FAA

Project Funded with ARRA Recovery Funds

ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 26, 2009) – Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley today announced that the BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport has been awarded a $15 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Airport Improvement Program. The funds will help reconstruct the C and D aprons of the airport. The funds are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that was signed by President Obama this year.    » read more »

Airline Agrees to Further Improve Safety

March 2, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today reached a settlement agreement with Southwest Airlines to resolve outstanding enforcement actions. Under the agreement, Southwest Airlines will pay a $7.5 million civil penalty that could double to $15 million if the airline does not accomplish specific safety improvements outlined in the settlement agreement.

The agreement stems from a $10.2 million civil penalty proposed on March 6 against Southwest Airlines for operating 46 airplanes on 59,791 flights without performing mandatory inspections for fuselage fatigue cracking.    » read more »

February 24, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced it has made steady and measurable increases in air safety that have made flying safer than ever before. The work of DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) resulted in a 65 percent reduction in the aviation fatal accident rate between 1997 and 2006.

Prior to the fatal accident near Buffalo this month, there had been no fatal commercial accidents for more than two years. The rate of runway incursions also has fallen, as have the number of accidents caused by ice on aircraft.

The FAA is committed to further reducing accidents related to icing in all parts of the aviation industry.    » read more »

August 4, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), issued the following statement after the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that it would block any flights resulting from the Federal Aviation Administration’s plan to auction off arrival and departure slots at the three major airports in the New York City area:    » read more »

Air Traffic Control: GAO Report

July 18, 2008 -- In fiscal year 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to spend over $2 billion on information technology (IT) investments--many of which support FAA's air traffic control modernization. To more effectively manage such investments, in 2005 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) required agencies to use earned value management (EVM). EVM is a project management approach that, if implemented appropriately, provides objective reports of project status, produces early warning signs of impending schedule delays and cost overruns, and provides unbiased estimates of a program's total costs.    » read more »

ROME, July 02, 2008 -- Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica company, successfully completed destructive testing on the horizontal stabilizer of the Boeing [NYSE: BA] 787 Dreamliner. The test took place at Alenia's Pomigliano plant in Naples with Boeing engineers and representatives of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in attendance. The stabilizer is made at the Alenia Aeronautica plant at Foggia in Italy's Puglia region.    » read more »

May 6, 2008 -- Washington, DC— U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today made the following statement after Republican Senators blocked the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, legislation to modernize the FAA and our air traffic control system, improve safety inspections, and protect the rights of the flying public.

Airplane, runway: Photo by S Fujiwara (CC)    » read more »

May 6, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC—“I am extremely disappointed that Senate Republicans have once again blocked Democratic efforts to address the very real problems with our nation’s air travel. The legislation that was blocked today included several important and necessary provisions that would have addressed our ailing aviation system.

Security line at San Jose airport: Photo by sevenblock (CC)    » read more »

Amendments Follow Specter’s Field Hearing on Philadelphia International Airport

May 5, 2008 -- U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) filed two amendments to the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act which is currently being considered by the Senate.

Rocking chairs at Philadelphia International Airport: Photo by Jon Protas (CC)

The amendments seek to reduce overflights over Delaware County and delays caused by flight over-scheduling at Philadelphia International Airport. Senator Specter investigated both of these issues at a field hearing he convened in Philadelphia on Friday, April 25th.    » read more »

April 16, 2008 -- “Today's rules put forth by the Federal Department of Transportation (DOT), in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), were intended to be a step toward making air transportation more reliable and comfortable for passengers. But these rules are not the right solution, and, in the case of the auctioning of slots at LaGuardia, are woefully misguided.

Baggage area, Laguardia Airport: Photo by Sarah Gilbert (CC)    » read more »

New Jersey Senators have blocked the nomination for FAA chief over a number of issues, are adding aircraft inspections to the list

April 10, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Frank Lautenberg are taking to task the Federal Aviation Administration’s acting Administrator, Robert Sturgell, in a letter today regarding the massive flight cancellations that have hit air travelers over the past couple of days.    » read more »

Bills: Capstone Safety & Consumer Protection

April 9, 2008, Juneau, Alaska - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today signed two bills into law that will increase aviation safety and protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices.

Senate Bill 249, sponsored by Governor Palin, provides Alaskan airplane owners the opportunity to use a new low-interest loan program to purchase state-of-the-art avionics equipment for their aircraft.

A seaplane at Lake Hood, Alaska: Photo by Tom (CC)    » read more »

To Ensure Technical Compliance With FAA Directive

FORT WORTH , Texas – American Airlines is canceling several hundred flights today to conduct additional inspections of its MD-80 fleet to ensure precise and complete compliance with the Federal Aviation Administration’s airworthiness directive related to the bundling of wires in the aircraft’s wheel wells.

American Airlines MD-80: Photo by Martin Rottler (CC)

These inspections – based on FAA audits – are related to detailed, technical compliance issues and not safety-of-flight issues.    » read more »

Hoffa Says Teamsters Aviation Workers Have Expressed Concerns for Years

April 3, 2008 -- (Washington, D.C.) – Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa on Thursday thanked Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar for investigating the Federal Aviation Administration’s cozy relationship with airline management.

Southwest Airlines aircraft maintenance at Midway Airport in Chicago: Photo by Jim Wissemes (CC)

Oberstar, D-Minn., chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on critical lapses in the FAA’s oversight of airlines.    » read more »

18 March 2008 -- The U.S. aviation agency has ordered a review of maintenance records at all U.S. airlines, after safety violations were reported at Southwest Airlines.

The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration, Robert Sturgell, Tuesday said the recent lapse at one airline prompted the decision to confirm that all other carriers were in full compliance.

Sturgell said an initial review would be completed by March 28, and the full audit would conclude by the end of June.    » read more »