Not Quite Up With the Times

The FAA, it is said, lags technology-sometimes significantly. These pages have been sprinkled with examples over the years. One recent example was in Jeff Van Wests article, A Bit Over Ninety, which appeared just last month.In that article, Jeff touched on the protected airspace for a turn at a fix. Before area navigation, all airways and procedures were designed expecting us to pass over the fix, suddenly realize that fact, and then turn to intercept the outbound course.

Key Takeaways:

• The article criticizes the FAA for lagging technology, citing examples like outdated airspace protection rules for turns at navigation fixes despite modern area navigation capabilities.
• A major concern is the FAA's "Shy Bladder Protocol" for mandatory drug screenings, which deems flight crew members unable to provide a urine sample within three hours as refusing the test, leading to severe job-related consequences.
• Unlike other industries that permit alternative drug testing methods like hair samples, the FAA maintains an inflexible urine-only testing policy, despite the physiological difficulties some individuals face.

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