This Day in FAA History: October 31st

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19271031: The International Radio Convention met in Washington, D.C. During sessions that lasted into November, the conferees secured international agreements on the use of certain frequencies by aircraft and airway control stations. As a result, it was necessary to reassign frequencies to the Airways Division of the Aeronautics Branch and to other U.S. Government agencies. The Aeronautics Branch assisted the Interdepartmental Radio Advisory Committee in making these reassignments.
19281031: Statistics published by the Aeronautics Branch indicated that of the 3,659 pilots holding active licenses, nine states and the District of Columbia accounted for 2,343: California, 633; New York, 347; Illinois, 216; Michigan, 194; Ohio and Pennsylvania, 180 each; Texas, 176; District of Columbia, 161; Missouri, 150; and Virginia, 105. Of the overall total, 2,426 (66.3 percent) were transport pilots, 385 (10.5 percent) limited commercial, 63 (l.7 percent) industrial, and 785 (21.5 percent) private. One year previously, transport pilots had accounted for 85 percent of the total. The reduced percentage was due to the faster growth of private flying.
19441031: CAA issued the first edition of its Statistical Handbook of Civil Aviation, a one volume compilation of essential civil aviation statistics, later superseded by the FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation.
19491031: CAA issued to Compania Mexicana de Aviacion, Mexico City, the first certificate authorizing a foreign repair station to perform work on U.S. aircraft. The authority to issue foreign repair station certificates was provided by Civil Air Regulations Amendment 52-1, which became effective March 10, 1949. By June 30, 1952, CAA had certificated 17 foreign repair stations.
19501031: The U.S. Air Force announced a program to replace all its piston-engine fighter aircraft in Europe with jets.
19561031: CAA leased a computer (IBM type 650) for installation in the Indianapolis ARTCC to assess the value of computers for the preparation of flight progress strips and to familiarize its personnel with this type of equipment.
19591031: FAA announced plans to establish a Civil Aeromedical Research Center (later named the Civil Aeromedical Research Institute) at the Aeronautical Center, Oklahoma City, to carry out its assigned responsibilities for research in aviation medicine. CARI’s research would aim at developing medical data needed to meet operational problems anticipated as civil air operations moved into higher altitudes and greater speeds. (See July 1, 1953 and October 21, 1962.)
19681031: FAA resumed basic air traffic control training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. Since the fall of 1962, apprentice ATC specialists had been receiving their basic training on the firing line– at towers, centers, or flight service stations, depending on their specialty. This procedure had worked satisfactorily when the ATC work force was declining (as it was between June 1963 and June 1967). By mid-1968, however, the number of ATC trainees had ballooned to 10 percent of the total ATC specialist work force. Training a contingent of this size required a faster, more efficient, and more formal training program. (See Calendar year 1968.)
19691031: Rafael Minichiello, a U.S. Marine absent without leave, commandeered a TWA 707 bound for San Francisco and embarked on a 17-hour journey that ended in Rome, Italy. The first hijacker to force a crew to land and refuel repeatedly, Minichiello received worldwide publicity that included some sympathetic coverage (see Calendar Year 1969).
19721031: FAA and the Office of Minority Business Enterprise signed an agreement to promote greater participation by the minority business community in the operation of concessions at the nation’s public airports. Under the agreement, FAA would require airports receiving Airport Development Aid Program funds to inform OMBE of all pending contracts and potential new contracts and to cooperate with OMBE in affirmative action.
19841031: FAA awarded a contract for design of the Oceanic Display and Planning System (ODAPS) with features that would include visual displays of oceanic air traffic. ODAPS would automatically provide controllers with flight data for aircraft flying in oceanic sectors, thus eliminating time-consuming procedures involving use of flight strips and repeated voice communications. A planned second phase of the contract would include delivery of ODAPS equipment to FAA’s Technical Center and two air route traffic control centers. (See December 14, 1989.)
