Cessna C525 Citation safety pilot
Safety pilot is a fully type rated and skilled member of the flight crew. Safety pilot supports the actual type rated pilot in command in order to promote and assure safety of the private operated Cessna C525 Citation airplane.
According the EASA TCDA, the Cessna C525 Citation airplane may be operated within the single pilot environment. For such operations, the special EASA type rating training and EASA license skill test is required. Its purpose is to provide the type rating training and checking to the pilot which assure the necessary proficiency to act as a pilot in command of the Cessna C525 Citation airplane in the single pilot environment.
According to the certification standard CS25 and EASA TCDS, Cessna C525 Citation series with its certified Maximum take-off weight below 5700kg may be operated by one pilot with Cessna C525 Citation type rating.
The single pilot operation of the Cessna C525 Citation is possible only within the private environment, this it is not possible for commercial operations within the commercial air transport (CAT).
However, regardless of the regulation requirements, the airplane itself is classified as a high performance single-pilot complex airplane (HPCA). Its complexity may lead a pilots, especially pilots with fresh Cessna C525 Citation type rating to bring an other, skilled pilot on board during the flight.
This is particularly important during the operation of the airplane at the early stage of the flying after the EASA Cessna C525 Citation type rating course. The presence of the Cessna C525 Citation safety pilot may be required also during the operation of the Cessna C525 Citation airplane within the complex airspace or to the complex airports like Innsbruck (LOWI/INN), London-City (EGLC/LCY), Lugano, etc.
Cessna C525 Citation safety pilot may also be deemed necessary in case of the transition of an already type rated pilot to a more complex variant of the Cessna C525 Citation airplane. As an example, the safety pilot may be required in case of the transition from the "classic" cockpit layout of the former old Cessna C525 Citation Jet - CJ to the fully automated and glass cockpit equipped Cessna C525B Citation - CJ3, or vice versa.
Any transition may lead to the errors, which should be recognized and corrected by the Cessna C525 Citation safety pilot.