Data Sources
AviationDepth uses official FAA Civil Aviation Registry bulk data, updated weekly. The data is publicly available and published by the FAA as part of its open government initiative.
The primary data source for all airmen records. Published by the FAA as four CSV files: PILOT_BASIC.csv and NONPILOT_BASIC.csv (one record per airman with name, address, and medical certificate information) and PILOT_CERT.csv and NONPILOT_CERT.csv (one record per certificate held, including ratings and aircraft type ratings).
Source: FAA Releasable Airmen Download
Certificate data for FAA-certificated air operators (Part 91, 121, 125, 129, 133, 135, and 137) including operator name, principal personnel, workforce counts, and certificate details.
Source: FAA Air Operator Data
Certificate records for FAA-approved aviation facilities: Part 141 pilot schools, Part 142 training centers, Part 145 repair stations, and Part 147 aviation maintenance technician schools.
Source: FAA Aviation Safety Information
Airmen records are loaded from the FAA bulk CSV files on a weekly basis. Each airman is uniquely identified by the FAA-assigned Unique ID (e.g., A0000014). Certificate records are associated with airmen by this ID. Ratings and type ratings are stored as structured arrays from the raw RATING1–RATING11 and TYPERATING1–TYPERATING99 CSV columns after stripping the level prefix (e.g., "A/ASEL" → "ASEL").
Medical dates (MMYYYY format in the source) are stored as the first day of the stated month. CFI expiration dates (MMDDYYYY) are stored as exact dates. BasicMed dates (YYYYMMDD) are stored as exact dates.
Airmen who have exercised their right to opt out of address disclosure under 49 U.S.C. § 44703 will appear with name and certificate data but with no city, state, or ZIP code. This is an FAA privacy policy, not an AviationDepth limitation.