This Day in FAA History: December 15th

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19511215: The Secretaries of Commerce and Defense signed the Civil Reserve Air Fleet Plan. The plan, developed in consultation with the airlines, stipulated that the airlines would provide ninety-one aircraft to the Military Air Transport Service within forty-eight hours of notification. An additional 271 aircraft were to be provided 30 days later. The plan was the result of an executive order issued by President Truman on March 2, 1951, which, in part, authorized the Secretary of Commerce to transfer or assign civil air carriers to the Department of Defense during mobilization.
19601215: FAA began the assimilation of six Military Flight Service Centers manned by approximately 500 men of the USAF Airways and Air Communications Services. Completed the following spring, the transfer was a part of the overall FAA-DOD plan labeled “Project Friendship” (see October 7, 1959, January 1962, and February 17, 1962).
19621215: FAA authorized simultaneous instrument approaches and landings on parallel runways at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to relieve traffic backup during peak-activity periods. The agency approved this air traffic control innovation only after extensive testing under both simulated and actual conditions. Participating pilots had to operate under instrument flight rules, regardless of weather. They were radar vectored by the tower’s approach controllers from four outer fixes to one of the two final approach ILS courses.
19681215: New classification and qualification standards for air traffic control specialists became effective this date. The new standards, developed by the Civil Service Commission, simplified procedures for career development within the occupation. FAA upgraded 9,234 ATC specialist positions within six months after the new standards went into effect. (See June 26, 1961.)
19691215: American Airlines began the nation’s first use of three-dimensional area navigation equipment on regularly scheduled passenger service. In June 1968, American had inaugurated scheduled passenger operations using an inertial navigation system; however, it was only a two-dimensional system, not equipped with the ascent-descent feature. (See October 1, 1969.)
19801215: A U.S. District Court judge in Illinois, dismissed a court action brought by FAA against PATCO and its Chicago O’Hare Local No. 316 for a slowdown which had begun on August 15, 1980 (see that date). On August 17, FAA had brought suit for a preliminary and permanent injunction against the controllers. The following day, a U.S. District Court judge had issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting PATCO and its O’Hare affiliate from taking part “in any work stoppage or slowdown.” Subsequently, FAA pressed its plea for permanent injunctive relief. In ruling that the case was not properly before his court, the judge held that a slowdown was an unfair labor practice and that Title VII of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 gave original jurisdiction in such controversies to the Federal Labor Relations Authority, not to U.S. district courts. (See March 15, 1981.)
19881215: FAA issued a type certificate for the Airbus A-320. The aircraft had received its certification in Europe in February 1988. The A-320 was a short-to-medium range, twin turbo-fan transport with a seating capacity of 120-179 passengers. It was the first civilian transport to incorporate “fly-by-wire” controls for elevators, ailerons, spoilers, tailplane trim, slats, flaps, and speed brakes.
19931215: Five persons died when an Israel Westwind aircraft following a Boeing 757 encountered wake turbulence and crashed at Santa Ana, Calif. The National Transportation Safety Board later found the probable cause to have been the Westwind pilot’s failure to maintain adequate separation behind the 757 and/or to remain above its flight path during approach. The Board considered a related factor to be inadequacy of air traffic control procedures regarding visual approaches and visual flight rules operations behind heavier airplanes. On December 21, meanwhile, FAA required air traffic controllers to issue wake turbulence advisories to aircraft following 757s in all cases for which such advisories would be issued for jets heavier than the 757. On December 22, FAA sent a letter to licensed pilots alerting them to accidents and incidents involving 757 wake turbulence and urging attention to existing guidance on avoiding wake hazards. (See December 18, 1992, and May 20, 1994.)
19961215: An agreement under which Boeing would acquire McDonnell Douglas was announced by the two companies. On August 4, 1997, Boeing announced that the merger was complete and that it was now the world’s largest aerospace company. Boeing had been formed as the Pacific Aero Products Company in 1916 and adopted the Boeing name the following year. McDonnell Douglas had been created by a merger of two firms (see April 28, 1967).
19971215: FAA and the Air Transport Association announced a new partnership to eliminate controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). Air Transportation Association member airlines would voluntarily equip 4,300 of their aircraft with advanced terrain awareness warning systems, such as the enhanced ground proximity warning system. Installation of the system was expected to be substantially complete during 2003. (See February 12, 1997; March 29, 2000.)
19981215: Department of Transportation Secretary Slater announced that all flights of all U.S. carriers, both domestic and international, were now to be completely smoke-free. (See May 7, 1996.)
20041215: Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta unveiled the Integrated Plan for the Next Generation Air Transportation System. This a long-term strategic business plan that laid out goals, objectives, and requirements in eight specific areas: airport infrastructure development; security; the air traffic system; information technology; safety management; environmental stewardship; weather forecasting; and global collaboration. The development of innovative public-private partnerships was a key component to the entire effort. Under the direction of Secretary Mineta and an executive-level policy committee, and with 2025 in mind, six government agencies and representatives from the private sector worked to direct and coordinate research, identify and resolve critical policy issues, and invest in necessary infrastructure and technology. A Joint Planning and Development Office would coordinate the transformation effort. In 2003, Congress established a charter to create NextGen by the year 2025 and established a multi-agency committee to carry out the plan to include the Department of Transportation, FAA, NASA, Departments of Transportation and its Federal Aviation Administration, the National Defense, Commerce, and Homeland Security, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. (See January 27, 2004; July 18, 2006.)
20061215: FAA issued final regulations for crew and spaceflight participants The new regulations require a reusable launch vehicle (RLV) operator to inform space tourists, in writing, about the safety record of the vehicle they would fly in, and compare that record with those of other manned space vehicles. After being given time to ask questions about the risks of flight, passengers will have to provide written consent prior to the flight. Each passenger must receive safety training on how to respond to emergency situations – which include cabin depressurization, fire, smoke, and emergency egress. (See August 25, 2006; April 6, 2007.)
20081215: FAA issued a launch site license to the New Mexico Spaceport America. The 16,000-acre site was the first launch facility built for passenger spaceflights. Construction work on the site, situated 40 miles north of Las Cruces, was scheduled to open in 2010. (See July 2, 2004; July 1, 2010.)
20091215: After over two years of delays, Boeing’s first new aircraft design in over 10 years, the 787 Deamliner made its maiden flight.
20111215: Fort Lauderdale-based regional carrier Gulfstream International Airlines rebranded itself as Silver Airways.
20131215: FAA contract controllers began operations in the new $2.8 million air traffic control tower at the Mesquite Metro Airport in Mesquite, Texas.