FAA

On October 21, 2010, Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, an experienced pilot of 11,000 hours, landed his Cessna 340 on Runway 13/31 at the Port Isabel-Cameron County Airport despite the presence of the appropriate X markings designating the surface as closed. To say that the senator ruined the day of various construction workers operating equipment to […]

Preparing for the day when 100LL avgas will be outlawed in America, the FAA has selected two unleaded fuels — one from Swift Fuels and one from Shell — for further testing. Flight trials and rig testing of the new fuel blends, selected as part of the Piston Aviation Fuel Initiative (PAFI) to find an […]

It’s a time-honored aviation tradition that suddenly appears on the brink of elimination. New student pilot application requirements that take effect on April 1 will prevent new pilots from soloing on their 16th birthday. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is asking the FAA to remedy what it calls an “unfortunate consequence” of the new […]

If you are one of the many pilots who enjoy night flying, you may see some changes in the lighting that helps you see towers and obstructions in low-light conditions. A slight revision in the lighting patterns at towers around the country has the potential to save the lives of thousands of birds, the FAA […]

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and Sally French, “the Drone Girl,” led a panel discussion about the future of small unmanned aircraft at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin on Monday. In his opening remarks, Huerta outlined recent progress on the FAA’s UAS registration program that is expected to pass 400,000 registrations this week, as well […]

As the Senate continues to hone its version of a long-term FAA spending bill, the issue of ATC privatization being pushed by some members in the House threatens to delay legislation that includes many provisions GA leaders are eager to see adopted. The House passed a short-term extension that funds the FAA through July 15, […]

The Senate has introduced a bill that scraps a House plan to privatize ATC but includes lots of other provisions, including third-class medical reform, new aircraft certification rules and a requirement that UAV pilots pass a written exam covering aviation regulations. The bill’s third-class medical reform language is being championed by AOPA and the Experimental […]

After years of what has appeared to be a lot of talk and little action, the FAA has released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for new certification rules to replace the current Part 23 regulations. If adopted, the new rules would apply to aircraft with a max seating capacity of 19 passengers and a […]

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was Scaled Composites’ failure to consider and protect against the possibility that a single human error could result in a catastrophic hazard to the SpaceShipTwo vehicle. This failure set the stage for the copilot’s premature unlocking of the feather system as a […]

In what must have been a desperate attempt to meet gender quotas, the FAA hired me as an inspector in the Chicago O’Hare Air Carrier District Office in 1980. Six months later, somebody realized I knew absolutely nothing about jets or air carrier operations and farmed me out to the DuPage General Aviation District Office (GADOs then, […]