FAA

The FAA’s panel of experts and law enforcement officials could not agree on the specifics of tracking civilian drones, such as what models should be radio tracked, and whether or not size and weight should be determining factors. The panel is wrapping up as the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the first case of […]

According to the Santa Monica Airport Association (SMAA), a temporary restraining order from the California District Court has put the brakes on the City of Santa Monica’s plans to shorten the runway at the Santa Monica Airport. The city had planned to start reducing the available runway length from 4,973 to 3,500 feet today, with […]

If you had plans to take scenic shots of the Statue of Liberty, or diving the Hoover Dam with your new racing quad — we’re looking at you, Paul ‘Nurk’ Nurkkala and your viral train video — the FAA may have just ruined your next drone adventure. Beginning on October 5, the FAA is “using […]

Construction, or perhaps it should be called destruction efforts, aimed at reducing the usable length of Santa Monica airport’s 4,973-foot runway to 3,500 feet begin next Monday, October 9. Phase One work shuts down the airport during the overnight hours of 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. until just before Christmas. No work will be performed […]

With slightly more than two days left before the FAA’s funding authority was set to expire, Congress approved a six-month extension, a stopgap measure that keeps the agency afloat until March 31, 2018. One significant stumbling block to the short-term extension before today seems to have been language attached to the bill that would have […]

At least 10 people are dead and as much as $85 billion in insured losses have been reported since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm last Wednesday. Some officials have called the aftermath “apocalyptic,” while one said Maria set Puerto Rico back “20 to 30 years.” San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín […]

An FAA aviation rulemaking advisory committee thinks it could be time to update the experience required that decides when a certified flight instructor is eligible to train another pilot for the CFI rating. Currently, FAR Part 61.195 (h)(2)(iii) says only an instructor who has held the certificate for more than 24 months and has logged […]

The Part 13 complaint the AOPA filed yesterday with the FAA on behalf of its membership focused on egregious FBO pricing at three primarily GA airports: Chicago’s Waukegan (UGN), Asheville NC (AVL) and Florida’s Key West International (EYW). The Part 13 complaint process is an informal method for impacted parties to ask the FAA to […]

People were warned not to fly their aerial photography platforms leading up to Hurricane Harvey. The FAA knew that onlookers by drone would be a hazardous problem for the incoming hurricane and post hurricane relief efforts. The FAA’s official statement: “The FAA warns unauthorized drone operators that they may be subject to significant fines if […]

Since Hurricane Harvey first made landfall in Rockport, Texas, as a category 4 storm with winds as high 130 mph, it has been clear that the damage done to southeastern Texas and other Gulf areas would be catastrophic and historic. FEMA director Brock Long called Hurricane Harvey a “landmark event” in terms of the damage […]