Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19360103: Executives of scheduled U.S. airlines met in Chicago to form the Air Transport Association of America as a separate trade association for air carriers. Until the end of 1935, the founding airlines had belonged to the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce (see Calendar Year 1945). The new Association’s first president was Edgar S. Gorrell, whose effective lobbying was soon to play an important role in the passage of the Civil Aeronautics Act (see June 23, 1938). Gorrell served until 1945, and was succeded by: Emory S. Land, 1946-53; Earl D. Johnson, 1954-55; Harold L. Pearson, 1955; Stuart E. Tipton, 1955-72; Paul R. Ignatius, 1972-84; Norman J. Phillion, 1985; William S. Bolger, 1986-88; Robert J. Aaronson, 1989-92; and James E. Landry, who began serving in 1992.
19500103: Pan American Airways changed its name to Pan American World Airways. Nine days later, on January 12, the company completed its round-the-world radio-telephone communications system, which the Civil Aeronautics Administration had approved for air-ground operations. This long-term project for conversion from code to voice involved 19,687 miles of voice radio link and 32 high-frequency ground stations.
19590103: Alaska entered the Union as the 49th State.
19720103: Under a policy change effective this date, certain privately owned public-use airports became eligible for FAA facilities such as control towers, airport surveillance radars, terminal navigation aids, instrument landing systems, visual approach aids, and related equipment and services. Previously, only publicly owned airports were eligible for this assistance. The agency described the new policy as a response to a shortage of facilities serving the growing civil air fleet and to mounting opposition to development of new airports.
19730103: FAA issued a truth-in-leasing clause requirement for leases and conditional sales contracts involving large civil aircraft so that all concerned parties would know who had responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the aircraft and for complying with applicable Federal Aviation Regulations. (See October 2, 1970.) Later, a rule published on November 3, 1977, required the lessee or conditional buyer of a large civil aircraft to give notification 48 hours before its first flight to enable FAA to conduct the necessary surveillance or inspection.
19730103: Chairman Crocker Snow submitted to Congress the report of the Aviation Advisory Commission, which had been established by the Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970. Sworn in on December 17, 1970, the commission members had spent two years developing their report on the long range needs of U.S. aviation. Their recommendations included establishment of an Under Secretary of Transportation for Aviation with responsibility for a National Aviation Plan.
19750103: President Ford signed the Transportation Safety Act of 1974. Title I of this law, the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, gave the Secretary of Transportation new regulatory and enforcement authority to combat the risks of transporting hazardous materials in commerce (see July 1, 1976). (Title II pertained to railroad safety, and Title III concerned the status of the National Transportation Safety Board: see April 1, 1975). Title I specifically limited radioactive materials that could be shipped on commercial passenger aircraft to those intended for research or medical use. An FAA rule implemented this provision, effective May 3, 1975.
Effective March 7, meanwhile, FAA prohibited air carriage of hazardous material unless its container had been inspected to determine that, in all outward respects, it complied with packaging and marking requirements. In the case of radioactive materials, FAA also required scanning with a radiation monitoring instrument, after June 30, 1975 (a deadline later extended to January 1, 1976). The rule was based on a proposal published shortly after an incident on April 5-6, 1974, in which improperly shielded radioactive material had exposed airline passengers to unnecessary radiation.
19890103: As part of a series of security measures following the Lockerbie bombing (see December 21, 1988), the Federal Aviation Administration issued a rule requiring airport operators to supplement their procedures for limiting entry into secure areas by installing a computer-controlled access system, or a similar approved system. On March 13, FAA issued a rule requiring foreign air carriers that land or takeoff in the U.S. to submit a written security program to the agency. Two days later, the agency adopted a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000 for passengers trying to take guns through airport screening positions. On July 6, FAA issued a rule strengthening its system for providing security information to airlines by requiring compliance with prescribed countermeasures and making disclosure of information in security alerts a violation subject to penalty.
On September 5, FAA published a rule giving the agency authority to require airlines to install explosives detection systems (EDS) to screen passengers’ checked baggage for international flights, with about 40 U.S. and foreign airports targeted for initial implementation. Also on September 5, operational testing of the first of six FAA-funded Thermal Neutron Activation (TNA) explosive detection systems began at New York Kennedy airport (see November 7, 1988). Subsequently, operational demonstrations of TNA units were conducted at several other airports, but the devices were not adopted for permanent use.
Other security-related events during 1989 included the establishment on August 4 of the President’s Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism to review security policy (see May 15, 1990). Effective on October 10, FAA established an Aviation Security Advisory Committee including representatives of 16 Federal agencies and aviation organizations. (See March 3, 1990.)
19940103: As documented by a directive issued this date, the organization of the Associate Administrator for Airway Facilities included three Services: System Management (formerly System Maintenance), Operational Support, and NAS Transition and Implementation.
20060103: The Federal Service Impasse Panel ruled that contract negotiations between FAA and its systems technicians would begin on February 6 and continue through July 21. The contract between FAA and the Professional Airways Systems Specialists expired in July 2005, but no new negotiations had begun because the agency and the union could not agree on a timetable. (See March 30, 2006.)
20230103: President Biden renominated Phillip Washington for FAA administrator; he had first nominated him on July 6, 2022. On March 30, 2023, the Biden administration announced that Washington withdrew his name from consideration. (See September 7, 2023.)