FAA and Regs

The Mexican government has suddenly found the money to increase the budget of its civil aviation authority by 40 percent after the FAA downgraded the nation’s airlines to its lowest safety rating last week. The government has freed up $7.5 million to hire 180 safety inspectors and beef up English training for pilots in light […]

The FAA has adopted a rule establishing an electronic Pilot Records Database and requiring air carriers and some other operators to report pilots’ employment history, training and qualifications to that database. Along with FAA pilot certificate information, summaries of unsatisfactory pilot applications for new certificates or ratings and records of accidents, incidents and enforcement actions, […]

The FAA is proposing the highest civil penalty it has so far recommended under its current crackdown on passenger behavior, $52,500, be levied against a man who belted a Delta flight attendant in two separate altercations on one flight. The passenger got things rolling on the flight from Honolulu to Seattle last December by trying […]

The FAA wants to expand the AD requiring inspection of the carry-through spars on Cessna 210s to more models of that type and to some versions of the 177 Cardinal. The agency issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requiring inspection of the spars on almost 2,000 additional aircraft that were captured by an earlier AD […]

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) have sent a joint letter to the FAA calling on the agency to clarify how a recent federal court ruling will affect compensated flight training. The ruling denied a petition to review an emergency cease-and-desist order issued by […]

In response to what the agency describes as “a dramatic increase in unruly or dangerous behavior” by passengers on commercial airlines, FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson said, “We will not tolerate interfering with a flight crew and the performance of their safety duties. Period.” A normal year sees up to 150 recorded cases of dangerous behavior […]

It might seem surprising that after all these years of tracking magenta lines, GPS navigation is still considered “cheating.” But there are many procedures where it remains unclear when using satellite navigation as a primary source is a no-no, and the distinction can be confusing. The American Bonanza Society (ABS) is presenting an FAA FAAST-sponsored […]

A well-known Ohio pilot and aviation columnist may be the first to run afoul of a new regulation triggered by the ADS-B mandate enacted in 2020. Martha Lunken, 78, who pens a popular column in Flying Magazine and is a fixture in Midwest aviation, flew under a bridge near her home airport, which bears her […]

The FAA is throwing the book, and a proposed $1.56 million fine, at a small town whose airport is a lot bigger and more expensive to maintain than its traffic warrants. The agency announced via a news release that it was citing Anniston, Alabama, for a laundry list of violations from broken pavement to missing […]

Boeing has told 16 airlines to ground some Boeing 737 MAXes until they confirm a proper ground connection on part of the electrical system after discovering a potential manufacturing fault. Dozens of aircraft all over the world are affected. Southwest pulled 30 from service, American 17 and United 16. None of the airlines has reported […]