Boolean search strings for pilots: ATP and type ratings, Part 121, 135 and 91 flying, and the FAA Airmen Inquiry

A pilot search works when the string carries the FAA certificate level (airline transport pilot, commercial, flight instructor), the aircraft or type rating the client flies, and the kind of operation: a Part 121 airline, a Part 135 charter or air ambulance operator, a Part 91 corporate flight department, a fractional program, helicopter EMS or flight training. "Pilot" on its own also matches pilot programs, drone pilots, pilot car drivers and harbor pilots, and says nothing about what the person is rated to fly.

Below are ten strings by kind of operation, the certificate terms behind them, and what LinkedIn, Indeed and Google support as of November 2026. For the operators themselves, see Boolean search strings for recruiters.

Certificates, ratings and records that change what a pilot search finds

• Certificate level. Under 14 CFR 61.5, the FAA issues student, sport, recreational, private, commercial and airline transport pilot certificates, plus flight instructor and ground instructor certificates. Pilots write "ATP", "airline transport pilot", "commercial pilot" and "CFI"; put each certificate the client accepts in one OR block.
• Ratings. The same section lists category and class ratings (for example airplane multiengine land), type ratings for large aircraft and turbojet-powered airplanes, instrument ratings, and a second-in-command type rating for aircraft that require two pilots. Pilots write type ratings many ways ("737 type", "B737", "Boeing 737"), so write the variants out.
• ATP and restricted ATP. Section 61.159 requires at least 1,500 hours of total time for an ATP with an airplane rating; section 61.160 allows lower totals for some applicants, with restricted privileges. Profiles say "R-ATP" or "restricted ATP". Before the ATP multiengine knowledge test, section 61.156 requires a training course with classroom and simulator hours, which profiles often list as "ATP CTP".
• Remote pilots are a different certificate. 14 CFR 107.12 requires a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating to fly a drone. Those profiles say "pilot" too.
• Records before the first flight. The FAA's Pilot Records Database rules apply to Part 119 certificate holders conducting Part 121, 125 or 135 operations, fractional programs under Part 91 subpart K and air tour operators, among others (14 CFR 111.100). Under 111.105, those operators may not let an individual begin service as a pilot until they have evaluated the relevant records in the database. That step belongs to the hiring operator, not the search.

Ten Boolean strings by kind of operation

Swap in the aircraft, base and operation from your own intake; these are examples. None of them uses age, military service or any other protected characteristic, and yours should not either: pilots trained anywhere hold the same FAA certificates and ratings, so search on those.

Airline flying

1. Part 121 first officer or captain — LinkedIn general search
("first officer" OR captain OR "airline pilot") AND ("airline transport pilot" OR atp) AND ("part 121" OR airline OR regional) NOT ("flight attendant" OR dispatcher OR recruiter)

2. Type-rated captain — LinkedIn Recruiter, Job titles + Keywords filters
(captain OR "pilot in command") AND ("737 type" OR b737 OR "boeing 737" OR "a320 type" OR "airbus a320") NOT ("flight attendant" OR "aircraft mechanic" OR "simulator instructor")

3. New ATP or R-ATP for a regional — Indeed Smart Sourcing
title: (pilot OR "first officer" OR "flight instructor") AND ("r-atp" OR "restricted atp" OR "atp ctp" OR "airline transport pilot") AND skill: ("multi-engine" OR "crew resource management") NOT ("drone pilot" OR "remote pilot")

Corporate, charter and fractional

4. Corporate flight department pilot — LinkedIn general search
("corporate pilot" OR "flight department" OR "business aviation") AND (gulfstream OR challenger OR citation OR falcon OR "king air") NOT ("flight attendant" OR "aircraft sales" OR scheduler)

5. Part 135 charter or air ambulance pilot — LinkedIn general search
("charter pilot" OR "part 135" OR "air ambulance pilot" OR "medevac pilot") AND ("king air" OR "pc-12" OR learjet OR citation) NOT ("flight nurse" OR "flight paramedic" OR dispatcher)

6. Fractional program pilot — Indeed Smart Sourcing
title: ("first officer" OR captain OR pilot) AND (fractional OR "part 91k" OR "subpart k") AND skill: ("type rating" OR "international operations") NOT (sales OR "flight attendant")