19851031: As part of its continued upgrading of automated radar terminal systems, FAA commissioned the first ARTS IIIA installation to use a new software package designated A3.02 at Ontario International Airport, Calif. An enhanced version of the A3.01 software (see December 1979, and March 26, 1986), the A3.02 package could be used at facilities employing data from more than one radar sensor. In November 1986, the first ARTS IIIA to use the still more advanced A3.03 software was commissioned at Burbank, Calif. This new package included an enhanced conflict alert capability that was less prone to false alarms. Meanwhile, FAA continued to install ARTS IIIA hardware, and had replaced most of the basic ARTS III systems by the end of 1986.
19861031: In a restructuring of the organizational complex under the Associate Administrator for Aviation Standards, the Office of Flight Operations was retitled the Office of Flight Standards. The Rotorcraft Program Office, which had been disbanded on March 7, was formally abolished and its functions divided between the Office of Flight Standards and the Office of Airworthiness. Certain other adjustments in the responsibilities of these two offices also took effect.
19921031: President Bush signed the Airport and Airway Safety, Capacity, Noise Improvement and Intermodal Transportation Act of 1992. Among other provisions, the act contained amendments reauthorizing the Airport Improvement Program through September 30, 1993 (see May 26, 1994). It also reauthorized the State Block Grant Pilot Program through fiscal 1996 for the current participants (Illinois, North Carolina, and Missouri) and provided funds to add four additional states to the program. On January 15, 1993, FAA selected the states of Michigan, New Jersey, Texas, and Wisconsin to participate in the pilot project. (See October 1, 1989.)
19921031: In response to safety issues relating to aging aircraft, FAA established the Center of Excellence in Computational Modeling of Aircraft Structures as a joint effort with Rutgers University and Georgia Institute of Technology. This was the first Air Transportation Center of Excellence created by the agency through a program in which selected institutions received long-term matching grants to conduct research under cooperative agreements. FAA subsequently established a Center of Excellence for airport pavement research in 1995 and another for operations research in 1996. In December 1996, FAA announced that it was soliciting proposals to establish a Center of Excellence for airworthiness assurance.
19941031: An American Eagle commuter flight crashed near Roselawn, Ind., with the loss of all 68 persons aboard. The aircraft, an Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72, had been in a holding pattern due to weather delays at Chicago. In a report issued on July 9, 1996, the National Transportation Safety Board cited the probable cause as a loss of control due to icing, the manufacturer’s failure to provide information on the icing hazard to the aircraft, and French aviation authorities’ failure to ensure its airworthiness under icing conditions. Deficiencies in FAA oversight were listed as contributory causes.
Following the accident, meanwhile, FAA took a variety of steps to reduce hazards to ATR aircraft and, on December 9, 1994, prohibited flight by models 72 or 42 into known or forecast icing conditions. On January 11, 1995, FAA eased this ban, subject to certain requirements, to apply only to freezing rain and freezing drizzle. The agency also required the installation of improved deicing boots on the aircraft by June 1995. Subsequent FAA actions on the broader issue of combating icing included the issuance on May 2, 1996, of 18 new airworthiness directives affecting pilots of 29 different aircraft types. (See May 28, 1992, and December 13, 1994.)
19941031: At FAA’s request, RTCA, Inc., convened a government/industry committee to study the Free Flight concept. (RTCA, Inc., was the official name of the former Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics: see June 19, 1935.) The Free Flight concept sought to employ new procedures and technology to provide much greater flexibility for Instrument Flight Rules operations at high altitudes. Currently, the pilots of such flights were obliged to follow specified routes, unless deviations were approved by air traffic controllers. Under Free Flight, in contrast, these pilots (or their airline managers) would be able to choose the routes that they considered most efficient. Controllers would intervene only to ensure safety or prevent congestion.
