SAN ANTONIO — The aviation industry needs thousands of pilots to keep up with growing demand. The process of becoming a commercial pilot could take someone years to complete. 

What You Need To Know

  • With the demand for flights increasing and mandatory retirements, there’s a pilot shortage in America

  • The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be more than 18,000 pilot openings over the next decade

  • The need for more pilots comes as safety is top of mind for passengers.Less than two months into 2025, four deadly plane crashes across the country made headlines, including the first deadly commercial plane crash since 2009

  • Every pilot earns a minimum of 1,500 flying hours, learning how to navigate danger while airborne and has to pass Federal Aviation Administration evaluations before they’re certified to fly

“We put a lot of emphasis on teaching people to make proper aviation decisions,” said flight instructor Mike Maffei. 

Maffei has been a pilot for nearly 50 years, spending time in the U.S. Air Force as an accident investigator and pilot trainer.

“Safety really begins in a place like this,” Maffei said. “Professional instructors teaching our students how to approach aviation smartly as well as properly.”

Now, he’s a flight instructor at Black Hound Aviation in San Marcos, using flight simulators to train aspiring pilots before getting inside the cockpit.

“We can do some things that are in the real airplane quite dangerous to do, and things that we would like you to have experience doing. But we can do it in a very controlled safe environment,” Maffei said. 

With the demand for flights increasing and mandatory retirements, there’s a pilot shortage in America. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be more than 18,000 pilot openings over the next decade.

“There’s been a pretty heavy demand for pilots,” Maffei said. “And the pipeline to produce a pilot for the airlines is about 10 years.”

The need for more pilots comes as safety is top of mind for passengers. Less than two months into 2025, four deadly plane crashes across the country made headlines, including the first deadly commercial plane crash since 2009.

Despite these tragedies, Maffei says the training is effective. 

“The accident in Washington I think that’s going to turn out to be a series of minor mistakes that came together to be a catastrophe,” Maffei said.

Maffei says improved training and technology over the past few decades has reduced the number of plane crashes, making flying safer for both pilots and passengers. Compared to driving a car, he says the accident rate for planes is extremely low. 

“10,000 flights a day, literally around the globe,” Maffei said. “Every now and then, we do have a disaster. And unfortunately, it takes a number of lives when it happens. But it is exceedingly rare given the number of flights we do every day.”

Every pilot earns a minimum of 1,500 flying hours, learning how to navigate danger while airborne and has to pass Federal Aviation Administration evaluations before they’re certified to fly.

Maffei says passengers should feel assured that airline pilots are prepared.

“If you’re lucky, you’ll never have an emergency in the airplane,” Maffei said. “But if it happens, we’ve taught you how to handle it here.”