FAA Invites Public Input on Draft Environmental Review to Operate Huntsville International Airport as Commercial Space Reentry Site

WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) invites the public to comment on a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for Huntsville International Airport (HSV) to serve as a reentry site for horizontally landed commercial reentry vehicles. The Draft EA also addresses a proposal by Sierra Space Corporation to land its Dream Chaser vehicle at the site up to eight times between 2023 and...

FAA Levies $225,287 Against Passengers for Alleged Assault-Related Unruly Behavior

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes $225,287 in civil penalties against 10 airline passengers for alleged unruly behavior involving physical assault. Since Jan. 1, 2021, the FAA has received more than 100 reports of passenger disturbances involving physical assault. Federal law prohibits passengers from assaulting fellow passengers or crew aboard a flight. 

The rate of unruly passenger incidents on...

46th Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee Meeting

Remarks as Delivered

Hello everyone. I’m honored to open the 46th Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee meeting. I’m sorry I couldn’t be with you in real time, but I trust this video will be a suitable substitute for the virtual me. 

But let me say there is no substitute for everyone else here—the guidance and expertise you provide to Wayne Monteith and his team, month after month after month is invaluable. I think you’ll see today the FAA not only hears your input, but we are putting your consequential deliberations into action. 

As always, I thank Charity Weeden and Karina Drees for their excellent leadership in providing us that input, and I thank all the committee members for the hard work and patience that goes into crafting recommendations, observations and advice to the Office of Commercial Space Transportation. Believe me, I’ve been on enough government advisory groups to know the drill... 

And though you’ve been working hard, I’m betting that no one is bored, because this industry is moving at warp speed. When I spoke to you in March, I opened by saying it’s been “a consequential six months since the last COMSTAC meeting.”

In hindsight that looks like the understatement of the year...

From March 23rd, the date of the last COMSTAC meeting, up until October 31, there have been 34 FAA-licensed launches and reentries.

Those included...

A second NASA commercial space crew who flew on the SpaceX Dragon to the International Space Station......and by the time you see this, Crew 2 should be splashing down following Crew 3’s arrival on another Dragon;

And four human spaceflight missions by Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX, that among them included three suborbital trips, one multi-day orbital flight, and the youngest and eldest people to go into space, including William Shatner, Captain Kirk himself. 

As they say, you can’t make this stuff up!

While the astronauts and spaceflight participants are making all of the headlines, Wayne and the folks in AST have been moving at warp speed too. 

For one, the AST team did the groundwork that led to an agreement I signed with the Secretary of the Air Force that became effective in June. The agreement eliminates red tape and duplication of efforts for commercial space activities at the Space Force ranges in Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg, otherwise known as the Eastern and Western Ranges.

Based on COMSTAC’s recommendation to solicit industry input regarding R&D investments, the FAA is establishing a new research venture that we’re calling the Commercial Space Innovation Institute. Its mission will be to keep a finger on the pulse of the industry when it comes to needed R&D investments. 

You also asked us to prioritize our support for helping industry transition to the new Part 450 Streamlined Launch and Reentry Licensing regulations. I’m here to tell you we’ve made it so. Wayne and his team developed and published TEN advisory circulars this year—quite a feat for any agency—and possibly a record! 

COMSTAC also requested that we consider updates to financial responsibility as our next rulemaking effort, otherwise known as Part 440. Here too, we’re not gathering dust. The FAA commercial space team is in the process of setting up an Aerospace Rulemaking Committee—which we’re calling SPARC for short—that will start the formal work on this rule. We are anxious to get your input on this effort, and I understand part of today’s meeting will be to discuss Part 440. 

Finally, Wayne’s team is also working to improve the process under Part 450 regarding the “good enough” determination for pre-applications, also a COMSTAC recommendation. 

As you can see, there’s a lot going on, and while we don’t anticipate that it will slow down any time soon, I want to assure you that we aren’t letting the speed of innovation get ahead of our ability to assure safety. That won’t change. 

But what will change and evolve over time is how we regulate this fast-changing industry so that we can embrace innovation while at the same time protect public safety. 

