Florida, closed down, done in by a soft economy and tight federal scrutiny on foreign students. Many of the 9-11 hijackers received basic training in South Florida and on the state’s west coast.
“9-11 killed general aviation, so we really had to start thinking outside the box in terms of how we would attract students,” said Andrew Henley, director of American Flyers, a flight school at Pompano Beach Air Park. The result: Schools are now advertising in Europe, Asia and Latin America, where the need for pilots is most immediate.
According to a study by Boeing, the Chicago-based manufacturer of commercial jetliners, the world’s airlines are projected to add more than 39,500 planes over the next two decades. Carriers based in the United States, Canada and Mexico will need almost 83,000 pilots. China alone is expected to need almost 73,000 pilots, European airlines 92,500 pilots, Latin America 41,200 pilots and the Middle East 36,600 pilots.
Foreign carriers already are hiring flight crews in large numbers, and 55,000 foreign nationals are receiving training at U.S. flight schools this year, according to the TSA.
“We perform a thorough background check to include terrorism watch list matching, a criminal history check and an immigration status check,” said agency spokeswoman Sari Koshetz.
Pelican Flight Training, a school at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, has received government authorization to train students from Russia and Latvia. The students learn to work as airline crew in a $500,000 flight simulator and get the basics of flying in a small Cessna 152.
Matiss Veiss, 20, of Latvia, plans to fly a commuter airliner for airBalticcq. After arriving in South
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