Crew training management that keeps every pilot trained before the grace month ends, even when a simulator goes down
Every pilot trained before their grace month ends, even when a simulator goes down.
See one case, screen by screen ↓Crew training management is planning and tracking every pilot’s recurrent, upgrade and transition training against simulators, instructors and due dates, so no pilot falls out of qualification. A crew training management system keeps crew qualification tracking, simulator scheduling and pilot training records in one place. Crew Training Management from Botminds gives that work to seven agents that forecast every base month and grace month, build the simulator plan, re-plan when a simulator or instructor drops out and check each other’s moves, while the training scheduler approves and signs.
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Crew training management starts with a fixed cycle: every airline pilot owes recurrent ground school, a simulator session, crew resource management, emergency drills and, for captains, a line check. Each event falls due in a base month, and under 14 CFR 121.401(b) training done in the month before or the month after still counts as on time. The month after is the grace month: miss it and the pilot comes off the line. Recurrent training scheduling means planning about 5,400 pilots against 20 simulators and about 200 instructors and check airmen, with due dates from the training records system, trips from crew scheduling, instructor availability from another list and simulator status by phone.
When a simulator faults, an instructor’s standardization lapses or a pilot is pulled onto a trip, the scheduler re-plans by hand: who was booked, who is already in the grace month, where an open period is, whether the pilot is rested, whether the pilot agreement needs consent at short notice. Book too early and the base month resets. Train a transition class before its aircraft arrive and the pilots are paid to wait while their landing recency runs out.
Estimated split for one simulator outage that hits 18 recurrent sessions, re-planned by hand and with the solution.
Seven agents forecast, plan and re-plan every pilot's training and check each other's moves; a training scheduler approves and signs.
Monday, October 19, at Corvane Airways’ Denver flight training center: 5,420 pilots on five fleets and 20 simulators and training devices in Denver and Miami. At 04:10 the 787-9 full-flight simulator in Bay 3 stopped mid-session. Here is how seven crew training management agents and one training scheduler handle it, screen by screen in the working solution.
Nadia’s Today screen says it in one paragraph: Bay 3 is down until Wednesday, the agents have re-planned the 18 sessions it hurts, and if she approves, no one lapses. Three numbers sit under it — 18 sessions at risk, 9 lapses forecast to January 31, 467 of 485 October pilots trained or booked — then five items that need her, earliest lapse first. Below, the rebalancer is waiting in the conversation: “Ask me anything about it, or about any pilot, simulator or class.”
“At 04:10, 787-9 simulator Bay 3 in Denver went down until Wednesday. The agents re-planned the 18 sessions it hurts: if you approve, no one lapses.”
Plan RB-1042 opens on what happened: Bay 3’s motion system failed during the 02:00 period, and Hector Ramos expects it back Wednesday at 06:00 — 9 periods, 18 recurrent sessions, 9 pilots in their grace month, 38 November trips at risk. Under it, every agent step is listed with its source: the rebalancer read the fault log and ranked the sessions, the training planner searched 787-9 capacity to November 30 and paired the crews, the instructor matcher replaced a check airman, the legality checker sent one move back, the planner fixed it and priced the travel, and the records agent held the interrupted session. The last line hands it to Nadia.
“Handed to Nadia Fairbanks — approve, edit or reject each move; sign the plan.”
Simulator scheduling at a glance: bays across, days down, every pilot pair with the last day each can train and a grace chip. DEN Bay 3 is greyed, “Down · back Wed 06:00”. Its struck bookings show where each pair goes — 11 to MIA Bay 2, 7 to Denver on November 3–4, still inside their grace month — and the proposed bookings wait on the receiving bay. Beside the board, the conversation with the agents says what broke, what they propose and where they disagreed.
Training planner: “Travel goes down by $2,350. I am holding the Miami periods until 12:00.”
The legality checker re-checks each move on its own against qualification, rest, roster, instructor, notice and consent, and base month. It disagreed twice. FO Daniel Kim lands from CV 908 NRT–JFK on Tuesday at 07:40, so a Tuesday 11:00 Miami period breaks his 10 hours of rest before training; FO Hannah Cole takes Tuesday 11:00 and Kim moves to Wednesday 11:00 with seat-support Capt. Martin Delgado. Check airman Capt. Lionel Grant’s standardization lapsed on September 30, so Capt. Teresa Moran, current to June 3, 2027, takes Wednesday 06:30.
The legality checker cannot change a move. It can only disagree, with the rule cited.
Beside the board is the conversation with the training agents about this plan. Nadia asks, “Why is FO Kim on Wednesday, not Tuesday?” The legality checker answers with the roster entry, the rest rule and his grace month, each a source she can open, and offers to open his move.
