Federal Aviation Administration

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Air Traffic Control Errors Soar 81%

But FAA say it's just because more are being reported

(Newser) - The number of air traffic control errors reported to the FAA has taken off over the past three years, climbing 81% from 2007 to 2010. More than 1,800 incidents were reported last year, according to USA Today , including 43 classified as the kind of error most likely to cause...

Yes, Your Phone Could Mess With the Plane

 Yes, Your Phone 
 Could Mess With 
 the Plane 
in case you missed it
Jan 22, 2011 12:02 PM CST

Yes, Your Phone Could Mess With the Plane

Experts suspect gadgets in a number of incidents

(Newser) - Show of hands: How many people actually turn off all their electronic devices on an airplane? Well, maybe you should next time, because experts say they might—just might—actually interfere with the flight. “It’s a good news-bad news thing,” one Boeing engineer tells the New York ...

FAA Not Sure Who Owns Thousands of US Planes

Chaos prompts terror fears; agency calls for re-registration

(Newser) - The FAA lacks key information on who owns some 119,000 private and commercial aircraft in the US, prompting concerns that terrorists or drug traffickers could use the paperwork mess to their advantage—something the latter group is already doing. The FAA is calling for all owners to re-register the...

FAA Lifts Ban on Antidepressants for Pilots

Advocates say change in decades-old policy will improve safety

(Newser) - The FAA will change a 70-year-old rule that bars pilots taking medication for depression from operating planes. The new policy, which takes effect Monday, allows pilots who have been successfully treated for a year with the patented or generic versions of Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, or Zoloft to request a waiver...

FAA Investigates American After Rocky Landings

Spate of incidents puts airline on the hot seat

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration is stepping up its oversight of American Airlines, looking for a link amid a spate of recent rough landings. Three American jets have had problematic landings in recent weeks, the most dramatic being an incident in Jamaica on Dec. 23, in which a 737 skidded off...

Northwest Pilots Clammed Up After Overshooting Airport

FAA transcript shows pair blaming silence on 'cockpit distractions'

(Newser) - Air traffic controllers who sought an explanation from the pilots of the "runaway plane," which overshot the Minneapolis airport by about 100 miles last month, got little satisfaction. After being out of radio contact for over an hour, controllers asked the crew of Northwest Flight 188 for a...

FAA Says Airport Computer Glitch Fixed
FAA Says Airport Computer Glitch Fixed
UPDATED
Nov 19, 2009 9:56 AM CST

FAA Says Airport Computer Glitch Fixed

System broke down in both Atlanta and Salt Lake City

(Newser) - FAA officials say failed computers that delayed flights across the country are now working again. The air traffic controllers union says the computer failure involved both of the Federal Aviation Administration's computer centers in Salt Lake City and Atlanta, which handle flight plans for air traffic throughout the country.

FAA Admits Flubs on Wandering Northwest Flight
FAA Admits Flubs on Wandering Northwest Flight
Runaway Plane
Nov 13, 2009 3:29 PM CST

FAA Admits Flubs on Wandering Northwest Flight

Miscommunication marked regulator's response to stray airliner

(Newser) - The FAA should have taken more decisive action on the Northwest Airlines flight that fell out of communication with ground control for 77 minutes last month, officials acknowledged today. While the plane was out of contact, air-traffic controllers changed shifts and failed to warn their replacements about the runaway plane....

FAA Starts Own Balloon Boy Probe

Flight delays at Denver airport during caper could result in fines

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration is the latest agency to start its own investigation of last week’s Colorado balloon circus, with authorities looking into delays at Denver International Airport during the craft’s flight. And while local law enforcement wants criminal charges against the Heene family, any FAA violations would...

Passengers Stuck on Runway Have No Recourse
Passengers Stuck on Runway Have No Recourse
analysis
Aug 13, 2009 12:52 PM CDT

Passengers Stuck on Runway Have No Recourse

(Newser) - The passengers who spent 5.5 hours trapped inside a plane in Rochester, Minn., last weekend didn’t revolt. But if they had, they could have wound up in trouble with the law, USA Today reports. Federal aviation laws give airlines sole authority over whether passengers stay on a plane...

Crash Renews Focus on Developing World's Air Safety

Yemen crash prompts concerns

(Newser) - After yesterday’s Yemeni Airbus crash, international watchdogs are taking a closer look at airline safety in developing countries, Bloomberg reports. The European Union may add Yemen to a list of more than 90 dangerous airlines from around the globe. Regulators in developing countries “tend to be under- supported...

Inspector Warned FAA a Year Before Buffalo Crash

(Newser) - A former inspector says he warned the Federal Aviation Administration a full year before February’s crash near Buffalo that Colgan Air might have trouble flying the model of plane involved in the disaster, the New York Times writes. Christopher Monteleon reported that Colgan’s pilots flew fatigued, exceeded manufacturer...

FAA Cans Navy Flight in Jittery NYC's Airspace

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration scrapped a Navy flight today that would have brought an anti-sub patrol plane into New York’s airspace, Bloomberg reports. The announcement came 30 minutes after a city email said the aircraft would be flying up and down the Hudson River. “I don’t know...

Hackers Expose Holes in Air Traffic Safety

Vulnerabilities abound ahead of planned $20B FAA upgrade

(Newser) - Civilian air traffic computer networks are riddled with security holes, and hackers have breached them several times in the past few years, the Wall Street Journal reports. Intruders could gain access to operational systems by first hacking into administrative areas using 763 separate “high risk” holes in those systems,...

To Promote Reporting, FAA Wants Bird Strike Info Secret

(Newser) - The FAA wants bird strike information kept confidential to encourage accurate reporting by airlines, ABC News reports. “There is a serious potential that information related to bird strikes will not be submitted because of fear that the disclosure of raw data could unfairly cast unfounded aspersions on the submitter,...

FAA Issued Safety Directive on Montana Plane

(Newser) - A new wrinkle has emerged in the investigation of the plane crash that killed 14 people in Montana Sunday, ABC News reports. Just two weeks ago, the FAA issued a directive ordering operators of the Pilatus PC-12 model to check for a potential problem with a control mechanism. The directive...

American Airlines Faces $7M Fine for Safety Violations

(Newser) - American Airlines faces FAA fines of more than $7 million for a series of safety and maintenance violations and for deficiencies in its drug and alcohol testing, the Wall Street Journal reports. In proposing one of its biggest fines ever, the FAA accuses American of knowingly flying planes that needed...

Rich Grouse as FAA Moves to Reroute Jets

Residents of tony suburbs fight plan to decongest air traffic

(Newser) - Wealthy Northeasterners are fighting FAA plans to decongest air traffic by rerouting jets, sending them over many upscale suburbs, reports USA Today. The FAA says it can cut delays by 20% and save airlines $285 million by fixing routes around New York and Philadelphia, but the rich and politically connected...

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