Story ID: 
U.S. and UK Reach Simulator Agreement
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: The British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the FAA signed a bilateral agreement under which they will evaluate simulators for each other.
Word Count: 129
The British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the FAA signed a bilateral agreement under which they will evaluate simulators for each other. In practice this means that it should be less expensive and troublesome for simulator manufacturers to get their equipment approved for use on either side of the Atlantic. For instance, the CAA will now accept training devices that are certified by the FAA and being used in the U.S. by a UK-approved type-rating training organization. According to David Gibbons of the CAA’s flight operations standards department, the agreement has the backing of the European Aviation Safety Agency, which eventually intends to make a broader arrangement with the FAA to cover its other member states. The FAA has already concluded a similar bilateral arrangement with Switzerland.