Proving that a walrus emergency is an emergency for everyone, the Federal Aviation Administration is taking preventative measures to make sure no baby marine mammals get stampeded, rerouting flights around an Alaska beach where a big cluster of 35,000 walruses have gathered. [More]
federal aviation administration
Disney Wants Drone Patents So Puppets Can Fly Around In Air Shows
By 8.26.14
If the idea of hot air balloon creatures causes you to tremble — all those huge, leering smiles floating above like some kind of slow-moving demons just biding their creepy time — you might not want to think about puppets gamboling around in the sky controlled by drones. That’s exactly the future Disney is envisioning with three drone-related patents it’s working on. [More]
FAA Halts US Flights Over Iraq Because Of Ongoing “Hazardous” Conflict
By 8.8.14
For the second time in two months, the Federal Aviation Administration has banned U.S. airlines from flying over international areas of conflict; this time over Iraq. [More]
FAA: Pilot Endangered People By Buzzing His House, The Mall At 500 Feet
By 8.4.14
Seeing your world down on Earth in miniature is something we humans have enjoyed ever since the first person got to the top of something tall, looked down and said “Oooh, that’s my cave all the way down there!” But the Federal Aviation Administration says one pilot flying a US Airways passenger flight should’ve resisted that urge when he reportedly buzzed his house and a local mall at an altitude of only 500 feet. [More]
Southwest Airlines Could Face $12M FAA Fine Over Improper Repairs
By 7.28.14
Even the smallest mistake – or three of them – can translate into huge fines for airline companies. Southwest Airlines could be paying a $12 million fine to the Federal Aviation Administration because of allegedly improper repairs to its aircraft going back as far as 2006. [More]
FAA Halts All U.S. Flights To Israel For 24 Hours Due To Missile Concerns
By 7.22.14
The FAA has just issued an order prohibiting U.S. air carriers from flying into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport for the next 24 hours. [More]
FAA Investigating Air Traffic Controller’s Joke That Led Pilot To Call Off Landing 1,000 Feet From The Ground
By 6.16.14
It’s never in good taste to make a joke about the safety of airplanes or their passengers. And it’s especially frowned upon when the person making the joke is tasked with safely guiding a flight’s landing. [More]
Will Amazon Get Those Drones After All? Judge Dismisses FAA Fine For Commercial Drone User
By 3.7.14
Chin up, Amazon! Turn that frown upside down, local brewery sending beer through the air! Delivery by commercial drone might still be possible, despite the Federal Aviation Administration going around putting the kibosh on the unmanned aerial vehicles. A federal judge has dismissed the FAA’s only fine against a commercial drone user. [More]
FAA Changes Takeoff and Landing Rules At Major Airports Because Collisions Are Bad
By 1.21.14
The FAA is rolling out a new rule for air traffic controllers that’s designed to reduce the risk of airplane collisions. [More]
FAA Orders All Overweight Air Traffic Controllers And Pilots To Get Tested For Sleep Disorders
By 11.21.13
In an effort to guard against sleepy or fatigued pilots taking a snooze behind the controls, as well as air traffic controllers who might doze off, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced a new regulation requiring both kinds of staff undergo testing for sleep disorders if they’re overweight. [More]
Amazon Thanks FAA For Lifting Device Restrictions With A One-Day Sale On Kindles
By 11.4.13
It was just about time for kicking off shoes and reclining in the comfiest chair (I call him Fergus) at Consumerist HQ when a one-day only sale caught my eye. Because it’ll be over by tomorrow, the time to spread the news is now. [More]
FAA Panel To Recommend Allowing Use Of Electronic Devices During Takeoff & Landing
By 9.24.13
Since last June, a Federal Aviation Administration Panel advisory panel has been gearing up to finalize its recommendation on how the agency could maybe perhaps allow the use of personal electronic devices during flights. That means you could be listening to music, texting, emailing and otherwise tapping away on your whathaveyou during landing and takeoff instead of gripping the armrests like your life depends on it. If that’s your thing, that is. [More]
Panel Of Experts Will Tell FAA It’s Pretty Much Okay To Leave Electronics On
By 6.21.13
Hey Alec Baldwin — if you’re still hopelessly devoted to Words With Friends, you should be getting gosh darn pretty excited right about now. A new report says the Federal Aviation Administration is going to get a talking to by a panel of experts who say it’s okay to leave electronic devices on at low altitudes. This will take away my favorite pastime of giving the stinkeye to the guy next to me still blasting his music during takeoff, however. [More]
TSA Decides To Ditch Plan Allowing Small Knives On Planes After All
By 6.5.13
Put your knives back in their wee little scabbards, folks: The temporary suspension on a new policy that allowed travelers to carry small knives in airplanes has now turned into a permanent decision. The Transportation Security Administration has announced that it listened to criticism from flight attendants and the public and decided not to ease restrictions on the little weapons. [More]
Airlines Suing FAA In Attempt To Prevent Delays Caused By Air-Traffic Control Furloughs
By 4.19.13
Know who hates flight delays possibly more than frustrated travelers? The airlines, because all those disgruntled fliers will take out their travel woes on the carriers. That’s a group representing U.S. airlines as well as pilot unions are suing the Federal Aviation Administration in an attempt to stop furloughs of air-traffic controllers. The FAA warned fliers that fewer staff on duty means major flight delays could start next week. [More]
I Am Sequestration, Here Me Roar: FAA Closing 173 Air Traffic Control Towers
By 3.6.13
While the government warned of annoying long lines at airports across the country as a result of the budget cuts imposed by the March 1 sequestration, things haven’t seemed too bad yet (except for the usual weather woes). But it sounds like air travel is on the way to getting more annoying, as the Federal Aviation Administration says it’s going to shut down 173 air traffic control towers at smaller airports around the country on April 7. [More]
Doing The “Harlem Shake” In Mid-Air Apparently Isn’t Cool With The Folks At The FAA
By 3.1.13
If you’re the type to shun whichever viral video is currently makings its rounds, you might not know that the “Harlem Shake” phenomenon of filming yourself and friends dancing in costumes to that particular song is totally all the rage. The Federal Aviation Administration sure knows it now, as it’s launched a probe into a recent filming of the craze aboard a Frontier Airlines flight. [More]
DOT Head Ray LaHood Paints Nightmarish Travel Picture If Sequestration Hits March 1
By 2.22.13 — Updated: 2.25.13
Maybe you haven’t been paying much attention to all the hullabaloo surrounding automatic government spending cuts that could go into effect next week, known as sequestration. It’s a lot to take in, as those cuts will be across-the-board and could be a problem for a wide variety of government agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration. As such, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is painting a potentially annoying picture for air travel in the future. [More]
