FAA and Regs

ASTM’s National Center for Aerospace and Transportation Technologies (NCATT) Aircraft Electronics Technician (AET) certification can now qualify as formal training for issuance of a repairman certificate, according to a recent FAA letter. The letter (PDF) was sent in response to an October 2018 petition by the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA). To meet the educational requirement […]

Rep. Pete DeFazio, D-Ore., is the new chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and he’s made it clear his emphasis will be on the latter rather than the former. DeFazio says he intends to have a comprehensive infrastructure bill before Congress in six months and that likely means aviation issues will be […]

The government shutdown has reached beyond the national airspace system and postponed at least one space launch. According to spacenews.com, Exos Aerospace intended to launch its SARGE suborbital rocket from Spaceport America in New Mexico on Saturday but pushed it back to Feb. 9 in hopes FAA staff will be back at work and able […]

As the government shutdown grinds on with no end in sight, calls from the aviation industry to restore funding are getting more strident and the system is starting to show some strain. Possibly the biggest concern is the furloughing of 3,000 “safety specialists,” who support air traffic control functions. Another concern is that virtually all […]

A meticulously rebuilt prototype of the P-82 Twin Mustang, designated the XP-82, became the only flying version of the type on New Year’s Eve but it wasn’t supposed to work out that way. Test pilot Ray Fowler was conducting the latest of a series of high-speed taxi tests at the XP-82 Prototype Project’s home base […]

As the government shutdown rolls into its 11th day on New Year’s Day, aviation services are feeling the impact, and NATCA is not happy about it. The controllers’ union has plenty to complain about … the FAA has closed its training academy in Oklahoma City, and training at all ATC facilities is suspended. Many new […]

A fledgling California airline says it is canceling flights until further notice because of a shortage of pilots. California Pacific Airlines began service to and from its base in Carlsbad, California, in November with four 50-seat ERJ145s and was plagued with delays and cancellations shortly after it launched. In one case, a plane was damaged […]

Assuming a safe New Year’s Eve, Monday ends what can best be described as an average year for airline-related fatalities. According to one measure (fatalities involving airliners in flight, not necessarily in revenue service) there were 16 accidents that killed 555 people (as of Dec. 27) in 2018. That compares to the safest year on […]

German investigators say a runway excursion by Boeing 777 that was on autoland was the fault of the pilots. The unusual incident happened in November of 2011 at Munich Airport but the report from the German BRU was just released this week. The BRU found the Singapore Airlines crew initiated the chain of events that […]

Just three days into the federal government shutdown, GA advocacy groups are stepping up their protests to the action. NATCA issued a statement on Monday noting that this is the third government shutdown this year. “The air traffic controllers and traffic management coordinators that NATCA represents remain on the job, dedicated to the safety of […]