Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19301216: The Aeronautics Branch opened the National Conference on Uniform Aeronautic Regulatory Laws. Representatives from 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands attended the two-day meeting to discuss uniformity of air regulations. (See August 1, 1928, and March 23, 1933.)
19601216: A United DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation collided in midair over Brooklyn, N.Y., killing all 128 occupants aboard the planes and eight persons on the ground. CAB determined that the probable cause was that the United flight proceeded beyond its clearance limit and confines of the airspace assigned by Air Traffic Control. The DC-8’s high speed, coupled with a change of clearance which reduced the distance which the aircraft needed to travel by approximately 11 miles, contributed to the crash. The Board concluded that the crew did not take note of the change of time and distance associated with the new clearance. The crew’s workload was increased by the fact that one of their two Very High Frequency radio navigational receivers was inoperative, a fact unknown to Air Traffic Control. FAA actions taken as a result of the accident included: a requirement that pilots operating under instrument flight rules report malfunctions of navigation or communications equipment, effective February 17, 1961; a program to equip all turbine-powered aircraft with distance measuring equipment, or DME (see June 15, 1961); a speed rule, effective December 18, 1961, prohibiting aircraft from exceeding 250 knots when within 30 nautical miles of a destination airport and below 10,000 feet, except for certain military jets requiring a higher minimum speed for safe operation; and other steps to strengthen air traffic control procedures.
19651216: Under a rule effective this date, FAA required pilots flying large aircraft (12,500 pounds or more) to hold a type rating for that aircraft. Previously, the agency required only pilots in command of large aircraft carrying passengers or freight for remuneration to hold such a type rating. The new rule also required pilots in command of small turbojet aircraft to be type rated for such aircraft after March 31, 1966. The purpose of the rule was to insure that pilots were fully qualified to serve in command of aircraft that handled differently from those in which they had acquired their flying experience.
19701216: The U.S. and 49 other nations signed the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (known as The Hague or Hijacking Convention) at a diplomatic conference held under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The U.S. was an active participant in developing the convention, which declared the hijacking of civil aircraft to be an offense punishable by severe penalties. The convention obligated contracting states to extradite hijackers or to submit their cases to prosecutorial authorities. The U.S. Senate approved ratification on September 8, 1971, and the U.S. deposited its instruments of ratification on September 14. This completed the 10 ratifications needed to bring the convention into force among ratifying states 30 days later, and it became effective on October 14, 1971. Signatories to the convention depositing instruments of ratification before the U.S. were Japan, Bulgaria, Sweden, Costa Rica, Gabon, Hungary, Israel, Norway, and Switzerland.
19971216: President Clinton signed into law the Foreign Air Carrier Family Support Act requiring foreign carriers to file a plan by June 15, 1998, addressing the needs of families of victims of an aviation disaster in the United States.
19981216: FAA issued a notice to airmen advising all civil aircraft operators that hostilities had begun in the airspace over Iraq and might also occur in the airspace over nearby nations and waters in the Arabian Peninsula, including the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. FAA advised that operators flying in the area should strictly comply with aircraft identification procedures and monitor international emergency frequencies.
20041216: FAA Administrator Marion Blakey announced a revised presidential policy on the global positioning system (GPS). The new policy strengthened interagency management of GPS, with a National Executive Committee co-chaired by the Deputy Secretaries of Defense and Transportation. In terms of civil aviation, the policy made it clear that the U.S. remained firmly committed to provide a robust GPS signal free of direct user chargers. The policy directed the Departments of Defense and Transportation to ensure that GPS civil services exceed or at least be equivalent to services provided by the European Galileo system.
20081216: FAA published a final rule making permanent the air defense identification zone around Washington, DC. The rule established a 15-nautical-mile radius Flight Restricted Zone and an outer Special Flight Rules Area 30 nautical mile radius around Washington National Airport. (See July 26, 2007.)
20101216: The Future of Aviation Advisory Committee presented its final recommendations to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. The Committee made 23 recommendations in 5 categories, including safety, workforce/labor, competitiveness and viability, finance, and environment. Among the recommendations presented by the committee were proposals that federal government assist in funding NextGen equipage on aircraft, ensure greater transparency for consumers in airline pricing, expand the sources of safety data available to the FAA, and ensure that global airline alliances enhance the viability and competitiveness of the U.S. aviation industry. Other specific recommendations included
* Developing improved methods of predicting safety risks;
* Incorporating safety standards into planning for NextGen;
* Improving links between airports and other forms of transportation;
* Enhancing science and technology training for the future and current aviation workforce;
* Ensuring that aircraft operators are able to realize the benefits of NextGen as quickly as possible;
* Reducing aviation’s impact on the environment through use of sustainable fuels and improved aircraft technology, as well as accelerating the use of NextGen equipment to promote greater efficiency.
After review of the recommendations, the Department of Transportation planned to develop a strategy to implement the recommendations. (See May 12, 2010.)
20111216: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sent a letter to several European Commission (EU) officials, including EU President Jose Manuel Barroso, saying the U.S. would take “appropriate action” if the EU did not change its policy of including international aviation in the emissions trading scheme. The letter stated the U.S. had a “strong record of performance” in reducing emissions and in researching sustainable and other initiatives and the emissions trading policy was inconsistent with international law. The letter did not identify what actions the U.S. might take. The previous week, DOT ordered U.S. and European carriers to submit emission trading scheme data to the U.S. government, in a move that many believed to be the first step in a potential U.S. retaliation against the policy.
20151216: The United States and Cuba reached a bilateral arrangement to establish scheduled air services between the two countries. The agreement continued to allow charter operations and established scheduled air service, which would facilitate an increase in authorized travel, enhance traveler choices, and promote people-to-people links between the two countries. While U.S. law continued to prohibit travel to Cuba for tourist activities, a stronger civil aviation relationship would facilitate growth in authorized travel between the two countries. (See February 16, 2016.)
20161216: FAA issued a new Part 23 rule, which established performance-based standards for airplanes that weighed less than 19,000 pounds with 19 or fewer seats and recognized consensus-based compliance methods for specific designs and technologies. It also added new certification standards to address general aviation loss of control accidents and in-flight icing conditions. Overall, the rule streamlined the approval process, reduced the time it took to move safety enhancing technologies for small airplanes into the marketplace, and lowered overall costs for aviation manufacturers. The rule affected airplane manufacturers, engine manufacturers, and operators of affected equipment. (See March 9, 2016; August 30, 2017.)
20191216: Boeing announced it would halt production on the 737 Max airplanes indefinitely beginning in January 2020. The announced followed the FAA Administrator’s earlier decision the FAA would not re-certify the aircraft by the end of 2019. (See November 26, 2019; December 23, 2019.)
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This Day in FAA History: December 16th