“His grace month ends Oct 31, so he still has 10 days to spare.”
Each of the 18 moves shows the pilot, the seat, the base month, the last day to train, from and to, and six checks with their sources. Kim’s row reads, for rest, “CV 908 lands Tue 07:40 · Wed 11:00 leaves 27 h rest (needs 10)”, and for base month, “Done in the grace month: base month stays September”. Consent is flagged: less than 7 days and a new location. She can approve, edit or reject any move, or ask why.
“What you sign” lists it plainly: 11 move to MIA Bay 2, 7 rebooked at DEN Bay 3 inside their grace month, 11 consent requests, the interrupted session still held for Capt. Ruth Adair, 0 base months changed and travel down $2,350. She picks reason code R2, Device outage, and ticks the line that makes it her electronic signature. Until this moment the agents had only held periods.
“I, Nadia Fairbanks, approve plan RB-1042 and confirm these bookings. This is my electronic signature.”
The 18 sessions are booked — 11 at MIA Bay 2 and 7 at DEN Bay 3 on November 3–4 — the holds are released, and the pilots see their new bookings in the crew app. The pilot agreement needs consent for a new training location at short notice, so 11 pilots get a request, due by 18:00. Ten accept within minutes; FO Ryan Mitchell’s is pending, and the planner keeps a fallback period for him. Lapses forecast to January 31 go from 9 to 0.
“Consent · pilot agreement §11.D — 10 of 11 in · by 18:00.”
Capt. Simone Archer and FO Kevin Walsh were in Bay 3 when the motion system failed during event 6, engine failure at V1. The records agent drafted the grade sheet from the device log and Ruth’s notes — events 1–5 graded, 6–9 not done — and held MIA Bay 2 for Wednesday at 15:30. Ruth decides: events 1–5 stand and 6–9 finish in a 2-hour period, or the session is repeated in full. Only her signature closes it, and only signed records go to the Pilot Records Database.
Records agent: “I never change a grade, and I never sign.”
On Saturday the delivery pacer read Friday’s manufacturer notice: A350 aircraft 1 and 2 now arrive April 26, 2027, not March 15. As planned, class A350-01 would finish February 26 and leave 24 pilots waiting 8 weeks for line training. It proposes starting February 22 instead, which avoids about $780,000 of idle pilot time and frees 480 hours on simulator Bay 7. Lauren decides on Monday.
Delivery pacer: “Nothing moves until Lauren approves.”
The same broken simulator day, seen by the four people who carry crew training — what it looked like, and what it looks like now.
Seven agents forecast, plan and re-plan every pilot's training and check each other's moves; a training scheduler approves and signs.
Does the crew qualification tracking: computes every pilot’s base month, grace window and last day to train for every event, six months out, under 14 CFR 121.401(b) and the AQP, and ranks pilots by last day to train.
Builds the monthly simulator plan and proposes moves: pairs crews, picks device, center and period, and keeps travel and changes low.
Starts when a simulator, an instructor or the roster breaks the plan, and re-plans only the sessions it hurts, ranked by last day to train.
Re-checks every proposed move on its own, independently of the planner: rest, trips, qualification, instructor currency, notice and consent, and the base month, each with its source.
Assigns instructors and check airmen by fleet, role, standardization currency, workload and contract limits, and flags any standardization due within 60 days.
Reads manufacturer delivery notices and the fleet plan, works back from each aircraft to line training (IOE), and flags a class that would finish more than 3 weeks early, with the idle cost and the simulator hours a move frees.
Drafts each session’s grade sheet from the device log and the evaluator’s notes, checks it is complete, holds interrupted sessions for the evaluator, and reports signed records to the Pilot Records Database.
Approves plans; the Director moves classes; check airmen sign records. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Ask about any pilot, simulator or class, or tell the agents what to do. Every answer cites the rule, the roster or the log it came from, and nothing changes until a person says so.
Why is FO Kim on Wednesday, not Tuesday?
FO Daniel Kim lands from CV 908 NRT–JFK on Tuesday at 07:40. A Tuesday 11:00 period in Miami would break the 10-hour rest he needs before training, so I sent that move back. The planner gave Tuesday 11:00 to FO Hannah Cole and moved Kim to Wednesday 11:00, with seat-support Capt. Martin Delgado. His grace month ends Oct 31, so he still has 10 days to spare.
Who lapses if Bay 3 stays down until Friday?
If Bay 3 is back Friday 06:00 and not Wednesday, 10 more periods are lost, which is 20 sessions. Miami has no open 787 periods left after this plan. Six of the 20 pilots are in their grace month. I would swap them into DEN Bay 4 with six pilots whose base month is November, who keep their base month by training in December. No one lapses, but it needs six more consents. Nothing changes until you ask me to.
