FAA and Regs

The FAA announced on Thursday that it has downgraded the air safety rating for Russia from a Category 1 to a Category 2 rating. The change restricts Russian air carriers to current levels of existing service to the U.S. and bans them from carrying the code of U.S. carriers on any flights. The FAA noted […]

The FAA has pulled the certificate of a California pilot and ex-Olympian who it says intentionally abandoned a vintage Taylorcraft and shot video of it crashing as he parachuted to the ground. Trevor Jacob has been told to surrender his ticket immediately and that he can’t apply for another one for a year for the […]

In a recently published advisory circular (AC) updating its airport design guidance, the FAA officially acknowledged turf operations on unpaved runway safety areas (RSAs). According to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), it first suggested the policy change a few years ago during the annual EAA/FAA Winter Recreational Summit. The update covers key risk factors to […]

Two particularly nasty passengers have prompted the FAA’s recommendation of the biggest fines ever levied against individuals for acting out on an airplane. Both of the record-setters are women. The agency has recommended a fine of $81,950 for a female American Airlines passenger for a truly remarkable fracas last July and the other woman is […]

The FAA has replaced Earl Lawrence as the head of aircraft certification with Lirio Liu, who now runs the agency’s international affairs office. Lawrence has run aircraft certification for three years. Liu is an aerospace engineer and has been with the FAA since 1991. Much of that experience has been in aircraft certification and safety […]

The FAA’s top safety official will become the interim administrator when current boss Steve Dickson officially steps down on Thursday. Billy Nolen is the associate administrator for aviation safety and has only been on the job for three months. He took the job in January after serving as the vice president for safety, security and […]

Should it become necessary, you really need to know and understand ways to deal with the FAA. These days, it’s more likely you will first deal with the gentle Dr. Jekyll, but it can escalate quickly to the enforcer, Mr. Hyde, if the soft approach fails. Your interaction with the Feds will play a prominent […]

The FAA is drawing up a set of airport flash cards aimed at preventing pilots from landing on the taxiways or the wrong runway. The Arrival Alert Notices will be published in the May 19 charting cycle and will be included along with the regular information for 11 busy small- to medium-sized facilities across the […]

The FAA has offered balloonists operating in and around Albuquerque a temporary exemption from current ADS-B equipage requirements while a longer-term arrangement is being devised. As we reported earlier, operators in the unofficial “balloon capital of the world” complained that the ADS-B rules were keeping them out of airspace they’d been using for passenger flights […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA have issued orders blocking Russian aircraft and airlines from entering and using U.S. domestic airspace. The ban has been issued via a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) (PDF) and regulatory orders (PDF) which will suspend operations of “all aircraft owned, certified, operated, registered, chartered, leased, or controlled […]