FAA and Regs

At least one airline has run afoul of the new ADS-B mandate and adjusted its aircraft deployment accordingly. BahamasAir wasn’t able to get three of its Boeing 737-500s equipped with ADS-B before the Jan. 1 deadline so those aircraft have been taken off the routes it flies to Florida. It has one 737-700 and five […]

Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate that would authorize $850 million for NASA over the next five years to promote development of technologies to reduce noise and emissions from airliners. The Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act would fund “ongoing work to develop and demonstrate new technologies, including systems architecture, components, or integration of […]

The detailed probe of the Boeing 737 MAX certification has uncovered a potential wiring problem that might require modifications to all 800 airframes built so far and may also affect thousands of 737NGs. The New York Times is reporting that the examination found a couple of wiring bundles that control the tail may be too […]

FAA officials will meet with local law enforcement reps from about a dozen counties in northeastern Colorado to discuss unexplained drone activity that has alarmed local residents and public officials. So far, no one has come forward to give even the slightest hint of why the drones, described as being up to eight feet long, […]

In 22 facilities across the U.S., thousands of air traffic controllers actively watch the skies over their assigned sectors. Each Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) is almost a small town in itself. The Operations Room contains 50 to 60 consoles with large computer monitors displaying aircraft data blocks imposed on top of aviation landmarks […]

The FAA issued a proposal on Thursday for a rule that would require unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drones) to be identifiable remotely. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) suggests tying remote identification requirements to UAS registration and would allow drone identification and location information to be received by “people on the ground and other airspace users.” […]

The FAA is warning potential customers of aviation ride sharing apps likened to “Uber for airplanes,” that their trip might not meet the normal standards for fly-for-hire journeys. “If you pay for a charter flight you are entitled to a higher level of safety than is required from a free flight from a friend,” the […]

As the ball gets ready to drop on the ADS-B mandate, five owners of a stock 1946 Luscombe are asking for an exemption that would allow them to turn off the ADS-B when they’re outside mandated airspace. The plane is based at busy El Paso Airport and must be able to operate in Class C […]

A broad spectrum of aviation groups is opposing a congressional bill that would allow local authorities to set noise standards at general aviation airports. In a letter to House leaders, nine groups representing operators that use municipal, regional and major airports say H.R. 5423, the Aircraft Noise Reduction Act, would undermine the federal authority that […]

The FAA will require that all FAA airman certificate applicants obtain an FAA Tracking Number (FTN) before registering for an airman knowledge test, the agency said on Monday. The FTN requirement (PDF) will go into effect on Jan. 13, 2020, and applies to certifications for both manned and unmanned aircraft operators along with mechanic, parachute […]