This Day in FAA History: October 26th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19731026: FAA published a rule requiring newly produced aircraft of older type designs, such as the DC-9 or Boeing 727, to meet noise standards for turbojet and transport aircraft. The standards had previously applied only to newly type-certificated aircraft, under a rule effective December 1, 1969 (see that date). The new rule became effective in three phases between December 1, 1973, and December 31, 1974. (See January 6, 1975.)
19821026: FAA announced a contract with Burroughs Corp. to equip the agency’s district safety offices with a computerized information processing system that would allow safety inspectors to spend more of their time on field work rather than on preparing and analyzing reports. This Work Program Management Subsystem (WPMS) was implemented during 1983. WPMS was part of an Aviation Safety Analysis System (ASAS) being developed to apply computer technology to the support of a variety of FAA tasks and decisions. ASAS continued to grow in scope and complexity during succeeding years.
19841026: FAA published two rules to increase the survival chances of airline passengers encountering fire and smoke. Both were based on findings of the Special Aviation Fire and Explosion Reduction (SAFER) Advisory Committee (see September 10, 1980) as well as on subsequent research. One rule called for the installation, within three years, of seat cushions possessing an outer layer of highly fire-resistant material. Research showed that the cushions would provide as much as 40 additional seconds before “flashover,” the deadly ignition of accumulated vapors. The requirement applied to operators of aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more and having over 29 seats. The second rule required emergency escape path marking at or near floor level that would provide evacuation guidance even when all sources of illumination more than four feet above the cabin aisle floor were totally obscured by smoke. With the exception of aircraft type-certificated before 1958, all airliners operated by major lines were required to have such marking within two years. (See July 21, 1986.)
19931026: An FAA Beech Super King Air crashed into mountainous terrain near Front Royal, Va., killing all three persons aboard. The National Transportation Safety Board cited the probable cause as pilot error and deficiences in the agency’s management of its flying program. In response to the accident, FAA made extensive changes in training, procedures, and oversight relating to its flight operations.
19991026: A Learjet, without a pilot in control, flew for almost four hours from Orlando, Florida, to a swampy grassland in South Dakota. The Learjet was shadowed by USAF and Air National Guard jet fighters, whose pilots reported that the aircraft’s windows were frosted over, suggesting that it had lost pressurization. USAF pilots also reported that the Learjet meandered from as low as 22,000 feet to as high as 51,000 feet, but never strayed from a northwest heading. Pentagon officials said the military began its pursuit of the aircraft at 10:08 a.m., when two Air Force F-16 fighters from Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida on a routine training mission were asked by FAA to intercept it. The F-16s did not reach the Learjet, but an USAF F-15 fighter from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida got within sight of the aircraft and stayed with it from 11:09 a.m. to 11:44 a.m., when the military fighter was diverted to St. Louis for fuel. Fifteen minutes later, four Air National Guard F-16s and a KC-135 tanker from Tulsa were ordered to try to catch up with the Learjet, but got only within 100 miles. Two other Air National Guard F-16s from Fargo, North Dakota, intercepted the Learjet at 12:54 p.m., reporting that the aircraft’s windows were fogged with ice and that no flight control movement could be seen. At 1:14 p.m., the F-16s reported that the Learjet was beginning to spiral toward the ground. Professional golfer Payne Stewart was killed in the crash.
20001026: FAA issued an airworthiness directive, mandating use of a simplified procedure in the event that the rudder of a Boeing 737 was to jam or become significantly restricted in its movement. (See September 14, 2000; November 13, 2001.)
20001026: In conjunction with the Cargo Airline Association, FAA tested the ability of Automatic Dependent Surveillance — Broadcast (ADS-B) and global positioning system (GPS) technologies to improve flight safety while increasing the capacity at hub airports in Louisville, Kentucky. ADS-B, a situational awareness tool, shares the controller’s level of information with the pilot so the controller and pilot could work together to manage traffic more efficiently. (See July 10, 1999; January 1, 2001.)
20041026: FAA started using a new landing procedure, known as the simultaneous offset instrument approach, to help cut delays at San Francisco International Airport. Taking advantage of an advanced radar system that was nearly five times faster than conventional airport radar, this procedure allowed up to a 25 percent increase in the number of arrivals during overcast conditions. Because air traffic controllers could get a much more precise fix on approaching aircraft, the change enabled two arriving planes to fly above and then through the clouds at different angles without compromising the safe separation standards required during overcast conditions. Once the aircraft moved under the cloud deck, the planes were to fly a visual, parallel approach to the airport’s two runways.
20101026: FAA dedicated the new air traffic control tower at Reno-Tahoe Airport, NV. The $29 million tower was 195 feet tall, three times as big as the old one built in 1957.
20151026: Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued an interim final rule to prohibit passengers and crewmembers from carrying battery-powered portable electronic smoking devices (e.g., e-cigarettes, e-cigs, e-cigars, e-pipes, personal vaporizers, electronic nicotine delivery systems) in checked baggage and prohibit passengers and crewmembers from charging the devices and/or batteries on board the aircraft. On January 22, 2015, FAA had issued a safety alert for operators recommending that air carriers require their passengers to carry e-cigarettes and related devices exclusively in the cabin of the aircraft. On June 9, 2015, ICAO published an addendum to its technical instructions for the safe transport of dangerous goods by air that prohibited the carriage of e-cigarettes in checked baggage and restricted the charging of these devices while on board the aircraft. (See October 8, 2015.)
20171026: A new runway opened at the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport; the first new runway opened in the state in 30 years.
20181026: FAA, in cooperation with DoD and the U.S. Coast Guard, restricted drone flights near U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels operating in the vicinity of Naval Base Kitsap in Washington State and Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia. Drone operations were required to maintain a distance of at least 3,000 feet laterally and 1,000 feet vertically from these vessels. FAA had earlier imposed restrictions on drone flights near other Department of Defense and Justice facilities.