A statutory assessment did not happen
The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 required the agency to create an aviation knowledge-testing working group by May 2025. The group was supposed to assess whether students completing maintenance curricula at uncertified schools should be allowed to take the general written mechanic knowledge test.
FAA did not establish the group or obtain the assessment, GAO found. Officials said the Transportation Department terminated all members of the parent advisory committee under an executive order addressing advisory bodies.
The missed process matters because at least 43 high schools offer aviation-maintenance programs without FAA school certification. Their graduates generally cannot take the first knowledge test without qualifying work experience or additional education.
| Program type | Count |
|---|---|
| FAA-certificated high schools | 11 |
| FAA-certificated colleges, universities or career centers serving high-school students | 43 |
| Uncertificated high-school programs | At least 43 |
| FAA-certificated maintenance schools overall | More than 200 |
The record does not establish that eligibility should automatically expand
Stakeholders told GAO that repeating coursework at a certificated school can be costly, and that limited awareness also constrains the mechanic pipeline. School representatives had little data on graduates’ career outcomes.
GAO recommended convening industry and aviation experts through the advisory committee or another mechanism. FAA neither agreed nor disagreed, citing continuing legal review of the statutory provision.
This report’s original finding is the accountability gap between the number of known uncertified programs and the uncompleted federal assessment. It does not conclude that every curriculum is equivalent or that test access should expand without safety standards.
Sources and further reading
GAO-26-108303: High School Aviation Maintenance Programs, September 1, 2026 ↗