Your advice, observations, and recommendations are a key part of that evolution as this industry continues to grow and prosper.  

Thanks for listening and thanks for your leadership and service to this agency. Have a great meeting. 

InfoShare Opening Remarks

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Hi everyone. It’s good to see all of you, after such a long time.  

Thank you for attending this event, and for your commitment to keeping our aviation system safe. It’s something I cherish, and I know you do too. 

November just happens to be Aviation History Month. And when they write the chapter on the last 20 months, it will be one when people read, they will ask: How did they maintain a safe aviation system despite challenge after challenge?

We all know in a normal year that we face safety challenges, but add to that the seesaw of travel demand, sustained uncertainty, and a highly transmissible virus … you have greater risk overall. 

But just as leaders did 25 years ago … when they put the greater good of the system ahead of their specific interests … and created the Commercial Aviation Safety Team … we have worked together to maintain a high level of safety. 

We saw an unprecedented amount of safety information sharing between industry and the FAA.

The Commercial Aviation Safety Team doubled the frequency of their meetings. 

We pulled together our expertise, and got important safety information out to Part 121 carriers and our international partners.

We’ll hear more about that during the briefings on CAST and the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing system (or ASIAS) later today. 

Now, that doesn’t mean we pat ourselves on the back and call it a day. In fact, our success is because we have not taken safety for granted. We know it is something that is cherished and that we must constantly work to achieve.

And I can tell you that the FAA is focused on meeting the challenges in an ever-more dynamic aerospace industry. 

A big element of that is the FAA’s new strategy plan – called Flight Plan 21.

Through this plan, we are working to keep our proactive safety efforts ahead of the rapid innovations in our industry. 

We are actively expanding our portfolio of data collection and analytics tools so we can share safety data within the FAA, and with industry stakeholders and international partners.

We’ll focus on ways to establish an even stronger safety culture, and position us take advantage of new tools like data fusion and enterprise information management. 

Following on our experience from the MAX aircraft…

We are actively working to implement more than 100 requirements of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act that Congress passed in 2020. 

We’re promoting more expanded use of Safety Management Systems to manufacturers and considering it in the other areas of the aerospace system.   

The FAA is also taking a fresh look at the human factors assumptions we’ve been using for the design and certification of transport category aircraft—including pilot response times.                                        
And we are working closely with our international partners on pilot training requirements. 

Just as the FAA is making improvements, the industry will need to do that as well. 

COVID-19 hastened a lot of retirements – thousands of pilots, mechanics, engineers, flight attendants, dispatchers, and other professionals. That’s a lot of experience going out the door.

Integrating a new workforce will bring new challenges especially with the stress that is in our system. We need to use our Safety Management Systems to identify risks that may not currently exist but that are looming. And we need new members of our workforce to immediately know they can share safety concerns. 

We’re also seeing a dynamic business environment. 

Some carriers have shifted some of their operations to different airports. Some passenger carriers have gone into the cargo business.

And some airlines are retiring old aircraft and replacing them with a new modern fleet that pilots are less familiar with. 

We must be vigilant in making sure that these operations adhere to safety processes, and that hazards are being identified and mitigated.

The same goes for new entrants. Drones and commercial space operations continue to move at a rapid pace. We have to make sure that new operators are brought into the proactive safety culture. And that these new operations are safely integrated into the airspace system, and that they operate safely together.

In closing, let’s have a productive meeting this week.

We want to know about the safety risk and challenges you’re seeing. Let’s share best practices, and this will help fuel our respective SMS programs. As we do these things, we’ll continue to maintain the tremendously safe system we have.

And when we talk about Aviation History Month, we’ll be in a position to tell the story of how we’ve made aviation safe—despite historic challenges.  

Thanks everyone.

Before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Implementation of Aviation Safety Reform

Written Testimony

Good morning Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, and Members of the committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you today to discuss the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approach to aviation safety oversight and our activities to implement changes to strengthen the aircraft certification process. Certifying aviation products is a critical aspect of the FAA’s safety mission. We are committed to improving the certification process, including our oversight of functions delegated to aircraft designers and manufacturers. We have undertaken a number of initiatives to address this goal, as well as to comprehensively implement the requirements of the bipartisan Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act.  

