FAA and Regs

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao has announced the completion of the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS/drone) Integration Pilot Program (IPP), a three-year initiative designed to test and evaluate the integration of drone operations into the national airspace system. IPP is followed by the BEYOND program, which officially launched last week. BEYOND is expected to […]

It’s not often that passengers hear from the captain days before their flight but American Airlines is employing those calm, soothing voices to ease the reintroduction of the Boeing 737 MAX. As we recently reported, American plans to resume MAX flights starting Dec. 29, assuming all the regulatory approvals are in place. Its plan to […]

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has declared the Boeing 737 MAX  is “safe” and is predicting the type will return to revenue service before the end of the year in the countries of the European Union. EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky told Bloomberg it still wants Boeing to add a third AOA sensor to the […]

Flight 1549 Capt. Chesley Sullenberger says he’ll fly on the recertified Boeing 737 MAX but he wants to see improvements to the aircraft and its ancestors for flaws laid bare in the investigation of the MAX flight control system. “People are going to fly on it and I will probably be one of them,” he told […]

The FAA issued its final rule on an AD affecting 14,653 Cessna singles in the U.S. and probably at least as many in the rest of the world requiring repeated inspection of the spot where the strut meets the lower door post. The AD affects models ranging from mid-production 172s to the latest models. It […]

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson piloted a Boeing 737 MAX on a two-hour flight out of Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday. Prior to the flight, Dickson, a former Delta pilot with experience in aircraft including the Boeing 727, 737, 757 and 767, also completed new recommended pilot training for the model, which has been grounded since March […]

Harrison Ford has completed a “remedial runway incursion training course” and has been cleared to continue flying after an incident at Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles. After being told to hold short for an aircraft on short final by a controller, the 78-year-old actor crossed the airport’s only runway. When busted by the obviously irritated […]

Perhaps the most important flight in Boeing’s history, symbolically at least, is scheduled for Wednesday as FAA Administrator Steve Dickson straps into the left seat of a Boeing 737 MAX. In November of 2019 Dickson famously made the pledge to wring out the changes to the aircraft software personally. “I am not going to sign […]

The FAA says it’s considering extending relaxation of slot requirements at major airports well into next year but not all airlines are in favor of the move. With the reduction in flights due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency waived the requirement that airlines must use at least 80 percent of the slots they’re allotted […]

As many as 680 Boeing 787 Dreamliners may be affected by the latest revelation involving manufacturing flaws in the jets. Boeing confirmed on Thursday that it was in contact with the FAA about out-of-spec gaps in the joints between fuselage parts. It was revealed on Thursday that the vertical stabilizer is affected by the potential […]