This Day in FAA History: July 25th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19470725: President Truman approved the National Security Act, which provided for the unification of U.S. Armed Forces, including an Air Force coequal with the Army and Navy, under a new Department of Defense.
19570725: Dynamite exploded in the lavatory of a Western Airlines Convair 240 flying at 7,500 feet over California, blowing the person who had detonated the charge through the side of the aircraft. The plane landed successfully without further casualties.
19610725: FAA requested contract bids for the development of a compact airborne radar beacon for light aircraft. The transponders became commercially available during fiscal year 1965. The equipment, designated SLATE (small lightweight altitude-transmitting equipment), provided air traffic controllers with altitude information, permitting users to receive positive separation service in busy terminal area controlled airspace.
19670725: United Airlines made public its order for 79 jet aircraft at a cost of $690 million, the largest airline equipment purchase announced at one time to that date. The order included 13 Boeing 747s, 23 Boeing 727s, 25 Boeing 737s, and 18 McDonnell Douglas DC-8s.
19670725: A Federal mediation board recessed without resolving a dispute between United Air Lines and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) over the crew complement of the Boeing 737. United insisted that the aircraft could be safely flown with two pilots, while the union argued for a three-man cockpit crew. On March 21, 1968, United and its pilots agreed to conduct an in-service evaluation of the 737, but they could not agree on the evaluation’s results. On February 22, 1969, a Federal arbitration panel ruled in favor of the pilots for the life of the current United-ALPA contract, and on March 31, 1970, a second arbitration panel affirmed this ruling for the duration of the next contract. This decision on United Air Lines, the first airline to order the 737, influenced Western to accept a three-man cockpit on its 737s. (See Nov-20-29, 1966 and July 21, 1969.)
19780725: A new FAA regulation extended to both domestic and international charter operations security screening procedures long in effect for scheduled airlines. Although no charter aircraft operating from American airports had ever been hijacked, FAA took this action in response to two recent developments: the worldwide increase in hijacking attempts (see July 17, 1978), and rulings of CAB that relaxed many of the regulations that governed charter operations. The old requirement that only “affinity” groups could qualify for reduced charter fares had heretofore been regarded as a protection against hijackers, but that was among the rules no longer applied by CAB.
19790725: FAA abolished the Europe, Africa, and Middle East Region. The agency assigned the executive direction of the Europe, Africa and Middle East Office to the Associate Administrator for Policy and International Affairs. On the same day, FAA transferred the responsibility for the flight inspection program in the North Atlantic, European, African and Middle Eastern areas from the Europe, Africa and Middle East Region to the Flight Standards National Field Office.
19830725: FAA placed the Advanced Automation Program Office under the executive direction of the Associate Administrator for Development and Logistics. (See August 30, 1982.)
19910725: FAA announced the results of the first full year of drug testing (CY90) of employees in and applicants for safety/security positions in the aviation industry: of 230,621 tests, 966 (or 0.4 percent) were positive for drug use. The rate of positive findings in subsequent years remained below one percent. (See December 1, 1989, and February 3, 1994.)
20030725: FAA released a plan to develop air traffic procedures that would employ Required Navigation Performance (RNP) and area navigation (RNAV), coupled with onboard technology, to help pilots to navigate to any point in the world. The RNP Roadmap identified steps and milestones that would transition the U.S. airspace system from reliance on airways running over ground-based navigation aids to a point-to-point navigation concept that would take maximum advantage of advanced automation capabilities aboard aircraft. The plan, which would be updated regularly, was to be divided into three implementation timeframes
* Near-Term (2003-2006). FAA and industry would implement a first set of RNP and RNAV procedures in all phases of flight. The agency also would continue to develop criteria and guidance for more advanced RNP/RNAV operations.
* Mid-Term (2007-2012). RNAV would become the primary means of navigation in U.S. airspace. Additional RNP procedures would be made available as more aircraft were equipped with advanced technologies. FAA would begin to remove some ground- based navigation aids, routes and procedures from service starting in 2010.
* Far-Term (2013-2020). Based on previous demonstration of RNP/RNAV benefits, the U.S. aircraft fleet would continue to advance its capabilities. By 2020, operators would use RNP and RNAV procedures operationally in all areas. A minimal operational network of ground-based navigation aids would remain in place. (See December 31, 2002; December 20, 2005.)
20130725: FAA issued an airworthiness directive advising airlines to inspect or remove emergency locator transmitters in Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner jets. The agency published the directive in the wake of a fire linked to one of the devices. (See June 23, 2013; July 26, 2013.)
20130725: The new air traffic control tower in Palm Springs, CA, became operational.
20210725: In an emergency announcement, FAA imposed new flight restrictions over Afghanistan for U.S. airlines and other U.S. operators in response to the risk posed by extremist/militant activity. FAA prohibited flights operating below 26,000 feet in the Kabul Flight Information Region, which largely covered Afghanistan, unless operating in and out of Hamid Karzai International Airport. (See August 20, 2021.)