Helicopter, instruction and management

7. Helicopter EMS pilot — LinkedIn general search
("helicopter pilot" OR "hems pilot" OR "ems pilot" OR "rotorcraft pilot") AND (nvg OR "night vision goggles" OR "instrument rating") NOT ("flight paramedic" OR "flight nurse" OR drone)

8. Flight instructor — Indeed Smart Sourcing
title: ("flight instructor" OR cfi OR cfii OR mei) AND skill: ("part 141" OR "part 61" OR "instrument instruction") NOT (drone OR "ground school sales")

9. Chief pilot or director of operations — LinkedIn Recruiter, Job titles filter
("chief pilot" OR "assistant chief pilot" OR "director of operations") AND ("part 135" OR "part 121" OR "part 91" OR "flight department") NOT (restaurant OR hotel OR warehouse)

Search-engine X-ray

10. Public profiles by aircraft and base — Google X-ray
site:linkedin.com/in "first officer" "a320" "airline transport pilot" "denver" -jobs -recruiter -attendant

What LinkedIn, Indeed and Google actually support

As of November 2026, LinkedIn's Boolean help page requires AND, OR and NOT in capitals, supports quotes and parentheses, and does not support wildcards, so "pilot", "pilots" and "piloted" are separate words and every type rating spelling has to be written out. LinkedIn Recruiter's Boolean page lists Job titles, Companies and Skills and Assessments among its Boolean filters, says the + and - operators are not officially supported, and warns that too many facets in one query can cause a search result issue. Keep captain and first officer in Job titles and the aircraft in Keywords.

Indeed's advanced search post documents title: for a candidate's most recent title and anytitle: for any title held, and its industry guides document skill:. Use anytitle: instead of title: when a pilot's latest job was outside aviation but the client still wants the experience.

Google's search operators page documents quotes, site:, the minus sign, filetype:, before: and after:, but not OR, so string 10 uses one variant of each term. Run it again with "captain" or another aircraft.

The official source for checking a certificate is the FAA's Airmen Inquiry. It searches by last name, optionally with first name, city or state; it does not display the certificate number, Social Security number or date of birth; and airmen who opted out of releasing their address are not displayed when a location is entered. Because it needs a name, it verifies a candidate you found; it is not a way to find one.

Narrowing by operation, aircraft and base

The operation decides the vocabulary. Airline pilots write about domiciles, seniority and line flying; Part 135 pilots write about duty days, on-demand trips and the aircraft they cover; corporate pilots write about a flight department, international trips and owners; helicopter EMS pilots write about bases, night vision goggles and weather minimums. One operation block usually narrows a list more than any certificate term.

The aircraft comes next. A type rating is often what the client is paying for, because training a new pilot on the type costs time and money. Put the client's type, and the variants pilots write, in a required block; add similar types as OR terms only if the client will train.

Base comes last. Many airline pilots live far from their domicile and commute, while EMS and corporate roles usually need someone near the base. Ask which applies before setting a location radius.

False positives worth excluding with NOT

• Drone and remote pilots. Part 107 remote pilots call themselves pilots. Exclude drone, UAS and "remote pilot" for manned roles.
• Pilot programs and pilot projects. Managers who ran a "pilot program" match every search. Requiring an aviation term (ATP, a type, an operation) removes them.
• Pilot car drivers and harbor pilots. Escort drivers for oversize loads and maritime pilots both hold "pilot" titles. Exclude "pilot car", "escort vehicle", "harbor pilot" and "marine pilot".
• Crew and support roles. Flight attendants, flight nurses and paramedics, dispatchers, schedulers and simulator instructors share the vocabulary. Exclude them by title.
• Students and aviation recruiters. Student pilots and flight school sales staff list certificates they are working toward; aviation recruiters list every type. Exclude "student pilot" for experienced roles, and "recruiter" always.

A worked example: three passes on a charter captain search

An invented search, shown as it actually gets narrowed.

The operation words did the first cut; the type rating did the second. For charter work, the base usually decides the rest.

What a search cannot verify

A string can find someone whose profile shows the right certificate, type and operation. It cannot confirm flight hours, show how the pilot performs in a checkride, or tell you what the records database holds. Confirm certificates on the Airmen Inquiry and hours against logbooks, and record each check as the license verification guide describes. Flight crewmember duties are on the FAA's list of safety-sensitive functions for drug testing (14 CFR 120.105), so covered employers test before a pilot starts; the drug testing guide covers how DOT-regulated roles sit outside most state testing limits. For the outreach that follows a search, how to source candidates on LinkedIn covers the first message.