This Day in FAA History: May 15th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19300515: In regulations effective on this date, the Department of Commerce required airlines to obtain a certificate of authority to operate if they engaged in interstate passenger service. To qualify, an airline was required to demonstrate that it possessed aircraft that were properly equipped and maintained, a sufficient number of qualified airmen, and an adequate ground organization for the services provided. The routes served were required to possess such air navigation facilities as the Department deemed necessary for safe and reliable operations. Airlines were required to apply for the certificate by July 15, a deadline later extended to August 15, 1930.
19300515: Boeing Air Transport inaugurated the first airline stewardess service. The first stewardess was a registered nurse, Ellen E. Church, who has been described as the first female crew member aboard a commercial airliner.
19390515: The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), an organization devoted to the interests of general aviation, was founded. C. Townsend Ludington became the association’s first president. The first major organization of its kind, AOPA would assume in the years to come a large voice in aviation affairs.
19440515: CAA announced that it had trained 1,536 men of the Armed Forces in air traffic control work: 605 Army and 628 Navy enlisted control tower operators and 303 Army flight control officers.
19450515: Effective this date, CAA Administrative Order No. 34 formalized the first steps of an extensive reorganization intended “to meet urgent problems, domestic and foreign, of postwar expansion of civil aviation.” The revised organizational structure redesignated the Federal Airways and Safety Regulation Services as “offices” and established an Office of Airports and an Office of Field Operations. Assistant administrators directed the Washington program offices, and a regional adminstrator replaced the regional manager in supervising each of the nine regions. Based on a concept of decentralized administration, the new pattern of organization placed responsibility upon the regional administrators for the executive direction of CAA programs in their respective regions. The role of the Washington office involved “establishing the broad over-all plans, general policies, and standardization of equipment and procedures.” (See November 3, 1948, and June 2, 1949.)
19500515: A conference between British aviation officials and representatives of CAA and Civil Aeronautics Board opened in Washington to seek agreement on a number of technical problems related to airworthiness and certification requirements. (See February 10, 1953.)
19590515: New procedures for allocating airspace to meet civil and military requirements became effective. In keeping with the authority vested solely in the FAA Administrator by the Federal Aviation Act, the revised rules superseded procedures under which airspace matters were processed through the Air Coordinating Committee and its regional counterparts. The new regulation also established procedures for assignment of airspace in accordance with provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. By the end of calendar 1960, approximately 25,100 square miles of restricted- and prohibited-area airspace had been restored to common use. Approximately 123,700 square miles of restricted-airspace blocks remained.
19700515: FAA published new taxiway design standards aimed at speeding ground movements of large aircraft and thus increasing an airport’s capacity. These new standards were based on the size of the aircraft using an airport; previously, taxiway designs were determined by the length of the runway. The agency intended the new standards primarily for yet-to-be-built airports, though they applied to existing airports served by aircraft in the Boeing 747 category.
19700515: FAA completed the functional realignment of the Logistics Service on this date. This service, while relinquishing some of its responsibilities to the National Airspace System Program Office and the Facility Installation Service (see January 19, 1970), retained its responsibility over materiel purchasing; at the same time, it was given the responsibilities in property management previously exercised by the Office of Management Systems and moved (on January 19, 1970) from the jurisdiction of the Associate Administrator for Development to the jurisdiction of the Associate Administrator for Administration. (See December 22, 1967.)
19800515: FAA established a terminal control area (TCA) at San Diego as part of the agency’s response to a midair collision that killed 144 persons (see March 1976). FAA established another TCA at Honolulu on November 27. These new Group II TCAs brought the total in this category to 14, in addition to 9 Group I TCAs at the nation’s busiest locations. (See August 1, 1975 and August 31, 1986.)
19900515: The President’s Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism released its report, which focused on the bombing of Pan American Flight 103 (see December 21, 1988). The report included criticism of FAA and recommendations for improving security and combating terrorism. Among its recommendations, the report suggested that FAA: elevate is security division to a position reporting directly to the Administrator (see June 14, 1990); appoint federal security managers to manage security at domestic airports (see October 1, 1991); launch a research and development program to produce techniques and equipment to detect small amounts of plastic explosives (see November 16, 1990); and make public notification of threats to civil aviation under certain circumstances.
19980515: FAA commissioned the country’s 34th Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) at Newark International Airport. It also commissioned an airport surveillance radar (ASR-9) there. The ASR-9 replaced the ASR-7 at Newark, providing a clearer picture of weather and aircraft than the older system.
20070515: FAA released the Future Airport Capacity Task (FACT) 2 report. The study identified six airports and four metropolitan areas in the national airspace system that, despite the effect of currently planned improvements, were likely to be capacity-constrained by 2015 and 2025. It recommended airport planning and development to increase the capacity of the system to meet these anticipated future aviation demands.
20130515: The White House nominated Michael Whitaker, an airline industry veteran, to fill the deputy administrator role left vacant by Michael Huerta’s January 1 appointment as FAA administrator. Whitaker, who worked for the air transport division of Indian conglomerate InterGlobe Enterprises, had more than 20 years of experience in the airline industry, first with Trans World Airlines and then at United Airlines, where he worked for 15 years. Whitaker served as senior vice president for alliances, international, and regulatory affairs at United before joining InterGlobe in 2009. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood swore him in on June 3, 2013. (See June 23, 2010.)
20180515: The Department of Transportation issued a statement instructing U.S. airlines to continue allowing the transport of the most common service animals. The Department said it “wants to ensure that individuals with disabilities can continue using their service animals while also helping to ensure that the fraudulent use of other animals not qualified as service animals is deterred.” The Department said it planned to ask for public comment about amending its existing regulations. (See October 5, 2018.)
20190515: With the approval of the Secretary of State and in close coordination with the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Secretary of Transportation Chao issued an order suspending air service between the United States and Venezuela. The Acting Secretary of Homeland Security requested the action based on an assessment of security conditions in Venezuela.
20200515: Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced the appointment of 30 board members to the newly-formed Women in Aviation Advisory Board (WIAAB). Former U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson served as chair of the board. At the time of her appointed Wilson was the president of the University of Texas at El Paso. The WIAAB had been mandated by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. The purpose of the WIAAB was to develop strategies and recommendations to encourage women and girls to enter the field of aviation. The WIAAB assessed education, training, mentorship, outreach, and recruitment of women in the aviation industry. (See October 9, 2019.)