Michael Benson Russell - Airline Transport Pilot, Flight Instructor, Flight Engineer

Michael Russell is an FAA-certified pilot, flight instructor, and flight engineer based in San Diego, CA. Michael Benson Russell holds a Airline Transport Pilot certificate with Airplane Multi-Engine Land (AMEL), Airplane Single-Engine Land (ASEL), Rotorcraft Helicopter, and Instrument Helicopter ratings. The Airline Transport Pilot certificate is the highest level of pilot certification issued by the FAA, authorizing the holder to act as pilot in command of scheduled airline operations and any aircraft for which they hold a type rating. ATP certification requires a minimum of 1,500 hours of total flight time and passing rigorous written and practical examinations. Michael holds a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) certificate with Airplane Single-Engine and Instrument Airplane ratings. A Certified Flight Instructor certificate authorizes the holder to provide flight training to student and certificated pilots, including ground and flight instruction, solo endorsements, practical test endorsements, and biennial flight reviews. Michael holds a Flight Engineer certificate with Turbojet rating. This certificate authorizes the holder to serve as a flight engineer on aircraft that require a flight engineer as part of the flight crew. Their most recent FAA medical certificate is a Third Class medical, valid through June 2026. The FAA airman records for Michael Russell are tracked and verified by AviatorDB.