WASHINGHTON, D.C. — Now is the time to begin laying the groundwork for reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, Congressman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said during a speech before the International Aviation Club Dec. 11. Although reauthorization isn’t due until September 2015, the aviation system must evolve and modernize, he said, and there are many questions […]
Subcommittee starts looking at ways to prepare for aviation’s future
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An aviation subcommittee in the House of Representatives started early to examine how best to structure the FAA to meet upcoming challenges. During a hearing held Thursday, Dec. 12, the subcommittee members heard suggestions from officials with various aviation organizations. New technologies, new worldwide aviation growth, new businesses and increased populations will […]
House Committee moves to slow proposed sleep apnea policy
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congress took the first step Wednesday, Dec. 4, toward slowing the FAA from testing overweight pilots and air traffic controllers for sleep apnea. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the House of Representatives passed a bill requiring the FAA to go through the normal rule-making process. The action is in response to […]
A ‘baaad’ rule
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This could be the beginning of something big: The FAA has followed recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board and announced a program to check the weight of pilots in order to produce safer flight. The announced reason is that overweight people have a tendency to be more liable to suffer sleep […]
Drone ‘road map’ unveiled
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FAA has released its 72-page “road map” for determining how to permit unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) — more commonly known as drones — to share the skies with other aircraft by 2015, but early indications show many problems to overcome before the air has a mixture of vehicles. The plan will […]
FAA and industry must come together, Huerta says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The aviation industry and the government must come together and answer the question of what kind of aviation system is wanted and how it can be financed, FAA Administrator Michel Huerta told the Washington Aero Club. The industry has many segments with different interests and each is pushing its own agenda, he […]
Long-time AOPA executive dies
Harmon Pritchard, a long-time executive at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, died Monday, Oct. 14, at his retirement home in Winchester, Virginia. He was 84. Pritchard joined the staff of AOPA in 1966 as an assistant to the vice president of marketing and devoted the next 35 years to the association and the pilots […]
GA looks to debt ceiling date
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oct.. 17 is rapidly approaching and even the experts with crystal balls can’t predict what the government will do. Unless Congress moves before then and passes some sort of funding bills, general aviation could suffer more than the few problems the partial government shutdown is now causing. Day-to-day flying under the current […]
Talk of privatizing ATC reappears
WASHINGTON, D.C — A wise person once commented that we learn from history that we learn nothing from history. Nothing could be more accurate than the current flap over privatizing the air traffic control system. More than two dozen industrialized nations have turned air traffic control over to private or semi-private organizations. None of these […]