WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bill to reauthorize the FAA has passed the House of Representatives, but the ranking Democrat on the aviation subcommittee continues to fight against it. This time, Congressman Jerry Costello has called on the National Transportation Safety Board for help. Costello wrote to NTSB officials, asking them for an opinion on a […]
What’s behind media frenzy over controller errors?
What brought about the heavy media coverage of the errors by air traffic controllers? Print and electronic media made this their lead articles for days. Members of Congress demanded answers from the FAA and Department of Transportation. The top manager of air traffic at the FAA “resigned” and at least two controllers have been discharged. […]
Safety, jobs ammo in budget wars
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Don’t look now, but Chicken Little is flapping around Washington shouting “The sky is falling. The sky is falling.” Or maybe it is the politicians running around shouting “safety” and “jobs” in every comment about the budget disagreement. Whatever position is taken on the budget, safety and jobs are used to justify […]
General aviation fatalities continue downward
General aviation continued its downward trend of accidents and fatalities in 2010 while flying more hours than in 2009, according to statistics released by the National Transportation Safety Board. The 447 fatalities last year compared to 469 in 2009 and were almost half the number of 864 that occurred in 1992. Hours flown in 2010 […]
House passes FAA reauthorization despite Presidential Veto
Despite the threat of a veto by President Obama, the House of Representatives Friday, April 1, passed a reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration after 17 short-term extensions and it now goes to conference with a bill passed by the Senate in February. The measure was approved in the House by a vote of […]
Double whammy
Can Congress agree on anything? WASHINGTON, D.C. — Aviation is getting a double whammy in the increasing struggles over budgets, with the first being reauthorization of the FAA, followed by the President’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2012. Neither seems to be approaching anything near agreement between the House and Senate. The FAA, which has […]
GA responds to Japanese disasters
WASHINGTON, D.C. — When the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) immediately went to work providing information on its website informing members how they can meet the severe logistical challenges of moving their personnel and equipment out of the ravaged nation. The website carries as much current information that […]
FAA launches GA safety improvement plan
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The FAA will undertake a new program to raise interest in general aviation safety with the central elements being to gather more information on causes of accidents, conduct meetings on the subject throughout the country, and zero in on where accident rates are higher than the norm. The goal is to reduce the rate […]
FAA issues interim RTTF policy
WASHINGTON, D.C. — New requirements were unveiled Thursday, March 17, by the FAA for residential through-the-fence (RTTF) access agreements at federally-funded airports. An interim policy requires airport sponsors with existing agreements that wish to continue RTTF to develop an airport access plan that outlines how the airport will meet its obligations to operate as a […]