FAA and Regs

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 […]

There are a few familiar names being bandied about for President Joe Biden’s nomination to replace FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, who is leaving the post this week. But according to the travel website Skift the leading contender may be a dark horse. Apparently former NTSB Chair Debra Hersman, current U.S. Ambassador to the International Civil […]

Hot air balloon enthusiasts appear to be calling on the FAA to find a way for them to comply with ADS-B requirements beyond seeking waivers for special events. According to the Albuquerque Journal, industry leaders in the unofficial capital city of the sport say implementation of the ADS-B mandate threatens the annual Albuquerque International Balloon […]

Outgoing FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said Thursday that Boeing needs “a systemic fix to their production processes” at its 787 factory and until that happens FAA inspectors will sign off on each aircraft coming off the line. Dickson told reporters a series of quality control problems that stopped deliveries are up to Boeing to fix […]

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson is expected to resign Thursday after sending a memo to staff thanking them for their support. “Over the past several years, my family has been a source of tremendous encouragement, strength and support,” Dickson wrote in a memo that was quoted by the Seattle Times. “Nevertheless, after sometimes long and unavoidable […]