Before we begin to discuss the specifics of certification reform implementation, on behalf of the United States Department of Transportation and everyone at the FAA, I would like to recognize, as we have before, the families of the victims of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents and extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to them. It has been 3 years since the Lion Air accident, and we have made significant progress on addressing the findings and recommendations that resulted from the numerous investigations and independent reviews of both accidents involving the Boeing 737 MAX. We will continue to prioritize our work to improve aviation safety to make sure this never happens again. 

As mentioned, our efforts to implement certification reform are well underway. I want to thank Congress for enacting this landmark aviation safety legislation and for this committee’s continued leadership on aviation safety matters. The Act has more than one hundred unique requirements that we are implementing in a holistic, systematic, transparent, and efficient manner to improve aircraft certification and safety oversight. The FAA is working diligently to implement the requirements while also ensuring that we are approaching our efforts as systemically and effectively as possible. Specific agency actions taken to implement the requirements of the Act are discussed more fully below; however, I also wish to note that, in general, our approach to aircraft certification and safety oversight has changed. The FAA’s relationship with manufacturers is evolving. We are prioritizing oversight of manufacturers and working to focus that oversight on safety critical areas. We are delegating fewer responsibilities and demanding more transparency from them, and evaluating key assumptions prior to delegating functions in certain areas. While we continue to value their technical expertise, we are also committed to enforcing the highest safety standards for the manufacturers that we regulate. Our work to fully implement the Act is still in the early stages, and we are carrying it out with the urgency that it requires.  The discussion below provides an overview of some of our accomplishments to date.   

