GUEST EDITORIAL By PHILIP HANDLEMAN Sequestration is forcing the Pentagon to slash $41 billion this year on top of the $487 billion reduction in defense spending already mandated over the next 10 years. Resultantly, a cruel triage within the Defense Department has taken hold. Communities across America are waking to the reality that their scheduled […]
FAA
Is FAA demand double taxation?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Each year the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture Oshkosh attracts more aircraft, pilots, and aviation enthusiasts than any other aviation gathering in the United States, but this year EAA is facing paying the FAA an estimated $500,000 for doing its job. Payment is necessary, say FAA officials, because sequester has cut off necessary […]
Assessment outlines risks if BTL tower closed
A safety risk assessment (SRA) has identified potential hazards for aircraft using W.K. Kellogg Airport (BTL) in Battle Creek, Mich., if the airport’s control tower had been closed by the FAA because of sequestration. JDA Aviation Technology Solutions (JDA) performed the assessment and published its results today in a Safety Risk Management Document (SRMD). Substantial […]
FAA administrator calls for more action on GA safety
As the busy summer flying season approaches, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta recently met with leaders from the general aviation community to agree on actions to enhance safety and reduce accidents. The general aviation fatal accident rate has remained flat over the past five years and 149 fatal accidents already have occurred so far this fiscal […]
EAA asked to cover some costs for AirVenture controllers
Even after the Congress enacted legislation that enabled the FAA to fully fund air traffic services, the agency is asking the Experimental Aircraft Association to cover some of the costs for its AirVenture operations, including air traffic controllers’ travel, per diems, and overtime, which had traditionally been covered by the FAA. “This issue is significantly […]
FAA slowing drone use to fight wildfires
Fire fighters hoping to use drones to “map a fire’s size and speed, and identify hot spots,” are running up against FAA regulation. A New York Times story notes a drone is precluded, “from operating out of sight of a ground-based pilot. If distance or the smoke of a wildfire obscures a drone from observers on the ground, a piloted […]
FAA administrator: Sequestration not over yet…
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said at a hearing that while he is grateful for the law Congress passed to end air traffic controller furloughs and stave off contract tower defunding, it “does not end the sequester. We will not enjoy the benefits or the stability that the FAA reauthorization provides until we find a sensible […]
Apparently we do need this tower
The “Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013” (H.R. 1765) was introduced on Friday, April 26, by Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa). It was signed by President Obama on Wednesday, May 1. You see, Congress and the President can get things done…when they want to. The full title of the bill is “To provide the Secretary of Transportation with […]
Contract towers to stay open
On Friday, the FAA announced it will keep open the 149 contract towers the agency slated for closure on June 15. In a short, prepared statement, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that DOT “has determined that the recently enacted Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 will allow the FAA to transfer sufficient funds to end […]