This Day in FAA History: May 11th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19590511: The Vertol 107 helicopter, a twin-turbine-powered transport, was demonstrated in flight at Philadelphia International Airport.
19700511: Kenneth M. Smith became FAA’s Deputy Administrator, succeeding David D. Thomas (see July 1, 1965). He was nominated by the President on March 24, and confirmed by the Senate on April 30.
Born in Sacramento, Calif., Smith began his career in aviation in 1939 as an aircraft electrical installer with Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp. (later the General Dynamics Corp.) in San Diego. He was a Navy pilot during World War II, and attended St. Mary’s University and California Polytechnic University in 1943 and 1944 under a Navy training program. Smith returned to Consolidated Vultee at war’s end, became the firm’s representative in the nation’s capital in 1952, subsequently moved to other positions, and was named corporate vice president in 1960. Smith left General Dynamics in 1962 to become vice president/marketing for the Consolidated Electrodynamics Division of Bell and Howell. In 1964, he joined Rockwell Standard Corporation as vice president and assistant general manager of the Aero Commander Division, and was promoted to general manager in December. Smith became president of Management Enterprises, an aircraft industry consulting firm in Oklahoma City in 1966. In 1967, he assumed the presidency of Windecker Research in Midland, Tex., became vice chairman of the board in 1969, and held these positions when selected for FAA’s top post.
19700511: Smith served as FAA Deputy Administrator until July 15, 1972, when he left the agency to become Executive Vice President of E-Systems, Inc., an engineering research and development firm specializing in aerospace and electronic systems. (See August 9, 1974.)
19960511: A ValuJet DC-9 crashed into the Everglades shortly after takeoff from Miami, killing all 110 persons aboard. The crew’s loss of control was due to an intense fire caused by activation of one or more oxygen generators carried in the forward cargo compartment. In a report released in August 1997, the National Transportation Safety Board found the accident’s probable cause to be: the failure of SabreTech, a Valujet contractor, to properly handle and identify the chemical oxygen generators before presenting them to the airline for carriage; Valujet’s failure to properly oversee its contract maintenance program; and FAA’s failure to require smoke detection and fire suppression systems in cargo compartments of the type (Class D) in which the fire had started.
On the day after the crash, FAA announced an expansion of its ongoing review of Valujet (see February 20, 1996). On May 23, DOT’s Research and Special Projects Administration issued an immediate temporary ban on the the transportation of chemical oxygen generators as cargo on passenger airlines. (See June 17 and December 30, 1996.)
20180511: The DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower-court ruling in favor of the Transportation Department’s decision to approve flights into the U.S. by Norwegian Air International. Brought by four unions representing 135,000 aviation workers, the appellate case centered on language in so-called Open Skies agreements the U.S. negotiated with other countries. (See December 2, 2016.)
20180511: The United States and the United Arab Emirates resolved a years-old disagreement over alleged Emirati government subsidies to its airlines and accusations of unfair competition in the U.S. Under the deal, Dubai-based Emirates and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways agreed to voluntarily publish annual financial statements consistent with international accounting standards. The major U.S. carriers – Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines – had long alleged those financials reports obscured billions in hidden subsidies by the government. The more sensitive issue related to flights operated by Emirates that departed from the UAE, made stops in a second nation, and then continued on to the United States was not included in the deal. Emirates operated two such routes, known in the industry as “Fifth Freedom” flights, with one going from Dubai to Athens to Newark and the other going from Dubai to Milan to New York. The U.S. airlines had sought a binding commitment from the Gulf airlines that they would not start additional Fifth Freedom flights. Instead, they got a letter in which the Emiratis stated they currently had no plans to add more such flights. (See December 9, 2015.)