FAA and Regs

The FAA is threatening more 5G-related flight disruptions if federal communications officials don’t throttle the signals of smaller cellphone carriers around airports. In a letter obtained by Reuters sent last Friday, FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen told the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that 5G remains an interference threat for some radar altimeters and unless […]

The FAA is implementing a key component of its Alaska Aviation Safety Initiative with the addition of 54 GPS-guided Terminal Transition Routes (T-Routes), more than half of which will be available this winter. The routes allow direct routing at lower altitudes to allow aircraft to duck icing conditions. A total of 33 will be active […]

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association is supporting Boeing’s bid to extend an exemption on equipping two models of the 737 MAX with up-to-date pilot alerting technology. Boeing has until the end of the year to certify the MAX 10 and MAX 7 with the existing alerting system that doesn’t meet current FAA standards. Union President […]

The FAA has issued an emergency AD mandating the immediate inspection of the left-hand elevator auxiliary spar on De Havilland DHC-3 Otters a month after an Otter floatplane crashed in Washington State, killing all 10 people onboard. The AD was issued Oct. 4 after “multiple recent reports of cracks” in the spar, the FAA said. “The […]

The Allied Pilots Association is opposing Congressional moves to allow Boeing to duck an upgrade to the crew alerting system in two models of the 737 MAX that have yet to be certified. According to Reuters, the union, which represents 15,000 American Airlines pilots, says Boeing needs to bring a legacy system from its oldest […]

The FAA has released its initial design guidelines for vertiports aimed at supporting advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities. The design standards are intended to “serve as the initial step to provide key information for airport owners, operators and infrastructure developers to begin development of facilities that will support […]

A Senate subcommittee hearing scheduled for Sept. 28 will help to lay the groundwork for integration of advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft, drones and other new technology into the National Airspace System. The Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation will hear from five aviation industry witnesses, four from drone and AAM organizations and Ed […]

The FAA has denied a Republic Airways petition for an exemption from regulations requiring pilots applying for an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate to have logged 1,500 flight hours. In the petition, the airline asked that graduates from its Leadership in Flight Training Academy (LIFT) be allowed to apply for a restricted airline transport pilot […]

The General Accountability Office says the FAA, FBI and FDA need to get together to revive cooperation to stem the increasing scourge of laser attacks on aircraft. The three agencies disbanded their interagency working group five years ago and laser attacks have since spiked dramatically. The FDA is in there because for some reason it […]

Just as with any other complex endeavor that’s developed over time, aviation has many myths. That’s especially true when it comes to FAA regulations—the FARs. To be fair, there are a lot of regulations, and many of them are written for attorneys, not pilots. Especially for newer pilots or those who fly different aircraft in […]