• Safety Management Systems. To ensure a holistic and proactive assessment and mitigation of hazards, and to support further improvement in safety performance, we continue to work with industry to increase transparency, strengthen risk management practices, and improve feedback channels between industry and the FAA.  We believe that enhancing and promoting the use of safety management systems (SMS)—where safety issues are actively looked for and identified, and then the root cause is addressed—is integral to achieving this objective, and we have taken a number of steps toward increasing the use of SMS in the design and manufacturing environment. As required by the Act, we have initiated a rulemaking that contemplates requiring aircraft manufacturers that hold both a type certificate and a production certificate to adopt SMS, consistent with international standards and practices.1  As part of this rulemaking, we will also evaluate potential SMS requirements for repair stations, certificate holders that conduct common carriage operations under part 135, and certain air tour operators under Part 91.2  We also created guidance for the development of voluntary SMS programs and are working closely with industry to encourage participation in voluntary SMS programs to further enhance safety across the entire aviation system. Currently, four design and manufacturing organizations have voluntarily adopted SMS with six others in progress. Boeing also established an SMS under the FAA’s Voluntary SMS program as part of the settlement agreement. The voluntary programs have enabled the FAA to gain valuable experience on oversight of SMS for design and manufacturing organizations, and the lessons learned will help inform FAA’s SMS rulemaking and policy development. 
• System Safety and Human Factors.  We are working on several initiatives to ensure system safety assessments and human factors assumptions are incorporated into the FAA’s aviation safety policy and oversight. We have initiated a rulemaking to standardize regulations and guidance for conducting system safety assessments on transport category airplanes.3 In addition, the expert safety review panel that we established pursuant to the Act is meeting regularly to review the assumptions relied upon in aircraft design and certification of transport category aircraft—including assumptions regarding pilot response times. We are also developing new guidance for industry on the submission of safety critical information. There are several interrelated provisions regarding human factors and human systems integration. To address these, we have taken a number of steps to strengthen the foundation of aviation human factors safety research and to bolster the technical expertise within the Aviation Safety (AVS) organization. This includes developing a human factors education and training program, doubling the number of human factors staff within AVS, and realigning the hiring of technical advisors with the necessary technical expertise involved in critical safety decisions.
• Global Collaboration. To further international harmonization and collaboration with respect to aircraft type certification and continued operational safety, the FAA established the Changed Product Rule International Authority Working Group and held the first meeting in July 2021. This working group will develop recommendations for international policy and guidance to ensure proposed changes to an aircraft are evaluated from an integrated whole aircraft system perspective. The FAA is working closely with the International Civil Aviation Organization and other international stakeholders to influence and adjust the maintenance and pilot training requirements for U.S. products operating under the oversight of another civil aviation authority. In addition, FAA representatives have presented at and attended several webinars, work group meetings, and seminars, including a presentation at the 2021 Zhuhai International Flight Training and Safety seminar on topics of competency based pilot training and automation dependency. The FAA plans to continue this global engagement into the future, including seeking new opportunities to collaborate with civil aviation authorities and other international stakeholders to foster improvements in international safety standards and practices for aircraft design and certification, pilot training, and operational safety management.  Additionally, to fulfill the requirement to ensure that pilot operational evaluations for aircraft type certifications utilize pilots from air carriers that are expected to operate such aircraft, the FAA has already begun to incorporate air carrier pilots into such evaluations.
• Data.  We are actively expanding our oversight capabilities by advancing data collection and analytics tools to share safety data within the FAA and between industry stakeholders and international partners. These efforts include technological enhancements to the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing system to integrate new data sources and methods for safety analysis, which will improve data quality and accessibility to support risk-based decision-making. In addition, the FAA’s new contract with the Transportation Research Board, established pursuant to the Act in June 2021, will aid the agency’s effort to conduct annual analysis and reporting on current and emerging safety trends in aviation.  As the aviation landscape continues to evolve, it will be increasingly necessary to bolster the FAA’s use of safety data and collaboration with industry to identify potential hazards and safety problems and to solve these problems before they give rise to an accident or incident. 
• Integration of Certification and Oversight. The Act requires the FAA to convene an interdisciplinary integrated project team upon the agency’s receipt of every application for a new type certificate for a transport category airplane. The FAA previously commissioned the Integrated Program Management team comprised of subject matter experts from Flight Standards and the Aircraft Certification Service to assess current practices and policies and make recommendations for improving FAA oversight through the integration of design and operations. The best practices identified from this process are being applied to ongoing certification projects, and we intend to enhance the current procedures to incorporate additional requirements contained in the Act.  The FAA is also revising our current Technical Advisory Board (TAB) process to use the TAB in all new and amended type certification projects. We anticipate implementing this policy next spring. The Act also directs FAA to establish an executive council to oversee the FAA Compliance Program. This program provides a framework for how the agency returns a regulated entity to compliance through comprehensive safety data sharing between the FAA and regulated entities. Pursuant to the Act’s requirements, we established the FAA Compliance Program Executive Council to monitor the operation and effectiveness of the Compliance Program, and held the first meeting in August 2021. We also updated the Compliance Program order to reflect the implementation of the Executive Council and the Compliance Program Steering Committee.4
• Culture of Safety and Excellence. The FAA is committed to fostering a just safety culture, while providing transparency to improve safety, operational excellence, and efficiency. These efforts include promoting voluntary safety reporting, increasing workforce competencies, and attracting talented staff. In April 2021, we implemented the Voluntary Safety Reporting Program (VSRP) to provide a mechanism for employees to voluntarily report potential hazards and safety concerns without fear of reprisal or other repercussions.5  Preliminary data on VSRP usage indicates that employees are comfortable using the system and they are regularly using it to raise safety concerns. An added bonus of VSRP is that it promotes collaboration between employees and management for proactively addressing safety concerns and developing corrective action recommendations. To assess the effectiveness of these efforts and to meet the requirements of the Act, we will conduct annual internal safety culture assessments that include surveys of AVS employees in order to evaluate the safety culture and the implementation of VSRP programs.
• Accountability. A critical part of fostering a just safety culture is ensuring that we hold our people to the highest safety standards. In response to requirements in the Act, we have taken a critical look at our own internal oversight processes and taken steps to enhance accountability. This includes re-designating the Office of Investigations to the new Office of Investigations and Professional Responsibility and establishing investigative processes that are based on best practices identified from similar offices at other federal agencies and from the FAA’s experience, expertise, and other sources. Although our work is not yet done, we believe that incorporating these best practices will improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and transparency of the FAA’s investigative process.
• Delegation. The Act requires the FAA to institute extensive and meaningful changes to the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program and our oversight of that program. To address these legislative requirements, we expect to implement significant changes to our policies and procedures for delegating certification authority to private entities. These changes include policy requiring FAA approval of individual ODA unit members for certain ODA types, and policy aimed at preventing interference with ODA unit members in performance of their duties.  We are also standing up an expert panel to conduct a review of ODAs for transport category airplanes and make recommendations to the FAA based on that review. Additionally, as required under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, we previously established the ODA Office to provide oversight and to ensure consistency of the FAA’s audit functions under the ODA program. In April 2021, the FAA realigned the ODA Office to report directly to the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety. This reporting structure reflects the FAA’s priority to oversee, standardize, and ensure consistency in the ODA system, as well as to facilitate many of the ODA reform requirements contained in the Act. To that end, the ODA Office anticipates adding more employees in Fiscal Year 2022, and hiring has already begun. The additional staff will allow the office to perform more outreach, identify best practices, and implement measures to maintain consistent oversight.
• Certification and Continued Operational Safety Processes. Ensuring the safety of aviation products through certification is an important function of the FAA, and we are continuously taking steps to enhance the type certification process. This includes revising guidance and criteria used for determining significant changes to best ensure that proposed changes to an aircraft are evaluated from a whole aircraft-level perspective, including human interface elements. We have also commissioned external reviews to evaluate our Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Model and type certification process. To address the Act’s requirements to establish an appeal and issue resolution processes for certification decisions, we are developing an implementing order.
• Innovation. Aviation is incredibly dynamic, and it is imperative for the FAA to take steps to accelerate and expand the deployment of new technologies in order to reduce barriers and actively promote innovation that enhances the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System. We recently established and staffed the Center for Emerging Concepts and Innovation to support certification of new aircraft and technologies by providing pre-application engagement with companies to identify a preliminary path to compliance. We are also taking steps to foster enhanced coordination across the FAA on emerging products and concepts.

Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, I want to assure you, and each member of the committee, that the FAA is fully committed to thorough and complete implementation of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. As we continue this process, we remain committed to our transparent and accountable approach, which includes regular briefings on our progress with staff of the committees of jurisdiction, labor partners, industry stakeholders, and more. We will continue to assess our entire certification and oversight framework in light of past experience, industry growth, technological advancements, and innovation as we carry out our responsibilities for public safety. We approach all of this work with humility and do not take safety for granted. We are confident that we are making substantial and meaningful progress, and will continue to keep Congress apprised throughout this work.
___________________________________

1  RIN 2120-AL60, Safety Management System (SMS) for Parts 21, 91, 135 and 145 issued. https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202104&RIN=2120-AL60
2  The FAA is developing a final rule to require the use of SMS at airports certificated under Part 139. RIN 2120-AJ38, Airport Safety Management System. https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202104&RIN=2120-AJ38
3  RIN 2120-AJ99, System Safety Assessments for transport category airplanes issued.
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202104&RIN=2120-AJ99
4  Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Aviation Administration Compliance Program, Order 8000.373B, April 22, 2021, at http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/FAA_Order_8000.373B.pdf.
5  Federal Aviation Administration, Aviation Safety Voluntary Safety Reporting Program, Order 800.375, February 02, 2021, at http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/VS_8000.375.pdf.
 

Before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Implementation of Aviation Safety Reform

Oral Testimony

Good morning Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, and Members of the committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the FAA’s approach to aviation safety oversight and our efforts to strengthen the aircraft certification process. Safety is a journey, not a destination. We are constantly evolving as a regulator and an air navigation services provider to deliver the safest and most efficient aerospace system in the world. That’s our mission, and our entire workforce of nearly 45,000 federal employees is singularly focused on achieving that mission.

As the head of the FAA, safety is my North Star. One of the first things I did as FAA Administrator was make it clear that we are the regulator, and that included resetting our relationship with Boeing. I said we would continue to exert a high level of scrutiny across the board, and we continue exert that scrutiny today. I’ve made it clear internally that we always do the right thing when it comes to safety—and that I have the workforce’s back on that. We’re also asking ourselves the hard questions, and we’re asking them of those we regulate. When it comes to safety, we do not accept the status quo. 

