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D.C. Becomes Air Defense Identification Zone… With the national terror level ramped up to “Orange,” the FAA and TSA on Saturday issued new airspace restrictions over broad swaths of the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore areas, to take effect at 6 a.m. today. The new airspace control measures create an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in […]

Only Seven Deployments This Year… The FAA has scaled back its controversial Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) again, this time chopping the number of deployments this year from 18 to seven. Air traffic control employees got the news last Friday. FAA spokesman Greg Martin confirmed Wednesday that the agency doesn’t have the money to […]

Parts 125, 135 Reviewed… The FAA says it’s time for its charter regulations to catch up with the times. The agency issued a notice Monday that it’s doing a wholesale review of FAR Parts 125 and 135. “Industry dynamics, new technologies, new aircraft types and configurations and current operating issues and environment mandate a comprehensive […]

Engine Issues Explained… As expected, the re-engined Eclipse 500 will be heavier, thirstier, faster, later and somewhat more expensive than the original model, but that doesn’t seem to bother those who have put money down on one. Eclipse gathered customers at its Albuquerque headquarters last week to update them on the project in the aftermath […]

Final Mission For NASA’s First Shuttle Orbiter… The 113th Shuttle flight and the 28th for NASA’s first Shuttle ended tragically Saturday with the death of all seven crew when the vehicle, traveling at 18.3 mach and enduring peak airframe heating of some 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit along the wing’s leading edges, broke up 207,135 feet above […]

This isnt the first entry accident and may not be the last. But the Shuttle program will move forward. Dr. Jay Apt joined NASAs astronaut program in 1985 and has spent more than 35 days in space on four Shuttle missions. His experience includes a visit to the former Russian space station, Mir, and two […]

Midair Over Denver Leads To Safety Concerns… Five people died last Friday when a Cessna 172 and a twin-engine Piper PA-31T Cheyenne collided above a Denver neighborhood. Six people on the ground were slightly hurt, and a house was destroyed after it was hit by the Cessna and caught fire. Over the weekend, Denver Mayor […]

Budget Crunch Squeezes FAA… Money’s tight all over, and as the U.S. House and Senate wrangle over the latest version of a budget bill for 2003, the cash deficit could translate to staff cuts for the FAA. Last week, the Senate passed a $390 billion “omnibus” budget bill, lumping together all the departments and agencies […]

Can Order FAA To Pull Certificates… If he wants to, Transportation Security Administration head Adm. James Loy can now have your airman’s certificate pulled, or prevent you from obtaining one — and he doesn’t have to tell you why. For now, it seems you’ll just have to trust TSA officials when they say that the […]

As the NTSB continues its investigation of the January 8 crash in Charlotte, N.C., of a US Airways Express Raytheon 1900D operated by Air Midwest that killed all 21 aboard, investigators are analyzing documents and data related to the aircraft’s weight and balance. Officials are focusing on the possibility that a heavy takeoff weight and […]