FAA and Regs

The FAA has implemented the first phase of online aircraft registration and it will apply to the most common transactions for most GA owners and operators. “Individual aircraft owners can complete self-guided aircraft registration applications, upload legal and supplemental documents, receive auto-generated notifications, request aircraft registration N-numbers, use modernized online payment options, receive instant notification of […]

As expected, the FAA has issued an AD that likely requires a complex inspection of the wing attachment assemblies on all the airworthy aircraft. The FAA says an eddy current inspection of bolt holes in the wing structure is likely the most efficient method and will take about 25 hours. If issues are found repairs […]

Fifty-eight aviation stakeholders have been named members of the FAA’s unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) Detection and Mitigation Systems Aviation Rulemaking Committee. Established last March, the committee is tasked with ensuring that “new technologies designed to detect and mitigate risks from errant or hostile UAS do not adversely impact the safe and efficient operation of the […]

The first places most people are likely to encounter an eVTOL or urban air mobility (UAM) aircraft will be at the familiar places they now deal with conventional helicopters and aircraft, according to an updated airspace integration concept released by the FAA last week. The “Concept of Operations V.2 (ConOps V.2)” says that for the […]

The FAA is asking the public for comments as it launches a review of its civil aviation noise policy, which “sets forth how the FAA analyzes, explains, and publicly presents changes in noise exposure from aviation activity.” According to the agency, key items covered will include reviewing research on the effects of exposure to aviation […]

So-far-unnamed senior FAA officials overruled their own engineers who called for the immediate grounding of Boeing 737 MAX after the second fatal crash in five months in Ethiopia in March of 2019. The Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General issued its report on the decision chain within the agency on Friday. It said the engineers […]

The FAA has formed a blue chip panel of aviation industry experts to recommend safety enhancements industry-wide. The members of the new FAA National Airspace System Safety Review Team include: former NASA Administrator and astronaut Charles Bolden Jr.; former Air Line Pilots Association, International President Captain Tim Canoll; former National Air Traffic Controllers Association Executive […]

Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen has announced he’s leaving the agency this summer, leaving an even bigger leadership void in an organization that hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed leader for more than a year. Nolen announced his departure in a letter to FAA staff first reported by the Wall Street Journal. He told staff he wants […]

The NTSB has denied an appeal filed by pilot and YouTuber Trent Palmer related to a suspension of his private pilot certificate. As previously reported by AVweb, the suspension arose from a flight on Nov. 24, 2019, when Palmer conducted a low inspection pass in preparation for a possible landing at a private airstrip used […]

Boeing has stopped deliveries of some 737 MAX airliners after the discovery of noncompliant parts in structures supplied by contractor Spirit Aerosystems. Reuters is reporting that the issue is with fittings that attach the tail to the fuselage being installed incorrectly. “We have notified the FAA of the issue and are working to conduct inspections […]