FAA

Opposition to FAA reauthorization legislation introduced in the House yesterday was swift, but not quite as loud as you might think based on the high level of emotion surrounding proposals out of Washington to privatize ATC. The National Business Aviation Association was clear in its longstanding disapproval of the plan to create a non-profit corporate […]

As Congress prepares to debate whether to privatize ATC as part of the upcoming FAA reauthorization process, a number of general aviation groups are asking Congress to allow a full debate of a plan they argue is pushed down the nation’s throat by the airlines. Specifically, the organizations cited concerns over a proposal introduced by […]

The FAA has announced a list of the first VORs to be removed from the national airspace system in its effort to reduce the number of navigation aids it says are unnecessary as pilots transition more and more to satellite-based navigation. Thirty-five VORs in 17 states are now on the slate for removal. The goal […]

Online flight tracking is a great resource for travelers and flight instructors alike. Websites such as FlightAware and flightwise are frequently used by friends and loved ones to watch the progress of airplanes enroute to their destinations. And if you don’t wish to actively track the flight, you can set up alerts that update you […]

Anybody can submit an online petition to the White House on any topic they choose — and that’s just what somebody has done in the wake of FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt’s abrupt departure from the agency this week, in an attempt to build public support for an intriguing potential replacement: Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, known better […]

Randy Babbitt resigned late Tuesday as FAA Administrator two days after he was arrested in Fairfax, Virginia, for alleged drunk driving. Fairfax police said that the administrator was driving on the wrong side of the road. It is the policy of Fairfax police to release the names of public officials they arrest and to not […]

Fairfax, Virginia, police arrested FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt this weekend for drunk driving. Babbitt was allegedly under the influence of alcohol and driving on the wrong side of Old Lee Highway in Fairfax when he was pulled over. Babbitt was alone in the automobile, according to reports. The city does not release blood alcohol levels […]

After months of uncertainty in Washington regarding the future of several aviation-related programs, President Obama has signed an appropriations bill for 2012 that provides funding for the FAA and reinstates the Block Aircraft Registry Request (BARR) program, ensuring the privacy of aircraft owners and operators. The signing of the bill serves as temporary relief for […]

An aviation rulemaking committee recently concluded there is no justification for a new mandate requiring automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) “In” technology, recommending instead that the FAA promote voluntary equipage for the “foreseeable future.” That’s great news for general aviation, but it doesn’t mean you should cross this game-changing technology off your avionics must-have list. The […]

Sitting in the jump seat of a corporate Gulfstream G450 on approach to Morristown Municipal Airport’s Runway 5, I saw the tiny starlings a fraction of a second before the copilot called out, matter-of-factly, “Birds.” We flew through an entire flock of the little creatures and, although I was pretty sure we’d hit more than […]