In January 1995, a report by the RTCA committee defined Free Flight and the first steps for its implementation. This was followed in October 1995 by the more detailed report of an RTCA task force that had been formed at FAA request. On March 15 1996, FAA announced progress on Free Flight, stating that the agency and the aviation community would work together to phase in the concept over the next ten years. On January 15, 1997, the agency issued a fact sheet on a plan for a two-year evaluation of Free Flight in the airspace of Alaska and Hawaii, beginning in 1999. (See September 30, 1990.)
19951031: FAA announced its final decision on the New Jersey Environmental Impact Statement (see March 11, 1991). The agency rejected a plan to reroute many flights over the ocean, but accepted a measure known as the Solberg Mitigation Proposal for implementation in early 1996. This measure involved routing changes to reduce noise in the Scotch Plains and Fanwood areas.
19991031: Egypt Air Flight 900 crashed and killed all 217 onboard. The voice and data recorders from the aircraft revealed that, just before the tragedy, one of the pilots, apparently alone in the cockpit, turned off the autopilot and then uttered a short prayer. The cockpit voice recorder tape also contained sounds similar to a door opening and closing more than once, sources said. This evidence led investigators to question whether one of the pilots left the cockpit, which would have given the other pilot the opportunity to take some action that could have led to the crash. (See March 21, 2002.)
20031031: Runway 8L/26R opened at George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport.
20111031: Beginning this date, FAA required pilots of business jets certified for single-pilot operations to pass yearly proficiency checks. The rule required approximately 3,000 US-based pilots to have flight checks, which had to be performed either in full-flight simulators or in an aircraft with a FAA-designated examiner on board.
20121031: Portland, ME-based Elite Airways received FAA Part 121 air carrier certification.
20131031: FAA Administrator Michael Huerta announced the agency would allow airlines to permit passenger use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) during all phases of flight, and provided airlines with implementation guidance. The guidance helped airlines assess the risks of potential PED-induced avionics problems for their airplanes and specific operations. Before allowing use of PEDs, airlines had to evaluate avionics as well as changes to stowage rules and passenger announcements. Each airline had to revise manuals, checklists for crewmember training materials, carry-on baggage programs, and passenger briefings before expanding use of PEDs. FAA then had to certify PED use for each model of airplane in an airline’s fleet. Each airline determined how and when they would allow passengers broader use of PEDs. FAA did not consider changing the regulations regarding the use of cell phones for voice communications during flight because the issue was under the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). On November 8, FAA approved JetBlue Airways and Delta Airlines use of PEDs, and, on November 3, approved American Airlines. By November 15, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines had joined the list of airlines approved for PED use. (See September 30, 2013; February 11, 2014.)
20141031: Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo exploded in midair during a test flight, killing one test pilot and injuring another. Virgin Galactic was testing the craft, built by Scaled Composites, in preparation for commercial space tourism. (See May 28, 2014; January 10, 2014; June 26, 2015.)
20151031: A Russian passenger jet, Metrojet Flight 9268, crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. All 224 people on board the 18-year old Airbus A321-200 died. Debris from the wreck was scattered over 7.7 miles. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) subsequently took credit for placing a bomb on the aircraft.
20161031: Cirrus Aircraft announced FAA had awarded it a FAR Part 23 Type Certificate for its $1.96 million, 300-kt. single-engine turbofan SF50 Vision Jet.
20191031: FAA announced that runway status lights (RWSL), the first technology to provide direct warning to pilots about potential runway conflicts, was now operational at all 20 sites approved to receive the technology. The technology alerted pilots and vehicle operators to stop when runways and taxiways were not safe to enter, cross, or begin takeoff. Red lights embedded in the pavement illuminated when the presence of other traffic creates a potential conflict. RWSL used the airport’s surface surveillance system to determine the location of aircraft and vehicles. (See June 11, 2009.)
20231031: FAA completed a safety review of the SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy license. The agency continued to work on an environmental review and consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on an updated Biological Assessment under the Endangered Species Act. FAA and the USFWS must complete this consultation before the environmental review portion of the license evaluation is completed. (See September 8, 2023; November 15, 2023.)