10/14/13 FAA AIRMEN Directory README Record Count (airmen table): 1,019,743 The FAA Airmen Directory is a listing of pilots and other airmen and their certified ratings. Non-pilot airmen include mechanics, repairmen, parachute riggers, ground instructors, dispatchers, flight navigators and flight engineers. Starting in 2000, the data only lists those airmen who did not opt to have their information withheld under a new law. (more information about that below). As a result, this database is an incomplete listing of the pilots certified to fly in the United States, but there is no more than 10 percent of the total pilots withholding their information from the database, according to Barry Farnsworth, the FAA airmen data contact person. The data show there are over 500,000 certified pilots from the U.S., and U.K., Germany and Canada are the top three foreign countries of certified pilots. This data includes about 90 percent of the total. The FAA changed the structure of its file formats during 2001 to include the designation of the country of non-U.S. residents. The data is useful when looking for information about a particular pilot - perhaps to check the ratings for a pilot involved in a crash. Here are some other suggestions from Elizabeth Marchak, of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: 1) Use the ZIP code field to look for pilots who have flown in/out of a particular airport, especially if there has been a crash there. 2) The more types of planes a pilot is certificated for, theoretically, the more experience the pilot should have. 3) Check to see if a pilot's certification has expired. In this download: airmen.csv: This is the main table that lists all the airmen (pilots and nonpilots), including names and addresses, whose information is available to the public. There is one record for each person, and the "uniqueid" field is used to join to the other table. The table has over 1 million records and cannot be opened in Excel. airmen__1, airmen__2.csv: these files contain the same data as airmen.csv, split so that you can them in Excel. air_cert.csv: This may include multiple records for any individual - if they hold more than one certification. Some people may have both pilot and nonpilot certifications. This table can be joined to the airmen table using the "uniqueid" field. This file has over 1.2 million records and cannot be opened in Excel. air_cert__1.csv, air_cert__2.csv: these files contain the same data as air_cert.csv, split so that you can them in Excel. LAYOUT.txt: Record layout for both files. HELP.pdf: This is the codesheet REGIONS.txt: This is a listing of Flight Standards District Offices, including some International ones. If you have any questions about this CD, contact NICAR at (573) 884-7711. INFORMATION FROM FAA ABOUT PRIVACY: On April 5, 2000, the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century became public law 106-181. Section 715 of that law requires the Federal Aviation Administration to release names, addresses, and ratings information for all airmen after the 120th day following the date of enactment. The law also requires that the airmen be given an opportunity to elect that such information be withheld from release under this law. Accordingly, the FAA sent letters to all active airmen informing them of the provisions of the law, and giving them the option to withhold the information. The FAA will be doing this on an on-going basis for airmen who become active after the first letters were sent. Responses from the letters that were received in the appropriate time frame have been processed. This file contains the names, addresses, and certificate information of those airmen who did not respond within the Congressionally-mandated time limits to indicate that they wished to withhold their certificate information. It is the intent of the Airmen Certification Branch to produce this file, in its entirety, on a monthly basis. More information is available on the Web: http://registry.faa.gov/airmen.asp Questions about the content of the data should be directed to: Information Systems Manager, Airmen Certification Branch, AFS-760 405-954-7059. You may also want to check out the following FAA publication: U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics, http://www.api.faa.gov/airmen/toc.htm This document is an annual study of detailed airmen statistics. It contains statistics on pilot and nonpilots and the number of certificates issued. APO Contact: Arthur Salomon, Arthur.Salomon@faa.gov (fax):202-267-5370 AVIATION STORIES/TIPSHEETS FROM THE IRE RESOURCE CENTER: There are dozens of stories and tipsheets about covering aviation available in the IRE Resource Center. Search the databases at www.ire.org/resourcecenter for more, and call (573) 882-3364 to order copies. Tipsheets can be downloaded directly from the site. Here are a few of the things available: TIPSHEET #1211: This tipsheet, from the IRE National Conference 2000, gives a list of data useful for covering aviation safety and explains how each can be helpful for journalists. The tipsheet also includes a check-list of what to do when a plane crashes to help the reporter find the information he or she is looking for more easily. TIPSHEET #1210: This tipsheet, from the IRE National Conference 2000, includes a list of agency Web sites such as the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. It also explains what each site can offer reporters investigating aviation safety. TIPSHEET #1142: Cleveland Plain Dealer's Elizabeth Marchak created this handout for the IRE Regional Conference in January 2000. It gives a list of who to contact and what to do in the event of an aviation disaster. STORY #10624: Dateline NBC conducted a computer analysis of commuter airline safety and found widespread problems, including pilots falling asleep at the controls, and the FAA reduced the fines it imposed against commuter airlines. The series also investigated the differences in safety regulation between commuter planes and major airlines, showing how these can have an impact on safety.(ON TAPE) STORY #9023: Plain Dealer (Cleveland) reveals how the Federal Aviation Administration fails to enforce licensing regulations on the crews that work on and pilot for the nation's airlines; when people are caught lying on their licensing applications by the FAA, they are given little more than a slap on the wrist, Feb. 16 - 17, 1992.