FAA and Regs

All 20 airports slated to receive the FAA’s Runway Status Lights program are fully operational, says the agency. The RWSL is made up of lights embedded in the tarmac across runway crossings as well as at the departure hold zone; they illuminate when it’s unsafe for an aircraft to proceed.  According to the FAA, “at […]

CNN is reporting that the FAA will allow some insulin-dependent diabetics to earn commercial pilot certificates thanks to the strides made in treatment and management of the disease. CNN’s sources say the announcement could be made early this coming week that the agency will allow insulin-dependent diabetics to apply for first and second class medicals. […]

The FAA is warning officials in Silicon Valley they face a long expensive battle to close an important reliever airport for San Jose’s Mineta Airport. According to AOPA, Santa Clara County supervisors have voted to stop taking federal Airport Improvement Fund grants to begin the process of timing out the obligations that come with them. […]

Tamarack Aerospace hopes to emerge from Chapter 11 protection by the end of the year and then resume expanding the range of aircraft that can benefit from its active winglet installation. The company was rocked by an emergency airworthiness directive that grounded more than 100 Cessna Citations equipped with the system earlier this year. The […]

A critical step in the integration of unmanned aircraft into the National Airspace System is scheduled for Dec. 20 as the FAA releases its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on remote identification requirements for drones. The agency will require that all drones emit some kind of signal giving aircraft and ownership information and that’s considered fundamental […]

Timing, as they say, is everything and the tragic crash of the Collings Foundation B-17 in Connecticut earlier this month came a month after it submitted its application for exemptions to various FAA rules that allow it to fly its collection of aircraft and carry paying passengers to help cover expenses. The group is now […]

The FAA has established a Women in Aviation Advisory Board, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced on Wednesday. According to the FAA, the purpose of the new board is to “provide independent advice and recommendations to the FAA in supporting women’s involvement in the aviation field.” It will focus on “analyzing industry […]

The FAA has launched an investigation into whether a Las Vegas helicopter charter company violated safety regulations by dropping $10,000 in cash on a soccer field during halftime promotion for the local pro team. The Skyline Helicopter Tours aircraft circled the field in the packed stadium a half-dozen times before dropping the cash over 200 […]

The entire fleet of Boeing 737NG aircraft must be checked for potentially serious structural cracks but the inspections are easy to accomplish and will only add an hour to routine maintenance, unless cracks are found. As we reported last week, Boeing found cracks in the “pickle fork” assembly on a relatively low-time NG that it […]

As airliner seats get smaller and Americans get bigger, the FAA has decided to quantify the effect seat size (on the airplane) has on safety. Deputy Administrator Dan Elwell announced the agency will conduct 12 days of emergency evacuation testing at the end of November to see if stuffing ever growing, uh, masses into progressively […]