FAA and Regs

With cold and flu season underway, the FAA has published its annual list of acceptable and unacceptable over-the-counter (OTC) medications for pilots who want to fly through the pain. The first recommendation is for sick pilots to take their self-certification responsibilities to heart and to wait until they’re feeling better. It’s more complicated than that, […]

The FAA says it’s establishing a new “safety division” but says it has nothing to do with the Boeing 737 MAX.  The Washington Post first revealed the new department but the agency says it’s old news, part of a reorganization that began two years ago. “The FAA is constantly evolving and changing to continue addressing […]

Boeing’s manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, may have been “prioritizing production speed over quality and safety” during the time when two 737 MAX aircraft involved in fatal accidents were built at the factory, according to testimony given by former Boeing employee Edward Pierson at a U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on […]

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is appealing an FAA decision regarding city handling of federal grant funds at California’s Santa Monica Airport (SMO). As previously reported by AVweb, the FAA issued a determination (PDF) in November that stated that the City of Santa Monica had failed to comply with its grant obligations for reasons […]

The FAA has selected twelve organizations to advise the agency as it develops test administration requirements for an aeronautical knowledge and safety test for recreational Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS/drone) operators. Among the organizations that will be advising the FAA are Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, DJI, King Schools, the Unmanned Safety Institute, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association […]

On Jan. 8, the FAA will discontinue the Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service (HIWAS) after discussions with industry going back a year and a half. Ending HIWAS is “part of FAA efforts to modernize and streamline service delivery.” Citing new weather-dissemination technologies, the FAA says that “the demand for inflight services from Flight Service specialists […]

A former FAA inspector who claims he was “promoting aviation” has been sentenced to six years in jail for a string of corruption and theft charges that even involved his mother. The Miami Herald is reporting that Manuel Fernandez, a senior FAA safety inspector in South Florida, stole expensive repair manuals and resold them, took […]

After dropping steadily for most of the past two decades, the helicopter accident and fatal accident rates have plateaued and the FAA is redoubling efforts to keep the numbers dropping. The U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST), an FAA-led initiative with the lofty goal of eliminating helicopter fatalities, released the latest stats on accident rates and […]

The FAA has awarded its Future Flight Services Program (FFSP) contract to current flight service provider Leidos. Under the new contract, Leidos will continue to supply weather data, aeronautical information and flight planning services in the contiguous United States, Puerto Rico and Hawaii via 1-800-WX-BRIEF and 1800wxbrief.com. The previous flight service provider contract—called the Automated […]

The FAA will now be the sole issuer of airworthiness certificates for all newly manufactured Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, the agency said in a letter to Boeing on Tuesday. Citing “public interest and safety in air commerce,” the FAA stated that it would retain that authority—which was previously delegated to Boeing through the organization designation […]