This is why we embrace reform, and we are focused across the agency on continuous improvement. I will discuss a number of initiatives that we have underway and the work we have completed to address this goal and to implement the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. 

But first, let me say to the families of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes, that the FAA is committed to applying the lessons learned from these tragedies so that the aviation system here—and around the world—continues to improve.  I want this Committee to know that the FAA appreciates—and respects—the input and direction from Congress, and that we remain fully committed to executing this legislation to make near—and long term—safety improvements that benefit the global aviation system.

The Act has more than 100 specific requirements that we are implementing to make aircraft certification and safety oversight more holistic, systematic, transparent, and effective. I can say with confidence that we are doing more for certification oversight, and we are doing it more systematically, since this time last year. 

For one, we are delegating fewer responsibilities to manufacturers and demanding more transparency from them. At the same time, we are making use of their technical expertise as we prioritize our safety oversight functions.  

The FAA is also revising guidance and criteria used for determining significant modifications to an aircraft so that proposed changes are evaluated from a whole aircraft system perspective and not just a single part. 

We are promoting the use of safety management systems, or SMS, internally and externally. With SMS, an organization actively searches for and identifies safety issues, and then addresses the root cause. From my own experience, I know that SMS works, but only if there is buy-in from everyone in the organization, from the C-Suite down to the person pushing the broom on the shop floor, At the FAA, that means when anyone—at any level—flags an issue, I’ve got their back. No questions asked. 

Because SMS works, we have not let the rulemaking process hinder manufacturers from using it now. Currently, four design and manufacturing organizations, including Boeing, have voluntarily adopted SMS, with six others in progress. 

Human factors continues to be an important part of our work in evaluating aircraft and aircraft systems. We've expanded our evaluation of manufacturers’ assumptions about human factors that equipment manufacturers make when performing system safety assessments, including pilot response times. The FAA has initiated rulemaking to update regulations and guidance for conducting system safety assessments on transport category airplanes. And we've increased our research on automation, including potential over-reliance on automated systems and loss of basic piloting skills. To support this increased emphasis on human factors, we've hired 14 new Human Factors Specialists in our Aircraft Certification and Flight Standards organizations.

We are actively expanding our portfolio of data collection and analytics tools so we can more effectively share safety data within the FAA and among industry stakeholders and international partners. Data is key to the early identification of potential hazards and safety problems. Per the Act, we have a new contract with the Transportation Research Board that will help us discover emerging safety trends in aviation. 

Since aviation is a global system, the FAA is also working closely with the International Civil Aviation Organization and other international stakeholders to influence and adjust the maintenance and pilot training requirements for U.S. products operating under other civil aviation authorities. 

Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, and members of the committee, as you can see, the FAA is fully committed to a thorough and complete implementation of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. We approach all of this work with humility and never take safety for granted. However, we are not just doing this work because you have directed us to do it; we are doing it, because it is the right thing to do for aviation safety—it is our mission. This is what the public expects and it is the standard we have set for ourselves. The  FAA will accept nothing less.

Thank you again for your support and direction. I am happy to answer your questions.

 

FAA Proposes Medical Requirements for Commercial Hot-Air Balloon Pilots

WASHINGTON— The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a rule today requiring commercial hot-air-balloon pilots to hold medical certificates when operating for hire. The rule would mandate a second-class medical certificate, the same standard required for commercial pilots. 

“Balloon pilots are responsible for the safety of their passengers,” FAA...

Three Military Airports Now Eligible for Funding to Add Civilian Operations

WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected three airports to be eligible for grants to add civilian aviation operations at former and current military airfields, adding system capacity and helping to reduce congestion at existing airports. Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas; Mobile Downtown Airport in Mobile, Ala.; and Salina Regional Airport in Salina, Kan., will now be able to apply for Airport Improvement Grants....

FAA Launches Nationwide Solicitation to Design Air Traffic Control Towers of the Future

Dangerous Laser Strikes Continue Rise in ’21