Slowed by a plethora of amendments, including many that have little or nothing to do with aviation, the Senate is continuing to plod through a fifth day of debate on an FAA reauthorization package that would accelerate modernization of the ATC system; address critical safety concerns raised by the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 more than a year ago near...
moreCanadian Transport Minister John Baird today announced that Transport Canada is taking back the certification and oversight functions for business aviation from the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA), effective April 1 next year. In 2005, Transport Canada transferred administration and management responsibilities under CAR 604–the regulation...
moreThe NTSB denied an FAA appeal of a judicial decision requiring the agency to pay Punta Gorda, Fla.-based aeromedical operator Air Trek $120,169.35 in attorney fees and expenses related to the FAA’s emergency revocation of Air Trek’s Part 135 certificate in June 2008. The FAA’s revocation order initially contained 38 factual allegations and 14 regulatory...
moreDebate on S.1451, a bill that would reauthorize FAA spending and programs for two years, began this morning on the Senate floor. In addition to renewing all of the FAA’s four major accounts–operations; facilities and equipment; Airport Improvement Program; and research, engineering and development–the FAA Transportation and Safety Improvement Act...
moreThe FAA said in its annual aviation forecast this morning that key airspace safety and modernization efforts contained in the Next Generation Air Transportation System will play a vital role in spurring long-term sustained growth in air travel and the nation’s overall economic health. Domestic mainline and regional airline enplanements are projected to...
moreThe FAA’s long-promised April 10 release of its ADS-B final rule appears to have hit two bureaucratic stumbling blocks. For the agency to complete the process, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must sign off on the program’s financial aspects, an activity that usually takes 90 days. Unfortunately, although FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt...
moreA federal judge for the District of Columbia has ruled that aircraft tail numbers submitted for blockage under NBAA’s Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program must be made available in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). But the ruling does not permit the disclosure of real-time flight data, historical data or...
moreFollowing the NTSB’s February 2 report on the Colgan Air accident, the FAA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) asking for public comment and recommendations by April 9 on possible changes to regulations relating to the certification of pilots conducting domestic, flag and supplemental operations.Two days later, FAA Administrator Randy...
moreErroll Southers, the White House choice to head the leaderless Transportation Security Administration (TSA), withdrew his name from consideration on January 20, saying his nomination had been “obstructed by ideology.”
The Obama Administration announced on September 10 its intention to nominate Southers as assistant secretary for the TSA, which would have...
moreThe Finnish Border Guard has ordered an AgustaWestland AW119Ke for border patrol, special operations and firefighting missions. It will join the agency’s first three AW119Kes, scheduled to enter service during the third quarter. All will operate from Helsinki and Rovaniemi. In Bulgaria, the Ministries of Finance and Interior have ordered two AW109 Powers to...
moreThe British Government has selected a consortium that includes CHC as the preferred bidder for a 25-year, search-and-rescue helicopter (SAR-H) contract that could be worth as much as $10 billion. CHC, based in Vancouver, B.C., is the world’s largest commercial provider of offshore helicopter services with a fleet of more than 270 aircraft operating in 30...
moreAs government and industry plan for more environmentally friendly energy sources, companies continue to invest in and research alternative fuels for aviation. The U.S. Air Force, one of the government’s largest consumers of fuel, for example, has set a goal that 50 percent of its fuel purchases be composed of domestic synthetic fuel blends by 2016, while...
moreNBAA issued a call to action to oppose a proposed bill in the Washington state legislature that would impose a 0.5-percent excise tax on aircraft in the state. House Bill 3176 (HB 3176) and accompanying Senate Bill 6873 (SB 6873) would impose this annual tax, according to the most recent sales price, depreciated via a state-mandated schedule. While NBAA is...
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