FAA and Regs

The FAA has allowed a Massachusetts company to conduct the first truly autonomous beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operation in the National Airspace System (NAS), opening the door to a wide range of commercial applications. American Robotics is now allowed to fly drones weighing up to 20 pounds in rural areas without a […]

Flight attendants are applauding a new zero-tolerance stance by the FAA for bad behavior by passengers. The agency has announced that misbehaving passengers will no longer get a warning before they face significant punishment. The action, which is in force until the end of March, stems from a rash of airborne confrontations between unruly passengers […]

The FAA will allow supersonic flights over the U.S. to make it easier for testing of the next crop of proposed supersonic business aircraft. “The renewed interest in development of supersonic airplanes caused FAA to review its application procedures that allow for flight tests of these aircraft,” the agency said in its final rule. “This final […]

The FAA is proposing a total of $182,000 in fines to an unlicensed drone pilot who was warned three times to stop making illegal flights around Philadelphia. After a warning letter was sent in October of 2019, the FAA contacted him twice more in November of 2019 to explain the ways in which he was […]

The FAA has established the new Airport Coronavirus Response Grant Program to distribute $2 billion in funds designated to provide economic relief for airports impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. According to the agency, grants will be offered to eligible U.S. airports to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to” COVID-19. The funds are part of […]

AIRMET Tango for turbulence was spot on. You’re given “climb and maintain six thousand,” but with the bumps you accidentally enter 7000 in the altitude preselect. Passing through 6,300 feet, you hear your call sign and, “verify level at six.” You stop the climb and head back down. All seems good until 10 minutes later […]

A TFR remains in place over downtown Nashville until Dec. 30 even though authorities have determined the man who blew himself up in a motorhome on Christmas morning likely acted alone. Police confirmed Sunday that Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, was inside the RV that exploded about 6:30 a.m. Friday, damaging buildings and injuring three people. […]

Wipaire is engineering a fix for a long-standing issue with Cessna 206 aircraft in which emergency escape from the rear seats is hampered by deployed flaps. Wipaire VP of Engineering Brad Kutz said they’ve moved the latch for the rear cargo door to the inside from the door frame to make it accessible during an […]

As expected, the FAA has approved the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for use by controllers and pilots with a 48-hour waiting period. The FDA approved the new vaccine on Saturday and the FAA quickly announced its approval. It’s still adding the rider that the approval could be pulled if problems crop up. The agency said it […]

An overhaul of the aircraft certification process is likely part of the omnibus spending bill that Congress will likely pass Monday. The bill is expected to pass along with a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill that has been mired in partisan bickering. The clause on the FAA suffered no such political hand wringing, however. It […]