This Day in FAA History: July 6th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19360706: Federal air traffic control began as the Bureau of Air Commerce took over operation of the three airway traffic control centers at Newark, Chicago, and Cleveland. Up to this time, these centers had been operated by private airline companies (see December 1, 1935). The centers were placed under Earl F. Ward, whose appointment as Supervisor, Airway Traffic Control, had been announced on March 6, 1936. Ward reported to the chief of the Airline Inspection Service within the Air Regulation Division. When the Bureau assumed control of the centers, it hired fifteen center employees to become the original Federal corps of airway controllers.
19390706: Eastern Air Lines began the world’s first scheduled air mail service by a rotary winged aircraft, using a Kellet autogyro to fly from the roof of the Philadelphia Post Office to the airport at Camden, N.J. This experimental service lasted about one year. (See October 1, 1947.)
19570706: CAA announced that high speed teletypewriters able to transmit 100-word-per-minute would be installed along its three aeronautical weather networks. The new equipment was to replace 75-wordper-minute teletypewriters used for services designated “A,” “C,” and “O.” These three functions made up the basic weather distribution systems for the entire country’s military and civil aviation. On October 17, 1958, CAA announced the award of a contract for 600-word-per-minute teletypewriters and related equipment to further speed the dissemination of aeronautical weather information. (See January 16, 1961.)
19600706: FAA certificated the single-turbine Sikorsky S-62, an amphibious helicopter, for commercial operations on passenger and mail routes.
19690706: A Beech 99 operated by Air South crashed near Monroe, Ga., killing all 14 persons aboard the aircraft. In an accident report adopted on August 26, 1970, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cited the probable cause as “an unwanted change in longitudinal trim which resulted in a nose-down high-speed flight condition that was beyond the physical capability of the pilots to overcome.” NTSB stated that the design of the aircraft flight control system was conducive to malfunctions that could lead to a loss of control.
The Beech 99 had been type-certificated under FAA’s delegated option authority program (see September 29, 1950). Under this procedure, manufacturers of aircraft under 12,500 lb. were authorized to submit information that was used by FAA as a basis for certification. The NTSB report stated that FAA normally participated in flight tests only when a new regulation was applied to an aircraft, or when the manufacturer produced a new design feature that it had not previously certificated. The Beech 99’s trimmable stabilizer was such a new feature, but FAA had not participated in flight testing this item. NTSB recommended that FAA participate directly in the certification of all newly designed aircraft components. FAA replied that it participated directly in delegation option authority certification when deemed necessary, but had judged the design concept in question to be of high integrity. After subsequent reevaluation, the agency required numerous improvements to the component. In response to other NTSB recommendations, FAA revised its type certification handbook to assure proper consideration of information gained from accident investigations and took other steps to improve certification procedures.
19730706: The Environmental Protection Agency issued air pollution standards for aircraft engines and a timetable for their implementation. Formulated in consultation with FAA, the new standards applied to nearly all civil subsonic aircraft, and limited emission of smoke, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides. EPA specified a timetable for compliance that was less stringent than that outlined in its original proposal. To begin implementation of the standards, FAA published a rule on December 28, 1973, with an effective date of February 1, 1974. The rule required improved combustors to reduce smoke from the JT8D engines used on DC-9 and Boeing 727 and 737 aircraft, and also prohibited fuel venting from turbine engines with thrust of 8,000 lb. or greater. This regulation was followed by several others implementing the EPA standards. (See December 31, 1970, and January 7, 1980.)
19860706: President Reagan proclaimed this to be National Air Traffic Control Day in honor of the 50th anniversary of Federal involvement in controlling air traffic (see July 6, 1936). FAA personnel throughout the nation observed the occasion with ceremonies and celebrations.
20200706: FAA issued Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) 20012 advising air carriers and other commercial operators on how to continue operating safely in terminal airspace when an ATC facility with responsibility for that airspace closed unexpectedly.
20220706: President Joe Biden nominated Phillip Washington as the next FAA administrator. A Chicago native, Washington spent 25 years in the U.S. Army, retiring in 2000 with the rank of command sergeant major. He joined Denver’s Regional Transportation District and later became its CEO. In 2015, he left to head the Los Angeles County’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he stayed until becoming the CEO of Denver International Airport in 2021. (See March 31, 2022; January 3, 2023.)