Just one week after he said he would be comfortable taking a spin in a Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has changed his tune. After numerous reports of problems with the jets’s batteries, LaHood now says none of them will take to the skies again until officials are “1,000% sure” they’re safe to fly. [More]
federal aviation administration
FAA Opens Probe Into The Beleaguered Dreamliner & Its Recent Spate Of Problems
By 1.11.13
For all the years we heard whispers and excited buzzing about the Boeing 787 Dreamliner before its debut, it seemed sort of like a mythical flying beast. And since its inaugural U.S. commercial flight in November it’s definitely becoming legendary — but for all the wrong reasons. The Federal Aviation Administration has launched a probe into the beleaguered plane after a recent spate of problems. [More]
FAA: Sorry That Holes In Your Roof Are Maybe From Frozen Waste Falling From The Sky
By 9.11.12
Blue ice or frozen airplane waste? Potato, pot-ah-to but for two homeowners on Long Island, it all boils down to the same result — gaping holes in the roof. The Federal Aviation Administration is trying to figure out how the homes got damaged and whether or not homeowners are correct in thinking that something super gross fell from a plane passing overhead. [More]
The FAA Rethinking That Whole Ban On Smartphone Usage In Flight Thing, Finally
By 8.28.12
There are two camps of people on flights — those who listen to the flight attendants when they’re told to turn off all electronic devices during takeoff and landing, and those who think the rule is hogwash and refuse to disconnect from the wireless world until they’re forced to. That second group is probably pleased as punch to hear then, that the Federal Aviation Administration is taking another gander at its rules about smartphones and other electronics, while still firmly to its ban on in-flight phone calls. [More]
FAA Puts The Kibosh On Traffic-Reversing Operation That Almost Led To Mid-Air Plane Collision
By 8.7.12
When I’m in an airplane, I have no idea what air traffic control is doing or how they manage to make sure every single plane gets off the ground or lands without running into each other — but I know it’s a tricky dance. And to make it less tricky, the Federal Aviation Administration is banning airport air traffic controllers from using a method of running things that contributed to last week’s incident at Ronald Reagan National Airport where three planes almost collided in mid-air. [More]
FAA Fines Delta Almost $1M For Flying Two Planes Without Making Necessary Repairs
By 7.11.12
The Federal Aviation Administration is cracking down on Delta Air Lines, after the agency claimed the carrier failed to make or took its time making necessary repairs to two planes after inspections found damages on the aircrafts. The grand total for such infractions is close to $1 million. [More]
FAA Decides It’s About Time We Put Oyxgen Devices Back In Airplane Bathrooms
By 6.26.12
You might recall that the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all emergency oxygen supplies be removed from airplane bathrooms, to deter would-be terrorists from dismantling them and starting fires. And now it’s time to get that oxygen back in the lavatories. [More]
Planes Collide In Alaska For Second Time In A Month, Killing Four
By 8.1.11
Alaska’s skies seem to be dangerous for private aircraft these days, with the second mid-air collision in a month killing four Saturday. The accidents came less than a year after Alaska senator Ted Stevens perished in a plane crash in the state. [More]
FAA Has Trouble Successfully Firing Air Traffic Controllers
By 7.26.11
When you’re an Air Traffic Controller who gets fired, there’s a 40 percent chance you’ll manage to keep your job or retire on your own terms. The Federal Aviation Administration has trouble ridding itself of workers it accuses of screwing up, including two-thirds of those it tries to fire for using drugs or alcohol on the job. [More]
Airlines Not Passing On Savings Of Not Having To Pay FAA Taxes
By 7.26.11
When Congress failed Friday to extend a bill that would have kept the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) running, they handed airlines a $25 million a day gift. Without the extension, the FAA doesn’t have the authority to collect taxes. But rather than pass on the savings, nearly all airlines actually raised fares to about the same amount as the federal taxes. Most consumers won’t notice because prices are the same, even though it’s effectively a price hike. [More]
