News and discussion on new FAA regulations.
Submitted by Jason on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 22:05
The city of Santa Monica, CA, has spent the past few years trying to enact a ban of large (Class C and D) aircraft at the Santa Monica airport (KSMO.) In 2009 the FAA rejected the city's ban and enacted a restraining order that allowed those jets to continue to use the airport. The city tried to appeal the FAA's actions, but their appeal was recently rejected by the US District Court of Appeals for Washington DC.
Make no mistake: this is a win for aviation and a caution to cities that choose to allow development in areas that should be reserved as safety zones around airports.
Submitted by Jason on Thu, 01/20/2011 - 19:26
Over three years ago, I wrote about Maine's outrageous Use Tax. The levy up to a 5% tax on any airplane owner whose aircraft spends more than 20 days in the state and hasn't already paid that much tax elsewhere.
The unfair and overbearing tax is a huge deterrent to both business and tourism. Thankfully though, it looks like Maine may be starting to see the light.
Submitted by Jason on Sun, 08/08/2010 - 17:50
The debate of total time versus training is probably as old as aviation itself. In fact, sailors were probably debating this issue centuries before the Wright Brothers ever got anywhere Kill Devil Hill. Would you rather fly on an airliner piloted by two people who have at least 1500 hours of total flight time or by people trained to operate that specific aircraft in all the normal, adverse and emergency situations it might encounter...even if one of them had fewer than 1500 hours? Is that 1500 hour mark magical? In emergency conditions, is a pilot with 1500 hours guaranteed to save your life when a pilot with only 750 might not? Not in the case of Colgan Airlines Flight 3407. The FO was the low-time crew member with over 2200 hours and they still crashed.
However, ever since that accident some people have been clamoring for higher minimum times for all airline pilots. The bill that made it through congress (HR 5900) set that requirement as a 1500 hour ATP rating for all airline pilots, no matter what seat they're in. Though Some Celebrate this the families of those who died on Flight 3407 celebrate this, I worry that the unintended side-effects of this legislation will cause some serious problems for aviation in America. I don't think I'm alone either.
Submitted by Jason on Thu, 06/24/2010 - 06:15
As reported by AvWeb, the FCC made an almost completely surprise move by announcing recently a new rule that prohibits "certification, manufacture, importation, sale, or continued use of 121.5 MHz ELTs." Yes, that's right. Within 60 days of this rule getting approved you could be required to spend about $1000 for a new 406 MHz ELT and even more to have it installed.
Submitted by Jason on Mon, 05/03/2010 - 05:00
Until recently, I had been very disappointed by Florida's policy on taxing aviation. Florida's tax books have a law that charges a 6% tax on any aircraft that enters the state within 6 months of being purchased - no matter where the aircraft was purchased or how long it was in the state. Thankfully, as mentioned in the video above, the AOPA and the Florida Aviation Trades Association (FATA) have worked enough with the state legislature that an important modification to this law made it through the house a couple days ago.
Submitted by Jason on Thu, 03/11/2010 - 14:52
I wrote recently about the tragic attack on an IRS building by an unstable man flying an airplane. At the time I was concerned that the possibility of labeling it as terrorism could lead to inappropriately stringent rules for general aviation.
Submitted by Jason on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 05:00
A tragic event occurred on Thursday. Disgruntled with the IRS and others, a man named Joseph Stack crashed his Piper Dakota into an IRS building in Austin, Texas. Sadly, one person in addition to Stack was killed in the event.
Submitted by Jason on Sat, 02/06/2010 - 05:00
I recently wrote about Colgan Air Flight 3407's tragic accident. Although Colgan themselves seem to think they're fine and it's good enough to blame their pilots, the FAA has thankfully taken a better approach. As mentioned by the AOPA, the FAA has issued "an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM)" about airline pilot qualifications. As I see it, the document is basically saying, "We know something is wrong and we want to fix it, but we're not 100% sure how to start. Here are some ideas, please let us know what you think."
What an opportunity for us! Whether you hope to fly for a living under the policies that will come out of this, or you just want to make sure you are safe as an airline passenger, this is the best chance you'll ever get to put in your two cents on how airline pilot qualifications should work.
