This Day in FAA History: August 7th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19640807: Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution supporting intervention in the Vietnam conflict. U.S. involvement in the war had begun with the assignment of advisors to South Vietnam in the mid-1950s, and its scope increased greatly in the mid-1960s. The last U.S. troops left Vietnam in March 1973. (See Spring 1975.)
19670807: In a rule effective this date, FAA set equipment and procedural standards under with general aviation pilots operating properly equipped airplanes were authorized to land under Category II weather minimums–a 1,200-foot runway visibility range and a 100-foot decision height. (See October 2, 1964, and November 3, 1967.)
19680807: An FAA rule effective this date required deployment-assisting devices on parachutes for static-line jumps. The rule responded to a number of static-line parachuting accidents caused by improper extensions of the pilot chute or by entanglement of parachutes with jumpers. (See March 24, 1967.)
19950807: DOT announced that the Office of Commercial Space Transportation would move from the Office of the Secretary to FAA, effective October 1, 1995. The change was part of a larger DOT reorganization aimed at streamlining the Department in accordance with the National Performance Review (see September 7, 1993). The transfer of the office was delayed, however, until sanctioned by legislation (see November 15, 1995).
19970807: FineAir Flight 101, a DC-8, crashed on takeoff from Miami after improperly secured cargo slid. The excess weight in the rear portion of the aircraft caused a severe aft center of gravity condition, rendering the crew unable to lower the aircraft’s nose. The airplane stalled, crashed into a field, and slid across busy 72nd Avenue into a strip-mall parking lot.
20020807: Effective this date, FAA amended the noise certification standards for subsonic jet airplanes and subsonic transport category large airplanes. These changes were based on the joint effort of FAA, the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA), and the FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee, to harmonize the U.S. noise certification regulations and the JAA requirements for subsonic jet airplanes and subsonic transport category large airplanes. The changes would provide nearly uniform noise certification standards for airplanes granted certificates in the United States and in the JAA countries. The harmonization of the noise certification standards would also simplify airworthiness approvals for import and export purposes.
20140807: FAA announced the Griffiss International Airport UAS test site in Rome, NY, was ready to conduct research vital to integrating UAS into the NAS. The site was the fifth of six test sites to become operational. In addition to providing invaluable information for the integration of UAS into the NAS, the research at the Griffiss test site planned to evaluate methods for scouting agricultural fields using different types of sensors, including visual, thermal, and multispectral equipment, which would benefit farmers regionally and nationally. The research would enhance current methods of monitoring crops and provide additional information for continuing field research efforts. (See June 26, 2014; August 13, 2014.)
20200807: Float Shuttle announced it had completed acquisition of the RAVNAir assets it purchased at auction. It anticipated the newly named RAVN Alaska would begin flying as a charter service in November serving Homer and a few other remote Alaska communities. On October 13, RAVN Alaska announced FAA granted permission for it to begin flying charter flights, and the DOT issued what’s called a “show cause order,” which opened a 14-day window for anyone to show cause for the DOT not to find the air carrier fit, willing, and able to provide scheduled air service. On November 13, Ravn Alaska began flying scheduled public chartered flights between Anchorage and Unalaska, Sand Point, Homer, Kenai, and Valdez. (See July 7, 2020.)