What does the A350 delivery slip do to class A350-01?
The manufacturer moved aircraft 1 and 2 from Mar 15 to Apr 26, 2027. Class A350-01 finishes on Feb 26, which would leave 24 pilots trained 8 weeks before an aircraft is there for their line training. I propose starting on Feb 22 instead, so they finish on Apr 9. That avoids about $780,000 of idle pilot time and frees 480 simulator hours on Bay 7. Lauren Petrakis decides.
How many simulator hours can we offer to partners?
Up to 516 hours: 480 on DEN Bay 7 on February 1–19 if class A350-01 moves to Feb 22, worth up to $384,000 at $800 an hour (estimated), and 36 night hours on MIA Bay 6 in November, $25,200 at $700 an hour. Nothing is offered until Hector Ramos approves.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
The events, windows and limits the agents plan by are settings. Changes need a second approval and go on the audit trail.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Warn before a grace month ends | 30 and 10 days | 30 and 10 days · 21 and 7 days · 45, 30 and 10 days |
| How far the agents may move a session | Another training center | Another training center · Same training center only |
| Most travel per move | $900 | $900 · $600 · $1,200 |
| Holds expire after | 6 hours | 6 hours · 2 hours · 12 hours |
| Rest before training (pilot agreement §12.C) | 10 hours | 10 hours · 12 hours |
| Consent needed when the location changes with less than | 7 days’ notice | 7 days’ notice · 14 days’ notice |
| Flag a class that finishes before its aircraft by more than | 3 weeks | 3 weeks · 2 weeks · 4 weeks |
| Allow booking earlier than the month before the base month | Off | Off — the agents never propose it, a person can still choose it · On |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample airline data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate (the split of a scheduler’s hours; $780,000 = 24 pilots × 6 weeks × $282,000 a year in pilot pay and benefits ÷ 52; freed simulator hours at $800 an hour) · “typical” = published figures (a US leisure carrier’s 2024 annual report: labor cost up 14.6%, partly pilots trained for 737 MAX aircraft not yet delivered). 14 CFR 121.401(b) defines the month before, base month and grace month. Corvane Airways and the people named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
Crew training management is planning and tracking every pilot’s recurrent, upgrade and transition training against simulators, instructors and due dates, so no pilot falls out of qualification. A crew training management system keeps crew qualification tracking, simulator scheduling and pilot training records in one place. Crew Training Management from Botminds gives that work to seven agents that forecast every base month and grace month, build the simulator plan, re-plan when a simulator or instructor drops out and check each other’s moves, while the training scheduler approves and signs.
Each recurrent event falls due in a base month, and training completed in the month before or the month after counts as completed in the base month. FAA guidance calls the three months together the eligibility period; the month after is the grace month, the last chance before the pilot must requalify. The due-date forecaster computes these windows for every pilot and event, and every move states whether the base month is kept.
When an outage is reported, the rebalancer ranks the sessions it hurts by each pilot’s last day to train, the training planner finds periods on other simulators and centers, and the legality checker re-checks every move against rest, roster, qualification, instructor currency, consent and the base month. In the demo, 18 sessions were re-planned in 8 minutes and the scheduler signed the plan at 06:58.
Yes. The delivery pacer reads manufacturer delivery notices and the fleet plan, works back from each aircraft to line training (IOE), and flags any upgrade or transition class that would finish more than 3 weeks before its aircraft, with the idle cost and the simulator hours a move frees. The Director of Flight Training decides.
Yes. For check airman scheduling, the instructor matcher assigns instructors and check airmen by fleet, role, standardization currency, workload and contract limits. It never assigns one whose standardization is out of date, and it flags standardization due within 60 days.
Yes. The agents hold simulator periods and nothing is booked until a person approves; they never move a class or sign a record. The training scheduler approves, edits or rejects each move with a reason code and an electronic signature, the Director of Flight Training decides class moves, and only a check airman signs a training record — only signed records go to the Pilot Records Database.
Yes. AQP training management works the same way as a traditional program, because the events, intervals, windows and simulator requirements are settings. The sample airline runs an AQP for its 787-9 and 777-300ER fleets and a traditional Subpart N and O program for the others. Changes to the rules need a second approval and go on the audit trail.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your training program, pilot agreement and simulator schedule — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own training plan first.
Every broken pairing re-crewed legally before it costs a flight, crew told in 20 minutes.
1-min demoFlight and Duty Time ComplianceNot one illegal duty day published, and every limit shown with the rule that sets it.
1-min demoFatigue Risk Management SystemEvery fatigue report tied to its roster and the science the same day, fixed by the board.
1-min demoWe’ll run Crew Training Management on your own training program, simulator schedule and a past outage.