FAA Broadens Boeing 787 Cargo Compartment Check Applicability

By Sean Broderick Apr 16, 2021
The FAA is expanding a cargo-compartment inspection mandate to all Boeing 787s after determining the affected parts—decompression panels—may be found throughout the widebody twin fleet and not just on a limited number of aircraft.  
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Inspections Find More Electrical-Grounding Issues On Boeing 737 MAXs

By Sean Broderick Apr 15, 2021
One week into a de facto partial fleet grounding, Boeing continues to evaluate the scale and needed steps to correct 737 MAX electrical system problems—an issue that extends beyond the area originally flagged by the manufacturer.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Boeing’s March Deliveries Dominated By Stored 737 MAXs

By Sean Broderick Apr 13, 2021
Boeing’s March deliveries included 19 737 MAXs, pushing the first-quarter total to 58 and keeping the manufacturer largely on track to meeting its…
Aircraft & Propulsion

FAA Selects Airports For Counter-Drone Testing

By Bill Carey Mar 03, 2021
The FAA has announced the final four of five U.S. airports it has selected to evaluate drone countermeasure systems.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

FAA Targets 2025 For Changed Product Rule Update

By Sean Broderick Feb 26, 2021
The FAA has set the end of 2025 as its target for updating the changed product rule, issuing revised guidance on determining pilot reaction times when evaluating failure scenarios, and developing a process to ensure its engineers know when manufacturers change system safety assessments during product certification. 
Safety, Ops & Regulation

House Committee Seeks Review Of Drone Integration Efforts

By Bill Carey Feb 26, 2021
Bipartisan leaders of the U.S. House Transportation Committee have asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the FAA’s efforts to introduce drones into the national airspace system.
Urban & Unmanned Aviation

FAA Blasts Boeing’s Commercial Operation For Ongoing Noncompliance

By Sean Broderick Feb 25, 2021
Boeing failed to meet its obligations in five of 12 areas specified in a 2015 agreement with the FAA that required various safety and quality-control improvements in its Commercial Airplanes division and will pay $5.4 million in new penalties as a result, the FAA said Feb. 25. 
Safety, Ops & Regulation

FAA Offers Guidance For Oceanic Flights During ‘ATC Zero’

By Bill Carey Feb 24, 2021
International and regional procedures have been established for the unlikely but still possible contingency of losing direction from air traffic control (ATC) in oceanic airspace, a situation that occurred in spring 2020 in airspace controlled by the FAA’s New York oceanic control center.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Engine Failure Prompts Immediate Action For Pratt-Powered 777s

By Sean Broderick Feb 22, 2021
Global regulators and operators moved quickly to minimize the risk of another incident involving a Pratt & Whitney-powered Boeing 777, banning them from airspace or voluntarily pulling them from service while the FAA, Boeing, and Pratt develop immediate inspection parameters. 
Safety, Ops & Regulation

FAA Taps Aireon To Monitor 737 MAX Fleet

By Sean Broderick Feb 18, 2021
The FAA is leveraging its wide-ranging flight data tracking and analysis contract with Aireon to monitor Boeing 737 MAX operations as part of the model’s return to service, using a pair of products to get real-time flight alerts.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

FAA Flags Boeing 787 Cargo-Area Panels For Checks

By Sean Broderick Feb 17, 2021
The FAA is giving affected Boeing 787 operators 45 days to inspect forward and aft cargo compartments for damaged decompression panels after inspections for a related issue turned up the new problem, the agency said. 
Safety, Ops & Regulation

FAA Launches Probe Into SpaceX Starship Landing Mishap

By Irene Klotz Feb 03, 2021
An investigation has been launched into the mid-afternoon crash landing of a SpaceX Starship prototype in Boca Chica Beach, Texas.
Space

FAA Readies For First Air Mobility Certification In 2021

By Guy Norris Jan 27, 2021
The FAA expects to certify the first of a new generation of advanced or urban air mobility (AAM/UAM) aircraft later in 2021 and says regulations will be in place in time for initial piloted electric vertical-take-off-and-landing (eVTOL) operations to begin as early as 2023.
Urban & Unmanned Aviation

FAA Certifies Airworthiness Of Roadable Aircraft

By Bill Carey Jan 26, 2021
Terrafugia said Jan. 26 that it has obtained an airworthiness certificate from the FAA for its “Transition” roadable aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

FAA Order Targets 737-9s Missing Sealant On Wing Part

By Sean Broderick Jan 19, 2021
The FAA has flagged a subset of Boeing MAX-family aircraft as needing post-production re-work after the manufacturer discovered a sealant was not applied to certain components during manufacturing.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

FAA Extends Slot Relief At Congested U.S. Airports

By David Casey Jan 19, 2021
The FAA has extended slot relief at seven major U.S. airports for the entire summer 2021 season to help airlines cope with the “dramatic and extraordinary” impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Airports & Routes

FAA Imposes Stricter Penalties Against Unruly Passengers

By Bill Carey Jan 14, 2021
Airline passengers who disrupt flights in the U.S. face fines of up to $35,000 and possible imprisonment under an amended order announced by the U.S. FAA.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Daily Memo: Within The Industry, Boeing’s Settlement Won’t Settle Much

By Sean Broderick Jan 08, 2021
The settlement between Boeing and the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) is not likely to generate many positive reactions from outside the two organizations.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

FAA Releases Rule For Supersonic Flight Testing

By Bill Carey Jan 06, 2021
The FAA on Jan. 6 announced a final rule that streamlines the application process for testing supersonic aircraft over land.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Omnibus Bill Mandates U.S. Part 147 Update By April

By Sean Broderick Jan 05, 2021
Industry’s push to get revised training standards for U.S. mechanic educational programs received a boost in the recent stimulus bill, as Congress included language that calls on the FAA to issue a new rule by midyear. 
Workforce & Training

Alaska Airlines Upsizes Boeing MAX Order, Pivots Away from Airbus

By Ben Goldstein Dec 22, 2020
Alaska Airlines reached an agreement in principle with Boeing to take as many as 120 new 737-9 jets in coming years, marking the first sale of a MAX aircraft to a U.S.-based customer since the type was grounded nearly two years ago.
Airlines & Lessors

U.S. Congress Agrees On FAA Certification Changes, More Human Factors Emphasis

By Sean Broderick Dec 21, 2020
A bipartisan effort to fast-track new FAA certification and oversight mandates is using the emergency funding-focused omnibus bill to get the legislation into law, agreeing on new requirements targeting what the agency can delegate to manufacturers, emphasizing human factors reviews, and urging FAA to spearhead improvement of global pilot training. 
Safety, Ops & Regulation

U.S. Senate Report Faults FAA Oversight, Whistleblower Protections

By Sean Broderick Dec 21, 2020
The FAA’s recent shift towards working with certificate holders to resolve certain regulatory violations and its handling of safety complaints from employees are facing renewed scrutiny and some legislative changes following a Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee report on safety oversight.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

United Airlines To Resume 737 MAX Operations In February 2021

By Ben Goldstein Dec 18, 2020
United Airlines will become the second U.S. carrier to resume commercial Boeing 737 MAX operations when it reintroduces the model to service in…
Aircraft & Propulsion

FAA Chief: Advisory Boards Are New Certification ‘Best Practice’

By Sean Broderick Dec 16, 2020
The FAA, codifying a lesson learned from the Boeing 737 MAX saga, plans to use ad-hoc internal review boards to help validate work as during the aircraft certification process, administrator Steve Dickson said. 
Aircraft & Propulsion