FAA and Regs

Standards must be slipping at CNN. Early Saturday morning, they didnt have the United 777 diversion to Midway story. I expected the network to have summoned their stadium full of talking heads to connect that incident to–what else?–Malaysian 370. I figured they could spin a couple of days of 24/7 speculation out of the Midway […]

On July 9, 2014, Amazon Prime Air petitioned the FAA for an exemption to allow private research and development flight testing of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) outdoors on its private property near Seattle, Wash. In its petition, Amazon states that the operating rules it will follow will be no different than those followed by […]

The FAA is about to begin the next step in its search for an unleaded general aviation fuel through the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI). The FAA announced today it has received nine replacement fuel proposals from producers Afton Chemical Company, Avgas LLC, Shell, Swift Fuels and a consortium of BP, TOTAL and Hjelmco, for […]

Two brothers riding in a parasail at Myrtle Beach, S.C., got a different flight than they expected when the banner being towed by an airplane cut through their parachute last weekend. Despite damage, everyone involved landed safely. The older brother, Riley, said he knew something wasnt right when he noticed an airplane flying very close […]

We get e-mail from readers who have had what they often prefer to call prop incidents as to possibly avoid the term prop-strike, and its frequent need for a recommended or mandatory engine tear down. In our response to readers we quote the latest manufacturer directives and FAA guidance, and add our perspectives and experience […]

In testimony regarding the progress of NextGen before the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation, FAA Deputy Administrator Michael G. Whitaker said unequivocally that the 2020 deadline for installation of mandated ADS-B equipment in general aviation aircraft is hard and fast. There had been rumors within the industry that the FAA was going to let the deadline […]

Commercial drones expected to fly U.S. skies in coming years, delivering pizza or monitoring power lines, would be dangerously vulnerable to hackers without a variety of potentially costly countermeasures to their GPS navigation systems, results of a federal study indicate. According to an exclusive report in the Christian Science Monitor, a serious, but not well […]

This is the last month in which a pilot can take the ATP written (knowledge) examination before a new, onerous and expensive prerequisite requirement takes effect. As of Aug. 1 of this year, FAR 61.153(e) requires that anyone seeking to just take the written-not the checkride-must have completed an FAA-approved airline transport pilot certification training […]

Judgment is the cornerstone of the air traffic control profession. This basic trait, common among thousands of successful air traffic controllers worldwide, allows controllers to face a variety of situations-including unusual pilot requests-and act appropriately. As with the folks in the cockpits, a controller relies on situational awareness. She takes a multitude of things into […]

The FAA wants to reduce the allowable height of buildings near hundreds of airports – a proposal that is drawing fire from real estate developers and members of Congress who say it will reduce property values. The proposal, supported by airports and airlines, is driven by encroaching development that limits safe flight paths for planes […]