This Day in FAA History: December 14th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19281214: The International Civil Aeronautics Conference held sessions in Washington, D.C. The President had suggested the conference, and Congress had authorized it by a joint resolution. The 441 participants included 77 official and 39 unofficial delegates from foreign countries. The conference provided an opportunity to exchange views on problems pertaining to aircraft in international commerce, and the program included presentations on a variety of aviation topics. Another purpose was to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first flight of the Wright brothers. Orville Wright was guest of honor, and the membership of the conference attended ceremonies at Kitty Hawk, N.C., on the December 17 anniversary.
19641214: The first FAA-designed and -constructed airport traffic control tower was commissioned at Lake Tahoe (Calif.) Airport. Previously, the airport sponsor designed and constructed the tower structures, with FAA participating in the financing. The Lake Tahoe tower had a pentagonal cab to provide an unobstructed view of the entire airport. (See November 5, 1962, and February 1965.)
19701214: The Center for Development of Air Transportation, a private Italian organization founded in 1950, awarded the Leonardo da Vinci Prize for 1970 to FAA for contributions to worldwide knowledge and achievements in the fields of aerial navigation, airport development, and the promotion of flight safety.
19891214: Alaska’s Redoubt Volcano began a series of eruptions, emitting ash that hampered aviation. FAA used a satellite-based system, recently developed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to track the ash and warn aviators. On December 15, however, a Boeing 747 lost all engine thrust temporarily after encountering an ash cloud, and ash from Redoubt damaged four other airliners during the following three months. (See May 18, 1980, and June 15, 1991.)
19891214: FAA authorized use of the Oceanic Display and Planning System (ODAPS) at the Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center (see October 1984). ODAPS achieved initial operational capability at the New York center during FY92. (See October 1984 and June 21, 1995.)
19891214: Alliance Airport, the nation’s first industrial airport, officially opened. Located fifteen miles northwest of Dallas-Fort Worth airport, the new facility incorporated air, rail, and highway connections. FAA grants provided major funding for construction of the airport, which stood on land donated by industrialist Ross Perot, Jr.
19951214: FAA announced the Commuter Safety Initiative, a group of new rules aimed at providing a single level of safety for travelers on airliners ranging from “ten-seaters” to jumbo jets. The Commuter Safety Initiative represented one part of a three-point program unveiled a year earlier (see December 13, 1994), and was based on a proposal issued on March 16 in an accelerated rulemaking effort. The new rules required many commuter airlines formerly operating under Federal Aviation Regulations Part 135 to operate under the stricter Part 121 governing major airlines. This change applied to scheduled passenger operations using airliners with 10 to 30 passenger seats or using turbojets. The rules also contained provisions on standards for airplane performance and for flightcrew training and qualifications. In addition, the regulations extended to commuter airline pilots the age-60 rule on mandatory retirement, which had formerly applied only to airline pilots flying larger aircraft (see March 15, 1960). Finally, the Commuter Safety Initiative included a notice of proposed rulemaking on new common standards regarding rest requirements and limitations on duty and flight time for airline flightcrew members.
20021214: The new Potomac Consolidated TRACON began operations. The new state-of-the- art facility in Fauquier County, Virginia, consolidated five existing TRACONs and allowed the FAA to redesign the airspace in this area for more efficient, direct flight routings. (See March 6, 2000.)
20061214: FAA announced that it had issued a type certificate for the double-decker Airbus A380 jet during a ceremony in Toulouse, France. Airbus applied to FAA for certification of the aircraft on August 12, 1998. The A380’s size and complexity required FAA to extend its normal five year certification period for a large airliner to seven years to ensure the required standards of safety.
20091214: FAA issued a type certificate for Embraer’s Phenom 300 light jet. Brazil certified the aircraft on December 3.
20111214: FAA certified the passenger version of the new 747-8 intercontinental jumbo jet. At 250 feet long with a 225-foot wingspan, the 747-8 was the largest Boeing jet and could carry 467 passengers in a typical 3-class airline configuration. The list price of the aircraft was $333 million, though aircraft valuation firm Avitas estimated the real market value after standard discounts at about $167 million.
20121214: FAA issued a safety directive mandating a three-day deadline for 200 operators of Gulfstream business jets to conduct high-priority inspections and possible fixes of flight-control systems on the aircraft. FAA issued the mandate to avoid grounding Gulfstream 350 and 450 models when it discovered potential problems controlling horizontal stabilizers on the tails of the aircraft.
20121214: After an extensive two-year application and development process, FAA awarded Geisinger Life Flight an air carrier certificate. The certificate allowed Geisinger Health System to operate the aircraft assets it leased and owned. In addition, GHS could now employ its own pilots, mechanics, and aviation support personnel a process previously done through contracted air-services vendors. Averaging 2,600 flights per year, Life Flight operated 24-hours a day with a fleet of six twin-engine helicopters from air bases in Danville, State College, Avoca, Williamsport, and Minersville, PA.
20121214: FAA and Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) leaders signed a new five-year contract covering PASS’s ATO bargaining units (technical operations, flight inspection services, and mission support services). The agreement became effective on December 16, 2012. Among other things, the new contract contained a variety of provisions regarding pay, including annual increases each year from 2013 through 2017. The new agreement prevented the agency from reducing pay increases, guaranteed PASS would have an active role in modernization of the NAS, and required the agency to notify PASS before it explored the contracting out of a bargaining unit function or service that would significantly change the scope of an employee’s work responsibilities.
20151214: FAA announced a streamlined and user-friendly web-based aircraft registration process for owners of small UAS weighing more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and less than 55 pounds (approx. 25 kilograms) including payloads such as onboard cameras. Under the rule, any owner of a small UAS who had previously operated an unmanned aircraft exclusively as a model aircraft prior to December 21, 2015, had to register no later than February 19, 2016. Owners of any other UAS purchased for use as a model aircraft after December 21, 2015, had to register before the first flight outdoors. Owners could use either the paper-based process or the new streamlined, web-based system. Owners using the new streamlined web-based system had to be at least 13 years old to register. Registrants needed to provide their name, home address, and e-mail address. Upon completion of the registration process, the web application would generate a certificate of aircraft registration/proof of ownership that included a unique identification number for the UAS owner, which had to be marked on the aircraft. Owners using the model aircraft for hobby or recreation would only have to register once and could use the same identification number for all of their model UASs. The registration was valid for three years. The normal registration fee was $5, but in an effort to encourage as many people as possible to register quickly, FAA waived the fee for the first 30 days (from December 21, 2015 to January 20, 2016). (See November 23, 2015.)
20161214: Alaska Air Group completed its $2.6 billion acquisition of Virgin America. The two airlines now planned to work with FAA to operate as a single carrier. (See December 6, 2014).
20161214: FAA awarded type validation to the Bombardier CS300 airliner.
20211214: The name of Las Vegas McCarran International Airport changed to Harry Reid International Airport. The airport, first known as Alamo Airport, opened in 1942. It took on the name McCarran Field in 1948 after Clark County purchased the airport. In 1968, the airport gained its international designation after the facility expanded and the first international flight from Mexico arrived.