This Day in FAA History: October 6th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19561006: Upgrading its fleet of flight inspection aircraft, CAA announced that it would obtain five Convair 440s, with delivery in December 1957 and January 1958. To calibrate and evaluate the performance of airway navigation aids, the agency had previously used DC-3s and Beech 18s, which had an operating ceiling of only 12,000 feet. The pressurized Convairs (later re-engined to the Convair 580 configuration) permitted testing in altitudes up to 20,000 feet. For higher altitudes up to 50,000 feet, the agency had already borrowed two Martin B-57s from the Air Force, and began operations with these in 1957. During 1956-57, CAA also obtained 40 more surplus DC-3s, most of which were eventually modified for flight inspection duty Other changes to the flight inspection fleet in this era included the acquisition in 1958 of the first two of five Lockheed L-749 Constellations, which were used primarily in the Pacific area. (See Calendar Year 1940 and January 1962.)
19641006: FAA established the National Airspace System Special Projects Office (NASSPO) to provide the management leadership and coordination necessary for the effective and timely implementation of the semiautomated air traffic control subsystem of the National Airspace System. (See September 26, 1964, and April 25, 1966.)
19641006: The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N became the first civil helicopters in the non-communist world to be certificated for instrument flight rules (IFR) operations. (See March 1, 1962.)
19731006: War broke out between Israel and its Arab neighbors, leading to an Arab oil embargo against the U.S. and other nations deemed to support Israel. The embargo worsened a spreading fuel shortage. On November 7, President Nixon asked Congress for new conservation legislation and called for a Project Independence to give the nation the potential to be energy self-sufficient by 1980. (See November 20, 1973.)
19811006: Blanche W. Noyes died. One of the nation’s early female pilots, she was probably the first woman pilot to have a career in the U.S. government. Noyes was known for her work in the air marking program during 35 years with FAA and its predecessors. She participated in many aviation events and races, winning the 1936 Bendix Air Race, was a founder of the Ninety-Nines, Inc., an organization established to encourage women in aviation. Her many awards included the Department of Commerce’s gold medal for exceptional service in 1956, and induction into the Aviation Hall of Fame in 1970.
19811006: FAA placed a General Aviation Reservation (GAR) plan in effect, because the number of private aircraft flying in the system increased substantially after the controllers’ strike. General aviation pilots who wished to fly under air traffic control were required to make reservations under a quota based on the percentage of flights that aircraft in their category had flown prior to the PATCO strike of August 3, 1981 (see that date). The restriction became necessary as non-airline pilots, some of whom had refrained from using the air traffic control system at the strike’s beginning, began to increase operations. After two weeks under the GAR plan, FAA announced that the number of private aircraft flying in the system had been reduced to approximately the pre-strike level, and that the plan had helped to cut delays for both airline and private flights. (See December 31, 1983.)
19931006: The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) held a ground breaking ceremony for the expansion of Dulles airport’s main terminal, a project completed on September 5, 1996. On November 17, 1993, meanwhile, MWAA officially broke ground for a new terminal for Washington National as part of a major improvement of the airport.
19951006: FAA issued a rule requiring manufacturers of new design transport category rotorcraft to minimize the adverse effects of turbine engine rotor failure.
19971006: The FAA commissioned the first precision runway monitor at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. The system permits simultaneous independent instrument landing system (ILS) approaches to parallel runways spaced less than 4,300 feet apart.
19991006: FAA selected the Societe Internationale Telecommunications Aeronautiques to provide standing data link communications services (the Future Air Navigation System, also known as FANS) to the Oakland, New York, and Alaska Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Previously, the FAA paid for data link communications services on a per message basis.
20051006: FAA proposed regulatory changes affecting wiring systems and fuel tank systems in transport category airplanes. First, to organize and clarify design requirements for wire systems, it proposed to create a single section of the regulations specifically for wiring and new certification rules and then move existing regulatory references to wiring into that section. It also proposed to require holders of type certificates for certain transport category aircraft to analyze their fleets and make the necessary changes to existing instructions for continued airworthiness that would improve maintenance procedures for their wire systems. (See August 16, 2001; December 10, 2007.)
20201006: FAA placed the draft Boeing 737 MAX Flight Standardization Board (FSB) report online. The report incorporated the recommendations from the Joint Operations Evaluation Board (JOEB) which was comprised of civil aviation authorities from the United States, Canada, Brazil, and the European Union. The FAA planned to publish a final FSB report after reviewing and addressing public comments on the draft. Several key milestones remained before the Boeing 737 Max could fly again
* Final Design Documentation and Technical Advisory Board (TAB) Report – The FAA must review Boeing’s final design documentation to evaluate compliance with all FAA regulations. The multi-agency TAB would also review the final Boeing submission and issue a final report prior to a final determination of compliance by the FAA.
* Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community (CANIC) & AD – The FAA will issue a CANIC providing notice of pending significant safety actions and will publish a final AD that addresses the known issues for grounding. The AD will advise operators of required corrective actions before aircraft may re-enter commercial service.
* FAA Rescinds Grounding Order – This marks the official ungrounding of the aircraft, pending completion by operators of the work specified in the AD, along with any required training.
* Certificates of Airworthiness – The FAA will retain its authority to issue airworthiness certificates and export certificates for all new 737 MAX airplanes manufactured since the grounding. The FAA will perform in-person, individual reviews of these aircraft.
* Operator Training Programs – The FAA will review and approve training programs for all Part 121 operators.
These actions were applicable only to U.S. air carriers and U.S.-registered aircraft. (See September 30, 2020; November 20, 2020.)