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The FAA deliberately uses "certificated" as opposed to "certified" when referring to pilots and flight instructors.

It insists that conveys a distinct and useful meaning because they don't certify pilot quality. Instead, the pilot has been issued a certificate confirming that they passed a test to a particular minimum standard. The reason for the difference is to convey that there is no assurance or guarantee that the pilot consistently and continuously meets this standard. Unlike with a "certified used car", the FAA is not going to be held responsible if your pilot crashes your plane.

Reference: I am an FAA-certificated Flight Instructor and Commercial Pilot.

[Edit: typo, thank you lkschubert8]



I prefer this particular word sense.

Personally, it would inspire more humility about what a certificate means and my ability to consistently apply the knowledge behind it. It gives pause immediately as I consider things I could apply it to.


The two quoted words "x as opposed to y" are the same word. I assume that the latter should be "certified".




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