Afghan helicopter pilots seek FAA certification in North Texas after escaping Taliban rule
NORTH TEXAS — In August of 2021, the United States pulled military support out of Afghanistan. What followed was chaotic and deadly for many Afghans as the Taliban quickly retook control of the country.
Many, especially those who supported the U.S. during the war, feared for their lives and fled the country. That included a band of helicopter pilots trained by the U.S. to fight the Taliban. After a harrowing journey, that group landed in DFW.
It's a pretty standard day at the helicopter institute in Fort Worth: flight simulations, training flights, the basics.
But basic doesn't describe the group of students Randy Rowles needs to train.
"They were trained at the equivalency of a U.S. military aviator," said Rowles.
Getting experienced pilots certified should be pretty straightforward.
"We have a group of pilots that were brought in from Afghanistan. They served in the Afghanistan Air Force. They were trained under U.S. contracts," said Rowles.
Eighteen Afghan helicopter pilots were trained by U.S. military contractors and flew in combat against the Taliban.
"When we needed guys flown out if our aircraft weren't there, they were there. They did the job. If we had guys, you know troops in contact, they flew the gunships that were able to go out there and engage the guys," Rowles said.
"Unfortunately, August ... was the month that we lost everything and the U.S. forces pulled out of Afghanistan," said one of the pilots, whom we will call "Sayed."
"My brothers, my sister, and my mom. They're in Afghanistan," said Sayed.
We aren't going to show you his face or identify him because he's afraid the Taliban will find and kill his family.
Days before the U.S. left, Sayed says he was still flying missions. Then, with little warning, he immediately had to go into hiding.
"We got calls and texts from the U.S. advisors. They told us, 'You should stay safe and get to the base with your family,'" said Sayed.
Six months of hiding in Afghanistan and two years spent in safehouses in nearby countries before finally arriving in the U.S. in 2024.
"Our main goal is to become a commercial pilot in the United States here," said Sayed.
But there's a problem.
"When they left, their records, their pilot records, their log books. things that are critical to their career were literally burned in front of them at the airport so that their personal identities and experience would not be known," said Rowles.
So these fully trained helicopter pilots can't fly helicopters in the U.S.
"They have all the experience. they have the knowledge, the skills and the abilities, but they don't have the documentation to allow them to directly qualify as an FAA helicopter pilot," said Rowles.
Rowles and the Helicopter Institute want to help, but they can't shoulder the burden alone.
"At one point we were looking at an average of about $75,000 U.S. per pilot," said Rowles.
A bill of nearly $1.5 million to get fully trained helicopter pilots back in the air.
A group called the Afghan Refugee Resettlement Group has a GoFundMe page, which they will now use to try and help the group of 18 get FAA-certified to fly.
"We're working with 18 lucky ones. there were a lot of them, not only them and their family, that didn't get the luxury of being able to come over here and become U.S. citizens. They fought for everything they have. Are they heroes? Absolutely," said Rowles.
"After I get my certification, I'd really love to serve for search and rescue because all the time our main point is to save people, our main point is to help other people," said Sayed. "I am ready to fly my helicopter and do my job again."