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NOTE: Embry-Riddle no longer administers this program.
Contact www.captprogram.com

Three Piedmont First Officers are a First for Embry-Riddle’s CAPT Program

Daytona Beach, Fla., June 23, 2005 -- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has placed three graduates of its Commercial Airline Pilot Training (CAPT) program as first officers at Salisbury, Md.-based Piedmont Airlines -- another milestone for the program.

Hillary Breen, Marcus Iammatteo, and Britton Tabor were signed on as first officers by Piedmont shortly after they graduated from the full-immersion program, which trains individuals with no flight experience to the highest standards of the commercial airline industry. Piedmont carries more than three million passengers a year to 49 destinations in the eastern United States, Canada, and the Bahamas with a fleet of 55 deHavilland DHC-8 aircraft.

The three graduates are completing their initial line operating experience with Piedmont and will soon finish qualifying for line flying out of the airline’s New York LaGuardia pilot base.

“We are extremely pleased with the addition of Piedmont Airlines to the list of employers hiring CAPT graduates,” said Gary Morrison, CAPT’s program manager. “We are confident that these three pilots will be successful in their new careers and will make excellent employees for Piedmont.”

Piedmont hired Breen, Iammatteo, and Tabor just after they completed the CAPT Program’s demanding jet airliner DC-9 series type-rating course. The course teaches airline operations skills and expert knowledge about complex jet transport category operations in an airline environment. Training in the Boeing MD-90, a Level-D simulator with modern “glass-cockpit” displays, full-fidelity visual systems, and six-axis motion capabilities, is recognized by the FAA as jet aircraft time. CAPT cadets log at least 100 hours of flight time and gain experience in pilot-in-command and second-in-command positions while earning their DC-9 series FAR Part 61 type rating.

Hillary Breen, from northern Virginia, graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. The daughter of a Navy pilot, she worked as a reservations and gate agent for United Airlines and a flight attendant for American Airlines before achieving her dream job: professional pilot.

Marcus Iammatteo, originally from Holmdel, N.J., was stationed at Kaneohe Marine Corps Base in Hawaii, where he was a helicopter mechanic. After his discharge, he earned a bachelor degree in professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle and was completing a graduate degree in aeronautical science when he discovered the CAPT Program.

Britton Tabor, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, was completing a master’s in theater at the University of North Carolina when the flying bug bit him. After completing the CAPT Program, he worked briefly as a flight instructor at Wilgrove Aviation in Charlotte, N.C., before being hired by Piedmont Airlines.

The CAPT Program employs the latest technologies to deliver airline-specific training. These include flight video cameras, self-reflecting journaling, line operations safety audits, and a comprehensive academic curriculum built on crew concepts and crew resource management. More information about the CAPT Program is available at www.captprogram.org, (877) 577-CAPT (2278), or CaptInfo@erau.edu.

Embry-Riddle, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering and meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates more than 30,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Extended Campus at more than 130 teaching centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, and worldwide through distance learning.